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In a 2007 Wal-Mart report it was noted that nearly 5 percent of employees are on Medicare, about 2 percent were covered by Medicaid, and another 1 percent used an alternate state program. "I don't believe that our goal was ever to convince someone to move off of Medicare or their retirement plan . . . to Wal-Mart health-care coverage," said Linda M. Dillman, who oversees risk management and benefits for the retailer. Wal-Mart has tried to fight back against its negative public image by offering $4 generic prescription drugs. [Washington Post, 1/11/07]
The Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.
It is the Lord God who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
All of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up. - Isaiah 50:7-9
Voting in South Carolina and Nevada last weekend narrowed the Republican field to six. After the two InfoCision Management Corporation clients, Rep. Duncan Hunter of California and former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson both dropped out -- Hunter after receiving little support at the Nevada caucus and Thompson after coming in a distant third in the South Carolina primary. Hunter trailed all but one other Republican candidate at the end of the 3rd Quarter in fundraising, having raised a total of $1.9 million in the first nine months of the year. Thompson, who entered the race later than his competitors, raised a total $12.8 million. Thompson's most generous contributors included retirees, lawyers and the real estate industry. Hunter's included retirees, lawyers and lobbyists. He is retiring from Congress after this year.
*Presidential profile for Duncan Hunter: http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.asp?id=N00006983&cycle=2008
*Presidential profile for Fred Thompson: http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.asp?id=N00003136&cycle=2008
NUMBER OF PACS HAS INCREASED SLIGHTLY SINCE JULY
More than 4,200 political action committees are now registered with the Federal Election Commission, representing a 1.5 percent increase during the last six months of 2007, the FEC announced last week. The commission's semi-annual count of committees controlled by corporations, trade associations, labor unions and ideological groups has remained relatively constant for more than 20 years, hovering between 3,800 and 4,200 organizations. As new committees register, a roughly equal number close up shop. Corporate PACs remain the largest category, with 1,601 committees registered.
*FEC news release: http://www.fec.gov/press/press2008/20080117paccount.shtml
*OpenSecrets.org's PAC database: http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/index.asp
In January 2007, Wal-Mart released their health insurance coverage numbers for 2006 enrollment period. Wal-Mart reported it had 636,391 workers signed up for one of the company’s health-insurance plans during the fall enrollment period. However, Wal-Mart was quoted in newspapers the previous year citing employee coverage at 638,000. If the previous year’s count was accurate, employee enrollment declined 1.6 percent in the latest period. "That figure should never have been used," Wal-Mart spokesman Dan Fogleman said. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 1/12/07]
