Walmart's Healthcare Bomb

The National Retail Federation, along with almost every other conceivable business group, is clogging the papers this morning with vitriolic rebukes of Walmart's endorsement yesterday of employer mandated health care coverage.

In a statement accompanying a formal letter to President Obama, Walmart noted:

At Walmart, we believe in shared responsibility and support an employer mandate that is broad and fair. We believe the mandate should cover as many businesses as possible, and cover part-time as well as full-time employees. Any alternative to an employer mandate should not create barriers or disincentives to hiring workers with disabilities, entry level employees, or people from low income families.

We are entering a critical time where those of us who will be asked to pay for health care reform will have to make a choice on whether to support this legislation. The choice will require employers to consider the trade off of a coverage mandate and higher taxes for the promise of a reduction in health care cost increases. We also believe that a mandate must be accompanied by provisions that will reduce health costs and dramatically improve the value we get for our health care dollar.

Post Script - A different take on this move from this evening's The Atlantic Asymmetrical Information blog after a shot from my sister Debbie in San Francisco.