Maryland Wal-Mart Law Struck Down

A federal judge struck down Maryland's law requiring stores like Wal-Mart to provide a certain level of funding for the health care coverage for its employees. The law was enacted because Wal-Mart, especially, pays its employees very little and covers few of them with benefits. States, as a consequence, must fund the health care for these working poor through state tax dollars with their Medicaid programs. This has become a massive corporate welfare program for Wal-Mart. Georgia alone has 11,000 Wal-Mart workers enrolled in Medicaid.

Maryland sought to limit this taxpayer subsidy by requiring certain employers to provide a certain level of funding if they do not provide health care benefits. The court determined this was the state interfering in regulation of interstate commerce. This is interesting due to conservative activism seeking to return such authority to states. Supreme Court justices Scalia, Thomas, Alito and Roberts are fervent supporters of this concept. Will they side with or against Wal-Mart if the appeal goes that far? Interesting..... The Walton family has bankrolled the right wing for many years.