Wal-Mart Is The Devil

[Daniel]

I'm not sure about that one. I know about a WWII guy who crashed his plane in Croatia and just came home.

I see very few movies in the theater but did go to see We Were Soldiers. I already had the book and have since listened to tapes of the reading of the book several times. I like the picture a lot. I have quite a few props that were used in the movie. Slowly selling them off though. I have way too much clutter.

one of the platoon sgts in my old company was an extra on that film when he was at benning. they paid him and a couple other guys like 300 bucks one day and all they did was put LBE's together.

[deerslayer]

And guess what....NO INSURANCE IS FREE!!!!!!!!!

Not true. UPS is also a major employer in the US, and most UPS employees get free insurance with great coverage. And they earn it.

[Marswolf]

I think most people understand that the insurance isn't free, it's just included as part of their compensation package.

[Marswolf]

WOW! All the fat jokes. Now I know better than to show up at one of these TGO meets.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2008-07-17-obesity-states_N.htm?csp=34

Southerners still most obese, CDC says

TOP 10 OBESE STATES

These are the 10 states with the highest levels of adult obesity, according to a 2007 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

1. Mississippi: 32%

2. Alabama: 30.3%

3. Tennessee: 30.1%

4. Louisiana: 29.8%

5. West Virginia: 29.5%

6. Arkansas: 28.7%

7. South Carolina: 28.4%

8. Georgia: 28.2%

9. Oklahoma: 28.1%

10. Texas: 28.1%

ATLANTA (AP) — Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee lead the nation when it comes to obesity, a new government survey reported Thursday.

More than 30% of adults in each of the states tipped the scales enough to ensure the South remains the nation's fattest region.

[G27]

"We're #3! We're #3! We're #3!"

[Luckyforward]

Let's go belly up to the breakfast bar at Shoney's to celebrate!

[Guest TNDixieGirl]

Not true. UPS is also a major employer in the US, and most UPS employees get free insurance with great coverage. And they earn it.

Oh good grief, and you seriously think that means its free????? That simply means UPS is paying for it.

[Marswolf]

Let's go belly up to the breakfast bar at Shoney's to celebrate!

One of our Shoney's just closed. I'm guessing that they couldn't make a profit with all of the super-eaters around here.

[Guest Hyaloid]

My major beef (and I haven't seen the movie) is the abuse by Wal-Mart of the political system.

More specifically, their greasing of the wheels to use the political machine, enacting 'imminent domain', to force privately owned properties to sell or close with hte promise of higher tax revenues for the local governments.

[saintsfanbrian]

Not true. UPS is also a major employer in the US, and most UPS employees get free insurance with great coverage. And they earn it.

And instead of UPS paying the employee part of their insurance they could be getting more an hour and having to pay it themselves.

Death of the country - Unions!

[Guest Hyaloid]

And instead of UPS paying the employee part of their insurance they could be getting more an hour and having to pay it themselves.

Death of the country - Unions!

That and government education, but I digress... back to bashing Wal-Mart!

[deerslayer]

Oh good grief, and you seriously think that means its free????? That simply means UPS is paying for it.

Yes, technically it is part of their overall compensation package. Whichever way you slice it, they are well-paid and don't have to pay deductions for insurance. Many people consider that to be free.

[deerslayer]

And instead of UPS paying the employee part of their insurance they could be getting more an hour and having to pay it themselves.

What's the difference?

[saintsfanbrian]

The difference is that the UPS employees do not know exactly how much they are "paying" for insurance. It could be that they could find other insurance elsewhere for cheaper.

[deerslayer]

The difference is that the UPS employees do not know exactly how much they are "paying" for insurance. It could be that they could find other insurance elsewhere for cheaper.

Maybe at another company, but if there is anything UPS is good at, it's saving money and getting huge discounts, especially if the company is footing the bill. Finding a better deal in certain areas is probably possible, but most would waste their time by shopping for cheaper insurance.

[TripleDigitRide]

The difference is that the UPS employees do not know exactly how much they are "paying" for insurance. It could be that they could find other insurance elsewhere for cheaper.

You obviously haven't priced insurance for yourself lately. The type of coverage many of us recieve from our employer is outrageous. Call a few insurance providers for some price quotes on plans simialr to that of the one you may get though your job.

Employers get a slightly discounted rate, because they have several employees joining with the insurance company. This is the main reason State employee's have such great coverage, at such a low cost. The sheer number of State employyees allow Tennessee and the insurance provider to come up with a much lower cost than an individual or a smaller company could obtain. Simply based on the number of employees employed with Wal-Mart, their coverage and cost could easily be much lower. The difference being, Wal-Mart chooses not to pay as much of a share as some emloyers might. UPS pays a much greater portion of their employees insurance premium. of course, that makes it cheaper on their employees.

I'm not sure of the exact figures, but I have fairly good insurance coverage though my employer. The cost to me is about $50/month, but the portion the company pays is several hundred dollars. They pay a huge chuck of the premiums. I can't say the same for our family plan. If I opted to add my daughter, my portion would increase by roughly $200/month. Instead, I opted for an indviduale plan through BCBS of TN. I went with a $60 plan. yes, that's cheap enough, but the deductible is $5000/year. Thankfully, she doesn't need a doctor very often.

[Guest db99wj]

When I took this job I looked at individual plans, a good friend of mine sells group health plans to companies and individual plans. I am also licensed to sell it and have been in or a related business since 2000. (I don't do it all anymore, since I got my new job last Sept.) Like I mentioned above, I pay right at $700 per month for really good family coverage. I looked at individual coverage through my friend and for family coverage, I would have paid about the same, just a little higher. People with families, that don't have employer benefits...I don't know how they do it.

[TripleDigitRide]

Oh, and UPS employees make VERY good money. It's not as if UPS is giving them the benefit of cheap/no cost insurance, only to pay them crap wages. A good friend of mine is a local/regional truck driver for UPS, and he's making a killin'. His brother loads the trucks at night, and I was shocked at how great he way being paid, too. Even many of the part-time employees make a great salary.

We had a night-shift warehouse guy who worked for UPS part-time. He was making more at UPS working part-time than he was working for us full-time. I don't know how much he was making with UPS, but he was making over $12.00/hr working for us. He was finally hired on full-time with UPS, and he's never looked back. There is a huge difference between UPS paying their grunts $14-$15+/hr, with great benefits, and Wal-Mart paying their grunts $7-$8/hr with benefits that Wal-Mart offers.

My father built an independant moving company from the ground up, and always took care of the employees. His employees had the best insurance money could buy, and also made a very nice salary. He built that company from a 2 bedroom duplex, hillbilly-type outift, into a well established money making company. Before selling the company 11 years later, he was able to generate very big profits and take care of his employees at the very same time. He also made a very nice chunk of change from the sale of his moving company. If a small buisness man can do it, so can/should companies like Wal-Mart.

[saintsfanbrian]

We can argue the insurance thing if you want I have priced it as I am a father and husband and for a time didn't have insurance.

Yes, I am sure that UPS gets great rates because of the shear number of employees that they have, but that doesn't mean that they couldn't get more benefit from having that money in their pocket. What if your wife works and has great benefits? What if I don't want insurance because I am an idiot. Do I get the money in my check?

[Rightwinger]

Kind of like why taxes are taken out of your check on the front end not paid by you quarterly or yearly. The government would never get their money if you first got your hands on it then had to write the check to cover their spending habits!

FAIR TAX ! read it, know it, push your legislators for it!

If you think the rich don't pay their fair share, you need to push for FAIR TAX as well. Basically consumption tax. If you buy more you pay more.

Its protectionary for low income as well. The lowest income households would actually receive money from the FED as the "poverty line" is established.

Ever wish you could choose your TAX provider?

[deerslayer]

We can argue the insurance thing if you want I have priced it as I am a father and husband and for a time didn't have insurance.

Yes, I am sure that UPS gets great rates because of the shear number of employees that they have, but that doesn't mean that they couldn't get more benefit from having that money in their pocket. What if your wife works and has great benefits? What if I don't want insurance because I am an idiot. Do I get the money in my check?

Nope, you'll get paid the same. The insurance is there if you want it; if not, don't sign up, but you'll still be paid the same.

[Smith]

Kind of like why taxes are taken out of your check on the front end not paid by you quarterly or yearly. The government would never get their money if you first got your hands on it then had to write the check to cover their spending habits!

FAIR TAX ! read it, know it, push your legislators for it!

If you think the rich don't pay their fair share, you need to push for FAIR TAX as well. Basically consumption tax. If you buy more you pay more.

Its protectionary for low income as well. The lowest income households would actually receive money from the FED as the "poverty line" is established.

Ever wish you could choose your TAX provider?

Yes they would. Being considered self-employed, I have to calculate and pay my own taxes every quarter or yearly. They are benevolent enough to give me that choice.

Nope, you'll get paid the same. The insurance is there if you want it; if not, don't sign up, but you'll still be paid the same.

I think that was the point. I would rather have a choice of those funds going to company insurance or my choice.

[Guest bkelm18]

Wow, this is pretty ridiculous. Arguing over Walmart. Here's a thought: Hate Walmart? Don't shop there. Like Walmart? Shop there. Seems like a pretty simple solution to me.