before making a decision on whether Wal-mart is good for St. Albans…

1. After the development of the big boxes in Williston, VT, the town had to increase the sales tax by 1% to support the additional costs the boxes generated.
2. In each Wal-mart store there is a mandate that the managers have to reduce their expenses by 2% each year.  Unfortunately, employees are considered an expense that can be reduced.
3. In the Dec. 2004 Consumers Reports readers rated Wal-mart #18 out of 20 places they like to purchase electronics.  Readers rated locally owned business as #2.
4. About 286 of the current 710 Wal-Mart employees in Vermont, 40%, lack health insurance.
5. Each insured Vermont family will pay about $300 per year to insured uninsured persons.
6. In the first decade after Wal-Mart arrived in Iowa, the state lost 555 grocery stores, 298 hardware stores, 293 building supply stores, 161 variety stores, 158 women’s apparel stores, 153 shoe stores, 116 drugstores, and 111 men’s and boy’s apparel stores.(Source: Iowa State University Study)
7. Today, Wal-Mart uses over 3,000 Chinese factories to produce its goods–almost as many factories as is has stores in the U.S.(3,600).(Source: L.A. Times)
8. If a full-time Wal-Mart hourly employee elects for single coverage, an average employee would have to spend 9% of their average earnings before the health insurance provided any reimbursement.
9. In a state analysis, the Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services found that in 2003, Wal-Mart covered only 52% of total health care premium costs compared to K-Mart, which covered 66%, Target, that covered 68%, and Sears that covered 80%..
10. One 200-employee Wal-Mart store may cost federal taxpayers $420,750 per year. This cost comes from the following, on average:
    $36,000 a year for free and reduced lunches for just 50 qualifying Wal-Mart families.
    $42,000 a year for low income housing assistance.
    $125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low income families.
    $100,000 a year for the additional expenses for programs for students.
    $108,000 a year for the additional federal health care costs of moving into state children’s health insurance programs.(S-CHIP)
    $9,750 a year for the additional costs for low income energy assistance.
    [The Hidden Price we all pay for Wal-Mart, A Report by the Democratic Staff of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, 2/16/04]
11. Workers in China’s Guangdong Province who made toys for Wal-Mart toiled as much as 130 hours per week for wages averaging 16.5 cents per hour (below the minimum wage) and no health insurance.[National Labor Committee, "Toys of Misery 2004," February 2004]
12. Wal-Mart’s labor law violations range from illegally firing workers who attempt to organize a union to unlawful surveillance, threats, and intimidation of emplyees who dare to speak out.[Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay for Wal-Mart," A Report by the Democratic Staff of the Committee on EDucation and the Workforce, 2/16/04]
13. In 2001, women managers on average earned $14,500 less than their male counterparts. Female hourly workers earned on average $1,100 less than male counterparts.[Drogin 2003]
14. In 2002, statistians estimated Wal-Mart shortchanged is Texas workers $150 million over four years by regularly not paying them for working through their 15-minute breaks.[Sources include Associated Press, "Federal Jury Finds Wal-Mart Guilt in Overtime Pay Case," Chicagio Tribune, Business 3, 12/20/03 and Steven Greenhouse, "Suits Say Wal-Mart Forces workers to Toil Off the Clock," New York Times, A1, 6/25/02]
15. Wal-Mart’s most affordable plan includes a $1,000 for single coverage and a $3,000 deductible for family coverage ($1,000 deductible per person covered up to $3,000). An average, full-time workers earns $17,114 a year.
16. In towns without Wal-Marts that are close to towns with Wal-Marts, sales in general merchandise declined immediately after Wal-Mart stores opened. After ten years, sales declined by a cumulative 34%.[Kenneth Stone at Iowa State University, "Impact of the Wal-Mart Phenomenon on Rural Communities"]
17. When an employer pays low wages to its employees, the employees have less money to spend on goods and services in the community, which in turn reduces the income and spending of others in the community. In other words, a deduction in wages has a multiplier impact in the surrounding area. For instance, in 1999, Southern California municipalities estimated that for every dollar decrease in wages in the Southern California economy, $2.08 in spending was lost–the $1 decrease plus another $1.08 in indirect multiplie impacts.[The Impact of Big Box Grocers in Southern California" Dr. Marlong Boarnet and Dr. Randall Crane.]

    Big List of negative facts about Wal-Mart