Wal-Mart Bill

Whaaa?
How could this happen? I can't believe a state government would try to dictate how much a private company must spend on health care for it's workers. Next they'll try to come up with how much they should be paid and how many hours they can work. O0ps they already do that don't they? This kind of thing has to stop somewhere.

Critics called it a dangerous precedent that ultimately would cost Maryland jobs.

It's nice that they threw in that sentence.

Update: The MD legislature overrode the governor's veto. Now this statute is law. WaPo has a nice editorial here.

The Maryland bill is a legislative mugging masquerading as an act of benevolent social engineering. It is true that skyrocketing health care costs and the growing ranks of uninsured workers represent a burden on the state's health system that other corporations in effect help subsidize. But Wal-Mart employees, like the employees of other large retailers that employ many low-wage workers, are only slightly more likely to collect Medicaid benefits than the national average. And unlovable as it may be, Wal-Mart serves low- and middle-income people, both by creating entry-level and part-time jobs for people who might otherwise be unemployed and by saving its moderate-income customers a staggering amount of money.

The legislation has prompted imitators in 30 states. Where it passes, no one should be surprised by unintended consequences. Wal-Mart and other targeted firms may shift jobs or planned facilities elsewhere. Many low-wage younger workers may still opt out of health coverage even if offered a more generous plan. In trying to address the national problems of health care and uninsured workers, lawmakers in Maryland and other states could inflict on themselves a new set of problems while failing to solve the underlying one.