Okay, not really, but we’ve come close to the equivalent with this economically sane editoral from the Washington Post.
First, the background. Yesterday, I wrote about the bill currently pending before the Maryland legislature which would require Wal-Mart to provide health care to all of its employees. Today, the Washingon Post has this to say about the bill:
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.
Wow. Really, wow. Something like this coming from the Post almost makes me thing that all hope is not lost in the battle for liberty, especially when I read this parapgraph, which makes me think that Frederic Bastiat may have been reincarnated as a member of the Post editorial board:
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.
I’d like to be an optimist about this, but given what I know about Maryland politics, I fear that this incredibly stupid law may actually pass.
Technorati Tags: WalMart, Maryland, Health Care
