Wal-Mart Captures More than $1 Billion in Subsidies

Date: 5 Aug 2004 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

A new study documents more than $1 billion in state and local development subsidies that have flowed to Wal-Mart, and that figure likely represents only the tip of the iceberg. "Shopping for Subsidies: How Wal-Mart Uses Taxpayer Money to Finance Its Never-Ending Growth," produced by Good Jobs First, a Washington, D.C.-based research organization, identifies 244 Wal-Mart stores and distribution centers in 35 states that have received subsidies totaling just over $1 billion.… Read More

Scottsdale Voters Overturn Big Box Subsidy

Date: 1 Apr 2004 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In March, voters in Scottsdale, Arizona, overwhelmingly rejected a plan to provide a massive public subsidy for a 42-acre big box development anchored by a Wal-Mart supercenter and a Lowe’s Home Improvement store. The plan, which was approved by the city council last year, allowed the developer to keep 49 percent of all the sales taxes generated by the shopping center over the next 40 years. Accounting for interest and inflation, the total value of the subsidy is estimated at $183 million.… Read More

Report Finds Wal-Mart’s Low Wages Cost Taxpayers Millions

Date: 1 Apr 2004 | posted in: Retail | 1 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Taxpayers are picking up the tab for Wal-Mart’s low wages and meager benefits, according to a new congressional report. Prepared by the Democratic staff of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and released by Rep. George Miller in February, the report concludes that the federal government is providing an average of $2,100 annually in public assistance per Wal-Mart employee. … Read More

How Wal-Mart’s Health Coverage Stacks Up

Date: 1 Feb 2004 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

The annual premium a full-time Wal-Mart employee must pay for coverage for her and her spouse is $2,672 (with a $350 deductible), which amounts to about 19 percent of her pre-tax earnings, according to the report. Part-time employees (under 34 hours per week) are only eligible to enroll after two years on the job and even then, coverage is available only for themselves, not their families. Full-time workers are eligible for family coverage after six months.… Read More