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Thank you from Iowa [2008-05-29]
Appreciate the good thoughts. While Ithank everyone who has said a prayer or donated time, money, goods--what a terrific country to live in. In times of trial, Americans truly show their best sides! :)
Christine
Iowa [2008-05-28]
I don't live in northeast Iowa where the big stuff happened recently, but thanks for thinking of my state. My husband's parents lost their house and most of their possessions a few years ago by a twister here in Iowa. They are real and sometimes not taken terribly seriously. I have spent many a storm looking at the green sky and the eerie calmness before the winds pick up instead of getting my butt to the basement. However, I think hurricanes and earthquakes look terrifying over a tornado, but they are all incredible, I imagine.
The saddest story to me was that two of the people killed in the recent tornado were elderly and it was thought that they couldn't make it to the basement, according to the local news. :(
Apparently paying my Iowa taxes [2008-01-31]
Man, they've gone up. Dang it all to heck.
Otherwise, I'll be using the difference by knocking out my small bills in anticipation of paying off our zillions of dollars worth of student loans in about 800 years.
I am originally from Iowa so I know whatcha mean. [2007-12-06]
My sister lives there now and is actually Wiccan. Can you imagine how well THAT goes over? LOL!
Iowa feels like fall too! [2007-09-13]
I just am not really thrilled for the thing that follows fall. I hate hate hate hate hate hate winter.
We were in the 40s temperature wise this morning. I have my portable heater toasting my toes when I work!
August 22nd for my 1st grader here in Iowa [2007-08-27]
nm
I have had the pleasure... [2008-11-09]
....of working in several nursing homes as a CNA and nurse before coming to medical transcription. It's hard work and usually staffing is sometimes paltry, even in the good homes, but we really do care. Really. Every place has bad eggs, the hospitals, home care, etc., but everyone usually has to have some sort of heart to work in a nursing home.
First things first...I always would check for jobs with this litmus test, and I recommend anyone do this. This is a make or break kind of ordeal. You look for the state inspection report. It HAS to be placed in a prominent place in the facility. If you cannot find it readily, ask where it is. If there is anything going on with hiding these documents, you leave and never come back. The other thing is to smell for stale urine or strong air fresheners. If you smell either of those, leave. (Do not check for BM smell--the smell often radiates and may be new, for lack of a better term.) Look at the residents. Do many of them seem content? Do you see aides with gait belts around their waists? Do the nurses look terribly stressed? Please also do not judge by tones of voices in the direct care staff. Often the staff must talk very directly, succintly, and abruptly--it sometimes comes off as harsh, but it's not--for particular residents to hear and/or understand.
If you go in a facility in the evening, often the place is chaotic, particularly if there are demented residents. There is a condition known as sundowning that is very, very real. The ones with dementia who are sundowning may give the impression that care is not being given due to the chaos and behaviors brought by the condition. It's not the case. Usually these residents are kept in common areas until they are calm enough to retire for the night.
If you go in the nighttime, often there is one night nurse for about 65ish residents. If you are so inclined to come in at this time and do not see anyone at the nurse's station for some time, know that the nurse may be tending to a medical issue and the CNAs are tending to personal care of the residents.
If you ever see nurses eating a sandwich in one hand and writing in another hand while sitting at the nurse's station, this is sometimes the only break he or she gets. It's not out of disrespect that this is done. It is so that nurse can care for the residents as best as he or she can.
What you are describing in your original post, unfortunately, is quite common, from what I have seen. Two people who are married a long time will often pass not too far apart. It seems people often do decide when they will go. As a nurse, it's one of the more incredible things I've seen. When I saw it happen, I always had the sense there is an extremely strong bond between the spouses that absolutely nothing could break. I'm not trying to say anything is amiss with your mother. I'm not. It doesn't always happen that way. I hope I don't come off that way. I'm sorry you are going through this, because no one wants to send a loved one to the nursing home, yet caring for an ailing parent is one of the most stressful things anyone can experience. I have never been in your position, so I hope I don't come off as too forward, rude, or presumptuous, but I wanted to tell you a little more about what you may be getting into.
If you live in Iowa, I'd recommend you to a great one that has the best nurse I've ever met working there now. He has cooked up oyster soup in our kitchen when a resident stopped eating because the resident loved oyster soup. He has taken residents fishing for the heck of it. He wears a scrub shirt with chickens on it because many of our residents were farmers and like the shirt (and because my husband has a silly sense of humor and a wife with a sewing machine). I've known CNAs who buy (with their own money) residents pop and even steak just because the resident wanted it and could have it. Shoot, lots of us do it, even when we don't have a lot of money to our names. I loved to sing with the residents that had dementia (music seems to be retained) and chat about life with the residents who had their faculties. I promise it's not all doom and gloom. Sure, nursing homes could do better, but if you find the right one, it may just work out.
All my best to you and your mother.
I'm making costumes this year (SM) [2008-09-25]
My two youngest daughters love to dress up with their costumes after Halloween, but the costumes from the stores fall apart after only a few wearings. I figure if I make them, they'll last at least a few months longer!
INurses are Tweet, my middle daughter (4) picked out Bugs Bunny saying What My littlest daughter (2) picked out Dora the Explorer. I'm making them roomy enough so they can layer all kinds of warm stuff underneath their scrubs--Iowa is COLD during Trick or Treating!
I am also buying them cheapo single-head stethoscopes for $5 each. I figure I'll spend about the same amount on the material, pattern, notions, etc., as I will to buying a costume that will fall apart soon after H'ween.
Hubby is asking me for a new fall scrub shirt to wear to work, too, so hopefully I'll get it done too on time.
I'm reading Little Heathens by Mildred Armstrong Kalish [2008-08-01]
It's from a woman about her growing up on an Iowa farm in the 1930s. The title is her grandmother's nickname for her and her siblings. It is littered with recipes and tips for things (like how to keep a pie crust from getting soggy). It's quite interesting and hard for me to imagine such a life!
I previously read Randy Pausch's book The Last Lecture, and I recommend that book wholeheartedly.
Ha! [2008-06-21]
First... I don't claim him. I think he's a tyrant to put it nicely and I think he is a warmonging hillbilly (and that's sad for the hillbillies because they are decent folk he gives a bad name). I told everyone not to vote for him last time... I tried to warn them. I didn't want him and he hasn't done anything to help me our my friends and family in the slightest, except make us look ridiculous on the international stage (which I can say because I live in Europe at the moment and I know how foolish they think us right now). Second, good for you. Maybe you should vote for McCain so that the pain (errr I mean pleasure) never ends. I bet the people that he's been against and not fought for (i.e., Katrina victims, Iowa flood victims, homosexuals, people with diseases that stem cell reasearch could help, innocent people in far off lands that lost family members and friends who were innocent victims) I bet they all share your same sentiments.. right? You can have him.. I bet right about now he's half price on the discount rack anyways! Third... you should be grateful she put creatrue. Its probably how Bush spells and says it, so its a true representation. Fourth... I think the last time I checked it was a free country with free speech and allowed for people to have their own opinions. I have better names to call him than childish ones... but I won't use them since your so easily offended... are you his personal emotional filter? I doubt he cares what the American people call him... he's certainly proven he doesn't care what they think or how they feel... so why should we care about him? Thanks back atcha. I can have whatever opinion I want of the president and I can tell you, I am more the majority than you are.
Thank you from Iowa [2008-05-29]
Appreciate the good thoughts. While Ithank everyone who has said a prayer or donated time, money, goods--what a terrific country to live in. In times of trial, Americans truly show their best sides! :)
Christine
Iowa [2008-05-28]
I don't live in northeast Iowa where the big stuff happened recently, but thanks for thinking of my state. My husband's parents lost their house and most of their possessions a few years ago by a twister here in Iowa. They are real and sometimes not taken terribly seriously. I have spent many a storm looking at the green sky and the eerie calmness before the winds pick up instead of getting my butt to the basement. However, I think hurricanes and earthquakes look terrifying over a tornado, but they are all incredible, I imagine.
The saddest story to me was that two of the people killed in the recent tornado were elderly and it was thought that they couldn't make it to the basement, according to the local news. :(
My heart and best wishes go out for Iowans [2008-05-27]
Can So much destruction everywhere. Amazing stories of how people survived whiletheir houses ripped off the foundation while they survived in the basement. I look around at my own space here and can Iearthquakes and hurricanes, but I don Wishing everyone in Iowa and all the tornado states the best.
Linda Chavez has great articles and makes a lot of sense. [2008-04-19]
This is long but I think worth it.
As if a housing crisis, rising energy costs and a soft labor market weren't enough to cause economic anxiety for the average American, now consumers are feeling the pinch of rapidly escalating food costs. The United States has long prided itself in being the breadbasket of the world, and Americans have traditionally paid a smaller share of their income on food than citizens of other developed countries. But the days of cheap milk, bread, beef and poultry may well be over — and Uncle Sam is partly to blame.
In 2007, the cost of a gallon of milk increased 26 percent; eggs went up 40 percent; and a loaf of white bread went from $1.05 to $1.28 from 2006 to 2008. Steep increases in the price of oil have contributed to these higher costs, but the federal government has played a pernicious role as well. By mandating that oil companies increase the amount of ethanol they blend with gasoline, the government has not only artificially increased the cost of corn, which is what most U.S. ethanol is made of, but has driven up the cost of other grains as well. Inflated corn prices encourage farmers to divert more acreage to corn, which means they plant less soy and wheat, which, in turn, drives the prices of those commodities up as well. The aggregate price of wheat, corn, soy oil and soy meal in the U.S. will be $61.7 billion higher in the 2007/2008 crop year than it was in 2005/2006.
Corn prices affect a host of other food prices as well. If you've ever looked at the ingredient labels on everything from bologna to canned tomato soup, you'll see that corn syrup is a common ingredient of many processed foods. Corn is also a common grain used in feed for cattle, poultry and hogs. As a result, prices for meat and poultry are going up, but even with higher prices, some companies in the meat industry still can't make a profit, and many are being forced to cut jobs and close plants. I've seen this firsthand as a member of the board of directors of Pilgrim's Pride, the nation's largest chicken producer, where we have already had to shut down one plant and close six distribution centers to cope with record losses directly attributable to soaring feed costs.
But what is most galling about the impact of government mandated ethanol production is that it does little or nothing to solve our energy problems.
Ethanol proponents argue that it is cleaner than petroleum — which improves air quality — and that it and other alternative fuels will reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Both claims are dubious.
Corn-based ethanol is inefficient as a fuel for automobiles, reducing vehicle gas mileage by 20-30 percent in vehicles using E85, the highest ethanol content fuel. Fewer miles-per-gallon of gas essentially eliminates any savings achieved, even by mixing ethanol with gasoline in the lower 9 percent ethanol blends required in all U.S. gasoline today. And of course, it also takes energy to produce ethanol — for farming and distilling the corn and transporting the final product to the pump — and much of that energy will come from carbon-based fuels.
None of these arguments has stopped the aggressive ethanol lobby from getting its way with Congress, however, and pressure increases in presidential election years as Iowa farmers encourage candidates to pledge allegiance to ethanol during the Iowa caucuses.
If ethanol really were the miracle fuel its proponents claim, you'd think there would be huge profits in producing it in the free market. But that's not the case. Consumers not only pay for ethanol at the pump, they're paying taxes as well to subsidize ethanol production in the U.S. — and they're paying a hidden tax to keep cheaper, foreign sugar cane ethanol from competing with the domestic corn-based product. Subsidies to gasoline blenders amount to about 51 cents per gallon, and the government imposes a 54-cent tariff on foreign ethanol so that it can't provide a cheaper alternative for U.S. consumers.
And matters will only get worse as government mandates higher bio-fuel content in U.S. gasoline from the current 9 percent to 15 percent by 2015. Ethanol won't solve the energy crisis, but it may well lead to a food crisis in the U.S. and elsewhere. The U.S. Agency for International Development reports that the cost of providing wheat, corn, cereal and other foodstuffs to poor nations has gone up 41 percent since October 2007, which will mean we can provide less assistance to starving people around the world. Federal policy is literally diverting food from the table to the gas tank — and it's time we stopped it.
Linda Chavez is the author of An Unlikely Conservative: The Transformation of an Ex-Liberal. To find out more about Linda Chavez, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
as well as Harding(R) and Clinton (D)...lm [2008-02-19]
Name and (party)1
Term
State ofbirth
Born
Died
Religion2
Age atinaug.
Age atdeath
1.
Washington (F)3
1789–1797
Va.
2/22/1732
12/14/1799
Episcopalian
57
67
2.
J. Adams (F)
1797–1801
Mass.
10/30/1735
7/4/1826
Unitarian
61
90
3.
Jefferson (DR)
1801–1809
Va.
4/13/1743
7/4/1826
Deist
57
83
4.
Madison (DR)
1809–1817
Va.
3/16/1751
6/28/1836
Episcopalian
57
85
5.
Monroe (DR)
1817–1825
Va.
4/28/1758
7/4/1831
Episcopalian
58
73
6.
J. Q. Adams (DR)
1825–1829
Mass.
7/11/1767
2/23/1848
Unitarian
57
80
7.
Jackson (D)
1829–1837
S.C.
3/15/1767
6/8/1845
Presbyterian
61
78
8.
Van Buren (D)
1837–1841
N.Y.
12/5/1782
7/24/1862
Reformed Dutch
54
79
9.
W. H. Harrison (W)4
1841
Va.
2/9/1773
4/4/1841
Episcopalian
68
68
10.
Tyler (W)
1841–1845
Va.
3/29/1790
1/18/1862
Episcopalian
51
71
11.
Polk (D)
1845–1849
N.C.
11/2/1795
6/15/1849
Methodist
49
53
12.
Taylor (W)4
1849–1850
Va.
11/24/1784
7/9/1850
Episcopalian
64
65
13.
Fillmore (W)
1850–1853
N.Y.
1/7/1800
3/8/1874
Unitarian
50
74
14.
Pierce (D)
1853–1857
N.H.
11/23/1804
10/8/1869
Episcopalian
48
64
15.
Buchanan (D)
1857–1861
Pa.
4/23/1791
6/1/1868
Presbyterian
65
77
16.
Lincoln (R)5
1861–1865
Ky.
2/12/1809
4/15/1865
Liberal
52
56
17.
A. Johnson (U)6
1865–1869
N.C.
12/29/1808
7/31/1875
(7)
56
66
18.
Grant (R)
1869–1877
Ohio
4/27/1822
7/23/1885
Methodist
46
63
19.
Hayes (R)
1877–1881
Ohio
10/4/1822
1/17/1893
Methodist
54
70
20.
Garfield (R)5
1881
Ohio
11/19/1831
9/19/1881
Disciples of Christ
49
49
21.
Arthur (R)
1881–1885
Vt.
10/5/1829
11/18/1886
Episcopalian
50
56
22.
Cleveland (D)
1885–1889
N.J.
3/18/1837
6/24/1908
Presbyterian
47
71
23.
B. Harrison (R)
1889–1893
Ohio
8/20/1833
3/13/1901
Presbyterian
55
67
24.
Cleveland (D)8
1893–1897
N.J.
3/18/1837
6/24/1908
Presbyterian
55
71
25.
McKinley (R)5
1897–1901
Ohio
1/29/1843
9/14/1901
Methodist
54
58
26.
T. Roosevelt (R)
1901–1909
N.Y.
10/27/1858
1/6/1919
Reformed Dutch
42
60
27.
Taft (R)
1909–1913
Ohio
9/15/1857
3/8/1930
Unitarian
51
72
28.
Wilson (D)
1913–1921
Va.
12/28/1856
2/3/1924
Presbyterian
56
67
29.
Harding (R)4
1921–1923
Ohio
11/2/1865
8/2/1923
Baptist
55
57
30.
Coolidge (R)
1923–1929
Vt.
7/4/1872
1/5/1933
Congregationalist
51
60
31.
Hoover (R)
1929–1933
Iowa
8/10/1874
10/20/1964
Quaker
54
90
32.
F. D. Roosevelt (D)4
1933–1945
N.Y.
1/30/1882
4/12/1945
Episcopalian
51
63
33.
Truman (D)
1945–1953
Mo.
5/8/1884
12/26/1972
Baptist
60
88
34.
Eisenhower (R)
1953–1961
Tex.
10/14/1890
3/28/1969
Presbyterian
62
78
35.
Kennedy (D)5
1961–1963
Mass.
5/29/1917
11/22/1963
Roman Catholic
43
46
36.
L. B. Johnson (D)
1963–1969
Tex.
8/27/1908
1/22/1973
Disciples of Christ
55
64
37.
Nixon (R)9
1969–1974
Calif.
1/9/1913
4/22/1994
Quaker
56
81
38.
Ford (R)
1974–1977
Neb.
7/14/1913
12/26/2006
Episcopalian
61
—
39.
Carter (D)
1977–1981
Ga.
10/1/1924
—
Southern Baptist
52
—
40.
Reagan (R)
1981–1989
Ill.
2/6/1911
6/5/2004
Disciples of Christ
69
93
41.
G.H.W. Bush (R)
1989–1993
Mass.
6/12/1924
—
Episcopalian
64
—
42.
Clinton (D)
1993–2001
Ark.
8/19/1946
—
Baptist
46
—
43.
G. W. Bush (R)
2001–
Conn.
7/6/46
—
Methodist
54
—
here's the list...it would be great if this country were ready for a female or black prez... [2008-02-19]
but it just ain Daughter of a politician (so Iknow how it rolls) Cat
Name and (party)1
Term
State ofbirth
Born
Died
Religion2
Age atinaug.
Age atdeath
1.
Washington (F)3
1789–1797
Va.
2/22/1732
12/14/1799
Episcopalian
57
67
2.
J. Adams (F)
1797–1801
Mass.
10/30/1735
7/4/1826
Unitarian
61
90
3.
Jefferson (DR)
1801–1809
Va.
4/13/1743
7/4/1826
Deist
57
83
4.
Madison (DR)
1809–1817
Va.
3/16/1751
6/28/1836
Episcopalian
57
85
5.
Monroe (DR)
1817–1825
Va.
4/28/1758
7/4/1831
Episcopalian
58
73
6.
J. Q. Adams (DR)
1825–1829
Mass.
7/11/1767
2/23/1848
Unitarian
57
80
7.
Jackson (D)
1829–1837
S.C.
3/15/1767
6/8/1845
Presbyterian
61
78
8.
Van Buren (D)
1837–1841
N.Y.
12/5/1782
7/24/1862
Reformed Dutch
54
79
9.
W. H. Harrison (W)4
1841
Va.
2/9/1773
4/4/1841
Episcopalian
68
68
10.
Tyler (W)
1841–1845
Va.
3/29/1790
1/18/1862
Episcopalian
51
71
11.
Polk (D)
1845–1849
N.C.
11/2/1795
6/15/1849
Methodist
49
53
12.
Taylor (W)4
1849–1850
Va.
11/24/1784
7/9/1850
Episcopalian
64
65
13.
Fillmore (W)
1850–1853
N.Y.
1/7/1800
3/8/1874
Unitarian
50
74
14.
Pierce (D)
1853–1857
N.H.
11/23/1804
10/8/1869
Episcopalian
48
64
15.
Buchanan (D)
1857–1861
Pa.
4/23/1791
6/1/1868
Presbyterian
65
77
16.
Lincoln (R)5
1861–1865
Ky.
2/12/1809
4/15/1865
Liberal
52
56
17.
A. Johnson (U)6
1865–1869
N.C.
12/29/1808
7/31/1875
(7)
56
66
18.
Grant (R)
1869–1877
Ohio
4/27/1822
7/23/1885
Methodist
46
63
19.
Hayes (R)
1877–1881
Ohio
10/4/1822
1/17/1893
Methodist
54
70
20.
Garfield (R)5
1881
Ohio
11/19/1831
9/19/1881
Disciples of Christ
49
49
21.
Arthur (R)
1881–1885
Vt.
10/5/1829
11/18/1886
Episcopalian
50
56
22.
Cleveland (D)
1885–1889
N.J.
3/18/1837
6/24/1908
Presbyterian
47
71
23.
B. Harrison (R)
1889–1893
Ohio
8/20/1833
3/13/1901
Presbyterian
55
67
24.
Cleveland (D)8
1893–1897
N.J.
3/18/1837
6/24/1908
Presbyterian
55
71
25.
McKinley (R)5
1897–1901
Ohio
1/29/1843
9/14/1901
Methodist
54
58
26.
T. Roosevelt (R)
1901–1909
N.Y.
10/27/1858
1/6/1919
Reformed Dutch
42
60
27.
Taft (R)
1909–1913
Ohio
9/15/1857
3/8/1930
Unitarian
51
72
28.
Wilson (D)
1913–1921
Va.
12/28/1856
2/3/1924
Presbyterian
56
67
29.
Harding (R)4
1921–1923
Ohio
11/2/1865
8/2/1923
Baptist
55
57
30.
Coolidge (R)
1923–1929
Vt.
7/4/1872
1/5/1933
Congregationalist
51
60
31.
Hoover (R)
1929–1933
Iowa
8/10/1874
10/20/1964
Quaker
54
90
32.
F. D. Roosevelt (D)4
1933–1945
N.Y.
1/30/1882
4/12/1945
Episcopalian
51
63
33.
Truman (D)
1945–1953
Mo.
5/8/1884
12/26/1972
Baptist
60
88
34.
Eisenhower (R)
1953–1961
Tex.
10/14/1890
3/28/1969
Presbyterian
62
78
35.
Kennedy (D)5
1961–1963
Mass.
5/29/1917
11/22/1963
Roman Catholic
43
46
36.
L. B. Johnson (D)
1963–1969
Tex.
8/27/1908
1/22/1973
Disciples of Christ
55
64
37.
Nixon (R)9
1969–1974
Calif.
1/9/1913
4/22/1994
Quaker
56
81
38.
Ford (R)
1974–1977
Neb.
7/14/1913
12/26/2006
Episcopalian
61
—
39.
Carter (D)
1977–1981
Ga.
10/1/1924
—
Southern Baptist
52
—
40.
Reagan (R)
1981–1989
Ill.
2/6/1911
6/5/2004
Disciples of Christ
69
93
41.
G.H.W. Bush (R)
1989–1993
Mass.
6/12/1924
—
Episcopalian
64
—
42.
Clinton (D)
1993–2001
Ark.
8/19/1946
—
Baptist
46
—
43.
G. W. Bush (R)
2001–
Conn.
7/6/46
—
Methodist
54
—
i can't get this list to print out for nothin...last ditch effort. [2008-02-19]
Name and (party)1
Term
State ofbirth
Born
Died
Religion2
Age atinaug.
Age atdeath
1.
Washington (F)3
1789–1797
Va.
2/22/1732
12/14/1799
Episcopalian
57
67
2.
J. Adams (F)
1797–1801
Mass.
10/30/1735
7/4/1826
Unitarian
61
90
3.
Jefferson (DR)
1801–1809
Va.
4/13/1743
7/4/1826
Deist
57
83
4.
Madison (DR)
1809–1817
Va.
3/16/1751
6/28/1836
Episcopalian
57
85
5.
Monroe (DR)
1817–1825
Va.
4/28/1758
7/4/1831
Episcopalian
58
73
6.
J. Q. Adams (DR)
1825–1829
Mass.
7/11/1767
2/23/1848
Unitarian
57
80
7.
Jackson (D)
1829–1837
S.C.
3/15/1767
6/8/1845
Presbyterian
61
78
8.
Van Buren (D)
1837–1841
N.Y.
12/5/1782
7/24/1862
Reformed Dutch
54
79
9.
W. H. Harrison (W)4
1841
Va.
2/9/1773
4/4/1841
Episcopalian
68
68
10.
Tyler (W)
1841–1845
Va.
3/29/1790
1/18/1862
Episcopalian
51
71
11.
Polk (D)
1845–1849
N.C.
11/2/1795
6/15/1849
Methodist
49
53
12.
Taylor (W)4
1849–1850
Va.
11/24/1784
7/9/1850
Episcopalian
64
65
13.
Fillmore (W)
1850–1853
N.Y.
1/7/1800
3/8/1874
Unitarian
50
74
14.
Pierce (D)
1853–1857
N.H.
11/23/1804
10/8/1869
Episcopalian
48
64
15.
Buchanan (D)
1857–1861
Pa.
4/23/1791
6/1/1868
Presbyterian
65
77
16.
Lincoln (R)5
1861–1865
Ky.
2/12/1809
4/15/1865
Liberal
52
56
17.
A. Johnson (U)6
1865–1869
N.C.
12/29/1808
7/31/1875
(7)
56
66
18.
Grant (R)
1869–1877
Ohio
4/27/1822
7/23/1885
Methodist
46
63
19.
Hayes (R)
1877–1881
Ohio
10/4/1822
1/17/1893
Methodist
54
70
20.
Garfield (R)5
1881
Ohio
11/19/1831
9/19/1881
Disciples of Christ
49
49
21.
Arthur (R)
1881–1885
Vt.
10/5/1829
11/18/1886
Episcopalian
50
56
22.
Cleveland (D)
1885–1889
N.J.
3/18/1837
6/24/1908
Presbyterian
47
71
23.
B. Harrison (R)
1889–1893
Ohio
8/20/1833
3/13/1901
Presbyterian
55
67
24.
Cleveland (D)8
1893–1897
N.J.
3/18/1837
6/24/1908
Presbyterian
55
71
25.
McKinley (R)5
1897–1901
Ohio
1/29/1843
9/14/1901
Methodist
54
58
26.
T. Roosevelt (R)
1901–1909
N.Y.
10/27/1858
1/6/1919
Reformed Dutch
42
60
27.
Taft (R)
1909–1913
Ohio
9/15/1857
3/8/1930
Unitarian
51
72
28.
Wilson (D)
1913–1921
Va.
12/28/1856
2/3/1924
Presbyterian
56
67
29.
Harding (R)4
1921–1923
Ohio
11/2/1865
8/2/1923
Baptist
55
57
30.
Coolidge (R)
1923–1929
Vt.
7/4/1872
1/5/1933
Congregationalist
51
60
31.
Hoover (R)
1929–1933
Iowa
8/10/1874
10/20/1964
Quaker
54
90
32.
F. D. Roosevelt (D)4
1933–1945
N.Y.
1/30/1882
4/12/1945
Episcopalian
51
63
33.
Truman (D)
1945–1953
Mo.
5/8/1884
12/26/1972
Baptist
60
88
34.
Eisenhower (R)
1953–1961
Tex.
10/14/1890
3/28/1969
Presbyterian
62
78
35.
Kennedy (D)5
1961–1963
Mass.
5/29/1917
11/22/1963
Roman Catholic
43
46
36.
L. B. Johnson (D)
1963–1969
Tex.
8/27/1908
1/22/1973
Disciples of Christ
55
64
37.
Nixon (R)9
1969–1974
Calif.
1/9/1913
4/22/1994
Quaker
56
81
38.
Ford (R)
1974–1977
Neb.
7/14/1913
12/26/2006
Episcopalian
61
—
39.
Carter (D)
1977–1981
Ga.
10/1/1924
—
Southern Baptist
52
—
40.
Reagan (R)
1981–1989
Ill.
2/6/1911
6/5/2004
Disciples of Christ
69
93
41.
G.H.W. Bush (R)
1989–1993
Mass.
6/12/1924
—
Episcopalian
64
—
42.
Clinton (D)
1993–2001
Ark.
8/19/1946
—
Baptist
46
—
43.
G. W. Bush (R)
2001–
Conn.
7/6/46
—
Methodist
54
—
Count my butt in too! [2007-12-06]
I'm in Iowa and it's hard to find atheists who will come out of the closet here.
college son [2007-10-20]
My son He spent years finding his niche. Flight attendant, waiter, retail clerk. Constantly broke, moving absolutely continually between IL, NY, IA and MO. Drove us nuts. After a few moves, I stopped helping with moves - if you want to move, get your friends to help. After bleeding his dad (we were divorced, then he died) and my mom (you know the ask grandma thing) practically dry, he finally had to grow up. Went to hair college in Iowa and has been working his tail off ever since. It took him years to mature, years of poor choices, years of being poor to finally realize that his life was up to him, not anyone else. He is now totally responsible - I am so proud of him. For the past 2 years in a row, he has earned the Iliinois Times Springfield title for hair stylist. Quite an honor. Your son will be okay. Some young guys don Hang in there.
Know exactly where yer at. [2007-08-21]
My sister-in-law lives outside of Thompson Falls. We go there often for vacation (live in Washington). Love to live there someday if my husband could make some money there...can't live off of MT salary!! Plus, I dunno about the hot/cold seasons but originally from Iowa...I'm sure it'll come back to me!
Hey, Hayseed, here's somethin' for ya. [2007-08-16]
While growing up in Iowa, during the summer we would walk corn or walk beans for some cash. This one time I was killing thistle with a machete when one of these disgusting fartknockers climbed up my leg. Wouldn't you know, I was so freaked out I whacked my leg with the machete?!!? Luckily, the machete was pretty dull, but gave myself a good gash!!
Dork at 15 and still a dork...
Mommamia....fartknockers?! LMAO! [2007-08-16]
This board is killin Good stuff! Ismarted a little bit...probably way more than a spider bite ever would. I
Unhappy camper, you know, this is the first year without chickens so maybe that I need to find me some morechickens and fast!
Any commercial with Billy Mays (sm) [2007-06-27]
Hi, I Why does the TV go louder when he
There was a commercial a few years back for a dishwashing soap where this dog was slurping his big tongue all over theplates to preclean them. NASTY. I had to turn that one off everytime I saw it.
I We I
Craftmatic beds, Chia Pets, The Clapper, etc., are cheesy but classic.
The Daisy sour cream commercials used to be on nearly constantly. The theme song would grind into my memory. No, I did not want a dollop of Daisy.
I What a goon.
Palmer is right... [2007-05-16]
That's where my chiropractor/former boss went to school in Iowa.
I learned from my grandma's and we did that for my FIL. [2007-03-27]
His service was the best...just friends telling stories about him. I think the reason for the saving is because my grandma's funeral was in Iowa. Plus, honestly, I didn't expect that. It was horrible.
Since you asked. [2006-12-11]
If low prices are your top priority, then Wal-Mart may be the place for you; however, I think far too many people make the decision to shop at there without knowing all the facts. If after knowing how Wal-Mart is run they still choose to shop there, that's their choice. We do live in a free country after all. I simply care more about other things besides the lowest price, that's all. (By the way, I am nowhere near wealthy, in case that's what you're thinking. I am a single mom raising 3 children, even putting one through private boarding school, but I am very conscious about whose businesses I support. I pay a little more to shop elsewhere, but that extra price is worth the piece of mind in knowing that I am supporting companies that are good for the environment, our economy, and mankind in general. Sometimes it costs more to do the right things, and I'm okay with that.)
I hope this is helpful to you. :)
(This is from the following website: wakeupwalmart.com)
A Substantial Number of Wal-Mart Associates earn far below the poverty line
* In 2001, sales associates, the most common job in Wal-Mart, earned on average $8.23 an hour for annual wages of $13,861. The 2001 poverty line for a family of three was $14,630. [“Is Wal-Mart Too Powerful?”, Business Week, 10/6/03, US Dept of Health and Human Services 2001 Poverty Guidelines, 2001]
* A 2003 wage analysis reported that cashiers, the second most common job, earn approximately $7.92 per hour and work 29 hours a week. This brings in annual wages of only $11,948. [“Statistical Analysis of Gender Patterns in Wal-Mart’s Workforce”, Dr. Richard Drogin 2003]
Wal-Mart Associates don't earn enough to support a family
* The average two-person family (one parent and one child) needed $27,948 to meet basic needs in 2005, well above what Wal-Mart reports that its average full-time associate earns. Wal-Mart claimed that its average associate earned $9.68 an hour in 2005. That would make the average associate's annual wages $17,114. [“Basic Family Budget Calculator” online at www.epinet.org]
Wage increases would cost Wal-Mart relatively little
* Wal-Mart can cover the cost of a dollar an hour wage increase by raising prices a half penny per dollar. For instance, a $2.00 pair of socks would then cost $2.01. This minimal increase would annually add up to $1,800 for each employee. [Analysis of Wal-Mart Annual Report 2005]
Wal-Mart forces employees to work off-the-clock
* Wal-Mart’s 2006 Annual Report reported that the company faced 57 wage and hour lawsuits. Major lawsuits have either been won or are working their way through the legal process in states such as California, Indiana, Minnesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington. [Wal-Mart Annual Report 2006]
* In December 2005, a California court ordered Wal-Mart to pay $172 million in damages for failing to provide meal breaks to nearly 116,000 hourly workers as required under state law. Wal-Mart appealed the case. [The New York Times, December 23, 2005]
* A Pennsylvania court, also in December 2005, approved a class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. by employees in Pennsylvania who say the company pressured them to work off the clock. The class could grow to include nearly 150,000 current or former employees. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, January 12, 2006 ]
* In Pennsylvania, the lead plaintiff alleges she worked through breaks and after quitting time — eight to 12 unpaid hours a month, on average — to meet Wal-Mart’s work demands. “One of Wal-Mart’s undisclosed secrets for its profitability is its creation and implementation of a system that encourages off-the-clock work for its hourly employees,” Dolores Hummel, who worked at a Sam’s Club in Reading from 1992-2002, charged in her suit. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, January 12, 2006 ]
Wal-Mart executives did not act on warnings they were violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
* Wal-Mart has known for years of a massive companywide problem of fair labor standards violations but did not take sufficient steps to address the problem. An internal Wal-Mart audit of one week of time records in 2000 from 25,000 employees had alerted Wal-Mart officials to potential violations. The audit found 60,767 missed breaks and 15,705 lost meal times. It also alerted Wal-Mart executives to 1,371 instances of minors working too late, during school hours, or for too many hours in a day. [Steven Greenhouse, “Suits Say Wal-Mart Forces Workers to Toil Off the Clock,” New York Times, A1, 6/25/02]
* Despite this knowledge, Wal-Mart had to settle in January 2005 for violations that took place from 1998 to 2002, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $135,540 to settle U.S. Dept. of Labor charges that the company had violated provisions against minors operating hazardous machinery. [Ann Zimmerman, “Wal-Mart's Labor Agreement Is Criticized by Former Official,” Wall Street Journal, 2/15/05]
* In March 2005, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $11 million to settle allegations that it had failed to pay overtime to janitors, many of whom worked seven nights a week. [Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 11/7/05, Forbes, 10/10/05]
* The State of Connecticut, investigating Wal-Mart’s child labor practices after the federal investigation ended, found 11 more violations. In June 2005, Connecticut fined Wal-Mart Stores Inc. $3,300 over child labor violations after a state investigation found that some minors lacked proper paperwork and were operating hazardous equipment at the stores. [“Wal-Mart Is Fined for Child Labor Violations,” Bloomberg News, June 22, 2005]
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Wal-Mart and Health Care
Download the Wal-Mart and Health Care Flyer - PDF
Wal-Mart’s Health Care Plan Fails to Cover Over 775,000 Employees
* Wal-Mart reported in January 2006 that its health insurance only covers 43% of their employees. Wal-Mart has approximately 1.39 million US employees. [http://www.walmartfacts.com/docs/1625_jan2006healthcarebackgrounders_576890240.pdf]
Wal-Mart’s Health Insurance Falls Far Short of Other Large Companies
* On average for 2005, large companies (200 or more workers) cover approximately 66% of their employees. If Wal-Mart was to reach the average coverage rate, Wal-Mart should be covering an additional 318,000 employees [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005 and http://www.walmartfacts.com/docs/1625_jan2006healthcarebackgrounders_576890240.pdf].
Wal-Mart’s Health Care Eligibility is Restrictive
* Part-timers—anybody below 34 hours a week – must wait 1 year before they can enroll. Moreover, spouses of part-time employees are ineligible for family health care coverage for 2006. [Wal-Mart Stores, “My Benefits, New Peak Time Benefits Making ad Difference For You,” 2006]
* Full-time hourly employees must wait 180 days (approximately 6 months) before being able to enroll in Wal-Mart’s health insurance plan. Managers have no waiting period. [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide]
* Nationally, the average wait time for new employees to become eligible is 1.7 months. For the retail industry it is 3.0 months. [Kaiser Family Foundation & Health Research and Educational Trust, 2005]
All of Wal-Mart’s Health Plan’s Are Too Costly for Its Workers to Use
* Since the average full-time Wal-Mart employee earned $17,114 in 2005, he or she would have to spend between 7 and 25 percent of his or her income just to cover the premiums and medical deductibles, if electing for single coverage. [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide and UFCW analysis]
* The average full-time employee electing for family coverage would have to spend between 22 and 40 percent of his or her income just to cover the premiums and medical deductibles. These costs do not include other health-related expenses such as medical co-pays, prescription coverage, emergency room deductibles, and ambulance deductibles. [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide and UFCW Analysis].
* Wal-Mart trumps the affordability of its new health care plan. According to Wal-Mart, “In January [2006], …Coverage will be available for as little as $22 per month for individuals” [www.walmartfacts.com]
* What Wal-Mart’s website leaves out: Coverage is affordable, but using it will bankrupt many employees. Wal-Mart’s most affordable plan for 2006 includes a $1,000 deductible for single coverage and a $3,000 deductible for family coverage ($1,000 deductible per person covered up to $3,000). [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide]
Wal-Mart Admits Public Health Care is a “Better Value”
* President and CEO Lee Scott said in 2005, In some of our states, the public program may actually be a better value - with relatively high income limits to qualify, and low premiums. [Transcript Lee Scott Speech 4/5/05]
Wal-Mart’s Health Care is Getting Costlier
* Between 2000-2005, the cost of premiums rose 169 percent for single coverage and 117 percent for family coverage. [UFCW analysis of annual Wal-Mart Associate Guides].
* In comparison, premiums for family coverage in the U.S. have increased only by 59%, from 2000-2005. [Employer Health Benefits: 2004 Annual Survey, Kaiser Family Foundation & Health Research and Educational Trust, 2004] Wal-Mart Employees Pay More for Health Care Costs
* In 2004, Wal-Mart employees, in total, paid approximately 41% of the plan costs [Wal-Mart IRS 5500 Filings, 2005].
* Nationally for 2004 on average employees paid for only 16% of single coverage costs and 28% of family coverage costs [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005].
Wal-Mart Covers Less of the Health Care Costs Compared to Its Competitors
* In a state analysis, the Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services found that in 2003, Wal-Mart covered only 52% of total health care premium costs compared to K-Mart which covered 66%, Target which covered 68%, and Sears which covered 80% [“Employers Who Have 50 or More Employees Using Public Health Assistance,” Division of Health Care Finance and Policy, 2/2005]
Wal-Mart’s Spending Falls Below Industry Standards
* Wal-Mart’s spending on health care for its employees falls well below industry and national employer averages. In 2002, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart spent an average of $3,500 per employee. By comparison, the average spending per employee in the wholesale/retailing sector was $4,800. For U.S. employers in general, the average was $5,600 per employee, Therefore, Wal-Mart’s average spending on health benefits for each covered employee was 27% less than the industry average and 37% less than the national average. [Bernard Wysocki, Jr. and Ann Zimmerman, “Wal-Mart Cost-Cutting Finds a Big Target in Health Benefits,” Wall Street Journal September 30, 2003 p1]
Wal-Mart Only Spends 77 Cents an Hour Per Employee for Health Benefits
* In 2004, Wal-Mart spent $1.5 billion on its health insurance. This amounts to an employer contribution of around only $0.77 an hour per employee. This accounts for approximately a half-percent of Wal-Mart's $285 billion in sales in 2004. [Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Internal Memo, 2005, Wal-Mart Annual Report, 2005].
Wal-Mart Increased Advertising More Than Health Care
* In 2004, Wal-Mart spent nearly the same amount on advertising as it did on health insurance. In 2004, Wal-Mart reports that it spent $1.5 billion on health care benefits and $1.4 billion in advertising. [Wal-Mart Annual Report 2005, Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Internal Memo, 2005]
* Between 2003 and 2004, Wal-Mart increased its advertising budget by $434 million, only increasing its spending on employee health care by $100 million. That means Wal-Mart increased its spending on advertising by 45 percent while only increasing its spending on employee health care by 7 percent. [Wal-Mart Annual Report 2005, Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Internal Memo, 2005]
* In fact, Wal-Mart has consistently increased spending on advertising more than its spending on employee health care. Between 2002 and 2003, Wal-Mart put more new funds into advertising than into health care. Wal-Mart increased spending on advertising by $290 million, while only increasing health care spending by $215 million for the same period. (note: this also occurred in 1995-96, 1997-98,1998-1999). [Wal-Mart Annual Reports and 5500 Filings]
One Out of Six Wal-Mart Employees Has No Health Care Coverage At All
* This is more than double the national percentage for large firms (firms with over 100 employees). In fact, we estimate that Wal-Mart accounted in 2005 for more than 1 out of every 40 uninsured workers who are employed at a large firm. [Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Internal Memo, 2005; Wal-Mart Annual Report; “Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Coverage: Sponsorship, Eligibility, and Participation Patterns in 2001,” Bowen Garrett, Ph.D., released by the Kaiser Family Foundation September 2004].
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Costs to Taxpayers
Download the Wal-Mart and Cost to Taxpayers fact sheet - PDF
Your tax dollars pay for Wal-Mart's greed
* The estimated total amount of federal assistance for which Wal-Mart employees were eligible in 2004 was $2.5 billion. [The Hidden Price We All Pay For Wal-Mart, A Report By The Democratic Staff Of The Committee On Education And The Workforce, 2/16/04]
* One 200-employee Wal-Mart store may cost federal taxpayers $420,750 per year. This cost comes from the following, on average:
o $36,000 a year for free and reduced lunches for just 50 qualifying Wal-Mart families.
o $42,000 a year for low-income housing assistance.
o $125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families.
o $100,000 a year for the additional expenses for programs for students.
o $108,000 a year for the additional federal health care costs of moving into state children's health insurance programs (S-CHIP)
o $9,750 a year for the additional costs for low income energy assistance.
[The Hidden Price We All Pay For Wal-Mart, A Report By The Democratic Staff Of The Committee On Education And The Workforce, 2/16/04]
Health care subsidies compared to executive compensation
* Excluding his salary of $1.2 million, in 2004 Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott made around $22 million in bonuses, stock awards, and stock options in 2004.
* This $22 million could reimburse taxpayers in 3 states where Wal-Mart topped the list of users of state-sponsored health care programs, covering more than 15,000 Wal-Mart employees and dependents. [Wal-Mart Proxy Statement and News Articles GA, CT, AL].
Your tax dollars subsidize Wal-Mart's growth
* The first ever national report on Wal-Mart subsidies documented at least $1 billion in subsidies from state and local governments.
* A Wal-Mart official stated that “it is common” for the company to request subsidies “in about one-third of all [retail] projects.” This would suggest that over a thousand Wal-Mart stores have been subsidized. [“Shopping For Subsidies: How Wal-Mart Uses Taxpayer Money to Finance Its Never-Ending Growth,” Good Job First, May 2004]
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Community Impact
Download the Wal-Mart and Community Impact Fact Sheet - PDF
Wal-Mart’s growth negatively impact worker’s wages
* The most comprehensive study of Wal-Mart’s impact showed that the stores reduced earnings per person by 5 percent. This 2005 study by an economist from the National Bureau of Economic Research used Wal-Mart’s own store data and government data for all counties where Wal-Mart has operated for 30 years, It found that the average Wal-Mart store reduces earnings per person by 5 percent in the county in which it operates. [David Neumark, The Effects of Wal-Mart on Local Labor Markets 2005]
The Cost of Wal-Mart’s entry into a community can be significant
* According to a 2003 estimate, the influx of big-box stores into San Diego would result in an annual decline in wages and benefits which could cost the area up to $221 million [San Diego Taxpayers Association (SDCTA), 2003]
Lower wages mean less money for communities
* When an employer pays low wages to its employees, the employees have less money to spend on goods and services in the community, which in turn reduces the income and spending of others in the community. In other words a reduction in wages has a multiplier impact in the surrounding area.
* For instance, in 1999, Southern California municipalities estimated that for every dollar decrease in wages in the southern California economy, $2.08 in spending was lost-- the $1 decrease plus another $1.08 in indirect multiplier impacts. [“The Impact of Big Box Grocers in Southern California” Dr. Marlon Boarnet and Dr. Randall Crane, 1999.]
Wal-Mart hurts other businesses when it comes to town.
* In Maine, existing businesses lost over 10 percent of their market in 80 percent of the towns where Wal-Mart opened stores. [Georgeanne Artz And James McConnon, The Impact of Wal-Mart on Host Towns and Surrounding Communities in Maine, 2001]
* Food stores in Mississippi lost 17 percent of their sales by the fifth year after a Wal-Mart Supercenter had come into their county, and retail stores lost 9 percent of their sales [Kenneth Stone and Georgeanne Artz, The Economic Impact of a Wal-Mart Supercenter on Existing Businesses in Mississippi, 2002]
* Over the course of [a few years after Wal-Mart entered a community], retailers' sales of apparel dropped 28% on average, hardware sales fell by 20%, and sales of specialty stores fell by 17%. [Kenneth Stone at Iowa State University, “Impact of the Wal-Mart Phenomenon on Rural Communities,” 1997]
* In towns without Wal-Marts that are close to towns with Wal-Marts, sales in general merchandise declined immediately after Wal-Mart stores opened. After ten years, sales declined by a cumulative 34%. [Kenneth Stone at Iowa State University, “Impact of the Wal-Mart Phenomenon on Rural Communities,” 1997]
Wal-Mart destroys the environment
* Between 2003 and 2005, state and federal environmental agencies fined Wal-Mart $5 million.
* In 2005, Wal-Mart reached a $1.15 million settlement with the State of Connecticut for allowing improperly stored pesticides and other pollutants to pollute streams. This was the largest such settlement in state history. [Hartford Courant, 8/16/05]
* In May 2004, Wal-Mart agreed to pay the largest settlement for stormwater violations in EPA history. The United States sued Wal-mart for violating the Clean Water Act in 9 states, calling for penalties of over $3.1 million and changes to Wal-Mart’s building practices. [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, May 12, 2004, U.S. v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., 2004 WL 2370700]
* In 2004, Wal-Mart was fined $765,000 for violating Florida’s petroleum storage tank laws at its automobile service centers. Wal-Mart failed to register its fuel tanks, failed to install devices that prevent overflow, did not perform monthly monitoring, lacked current technologies, and blocked state inspectors. [Associated Press, 11/18/04]
* In Georgia, Wal-Mart was fined about $150,000 in 2004 for water contamination. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/10/05]
Wal-Mart increases vehicle traffic
* A 2004 study of estimated additional driving costs of Supercenters in the San Francisco Bay area concluded that there would be up to an additional 238 million vehicle miles traveled per year. [Supercenters and the Transformation of the Bay Area Grocery Industry: Issues, Trends, and Impacts. Bay Area Economic Forum, 2004]
* These extra miles traveled could cost communities in the Bay area up $ 256 million in additional costs for infrastructure repair and environmental degradation. [Supercenters and the Transformation of the Bay Area Grocery Industry: Issues, Trends, and Impacts. Bay Area Economic Forum, 2004]
Wal-Mart desecrates sacred grounds
* A nonprofit group that oversees the care of Native Hawaiian remains filed a lawsuit in 2003 against Wal-Mart, the State of Hawaii and the City of Honolulu. It alleged they violated state law dealing with the protection of preservation of human remains and desecration of graves. More than 60 sets of human remains were found at the Wal-Mart construction site in Honolulu. [KHNL-TV/KHBC/KOGG, HI. 7/20/2005]
* In 2004, Wal-Mart built a 71,902-square-foot store near the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon in San Juan Teotichuacan, Mexico. Teotihuacan was called the place where the gods were created by the Aztecs. [Knight Ridder, 10/25/04]
* In 1997, the Alliance for Native American Indian Rights in Tennessee called for a retail boycott of Wal-Mart after construction began on a site for a new store near Nashville. According to a state archaeologist, the site contained 150 graves. [Fulton County Daily Report, 11/30/00, Chattanooga Free Press, 11/23/98]
Wal-Mart's empty stores are blighting communities
* As of May 2006, Wal-Mart Realty has listed 320 vacant or soon to be vacant properties that the company is looking to lease or sell. They total to over 25 million square feet. Combined they are more than 6 times larger than the Pentagon building and larger than 440 football fields. [www.walmartrealty.com]
* Wal-Mart’s rapid expansion of Supercenters and Sam's Clubs has contributed to hundreds of vacant stores across the country. [“Wal Mart site: Use as is or rebuild?”, Dallas Morning News, 2/20/02]
* When Wal-Mart decides to convert a discount store into a larger Supercenter, it is often cheaper or easier simply to relocate entirely. David Brennan, associate professor of marketing at the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul, Minn, noted that Wal-Mart stores relocate so regularly that, “it is not uncommon to relocate right across the street. [“Home Depot to Move from Old to New Store Next Door,” Providence News-Journal, 8/17/03]
* Wal-Mart’s stores are uselessly large for most other tenants. An average discount store is 97,000 square feet. Wal-Mart’s Supercenters are on average nearly twice as large at 186,000 square feet. [www.walmartfacts.com]
* Also Wal-Mart often resists other large retail stores moving in. A president of a major real estate developer in Dallas said in 2002, “TheyThere are times when it [Dallas Morning News 2/20/02, Wall Street Journal, 9/15/04]
* Wal-Mart planned to build another 60 million square feet of store space in 2006, or roughly the equivalent of 1,040 football fields or 16 Pentagon buildings. [Wal-Mart Stores, Twelfth Annual Analysts' Meeting, FD (Fair Disclosure) Wire October 25, 2005]
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Wal-Mart and Imports
* Wal-Mart highlights its American suppliers but imports 60 percent of its goods
* Wal-Mart directly imported 60 percent of the goods they sold in the U.S. in 2004. [Frontline, 11/16/2004]
* Just because Wal-Mart bought goods from suppliers based in the United States does not mean that they were actually manufactured in the United States. In fact, Ray Bracy, Wal-Mart's vice president for federal and international public affairs, was asked, “Do you have any idea what percentage [of non-grocery, domestic sales] comes from overseas?” He responded, “What we don't know is the numbers of products that come from distributors or from manufacturers that they [sic] decide where to manufacture.” Wal-Mart fails to track where their products are manufactured. [Frontline, 11/16/2004]
Wal-Mart and China
Wal-Mart buys much of its merchandise from China
* Wal-Mart reports that it purchased $18 billion of goods from China in 2004.
* Wal-Mart was responsible for about 1/10th of the U.S. trade deficit with China in 2005. [“U.S. Stock Investors Wary of Analyst `Yuan Plays': Taking Stock, Bloomberg, 7/1/05]
* If Wal-Mart were an individual economy, it would rank as China’s eighth-biggest trading partner, ahead of Russia, Australia and Canada. [China Business Weekly, 12/02/2004]
Many of Wal-Mart's “American Suppliers” actually manufacture most or all of their products in China
* An example of an “American Supplier” is Hasbro, headquartered in Rhode Island. Today, Wal-Mart is the largest purchaser of Hasbro products—accounting for 21 percent of all Hasbro goods or more than $600 million in sales. But Hasbro reports, “We source production of substantially all of our toy products and certain of our game products through unrelated manufacturers in various Far East countries, principally China.” Hasbro specifies that “the substantial majority of our toy products are manufactured in China.” [2004 Hasbro 10-K filed with the SEC]
Wal-Mart's Chinese factory workers are treated poorly
* Workers making clothing for Wal-Mart in Shenzhen, China filed a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart in September 2005 claiming that they were not paid the legal minimum wage, not permitted to take holidays off and were forced to work overtime. They said their employer had withheld the first three months of all workers' pay, almost making them indentured servants because the company refused to pay the money if they quit. [New York Times, September 14, 2005]
* Workers making toys for Wal-Mart in China’s Guangdong Province reported that they would have to meet a quota of painting 8,900 toy pieces in an eight hour shift in order to earn the stated wage of $3.45 a day. If they failed to meet that quota, the factory would only pay them $1.23 for a day’s work. [China Labor Watch, December 21, 2005]
Elsewhere workers producing goods for Wal-Mart also face appalling conditions, despite Wal-Mart’s factory inspection program
* Workers from Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Nicaragua and Swaziland brought a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart in September 2005 asserting that the company’s codes of conduct were violated in dozens of ways. They said they were often paid less than the legal minimum wage and did not receive mandated time-and-a-half for overtime, and some said they were beaten by managers and were locked in their factories. [New York Times, September 14, 2005]
* A female apparel worker in Dhaka, Bangladesh, said she was locked into the factory and did not have a day off in her first six months. She said she was told if she refused to work the required overtime, she would be fired. Another worker said her supervisor attacked her “by slapping her face so hard that her nose began bleeding simply because she was unable to meet” her “high quota.” [New York Times, September 14, 2005]
* In 2004, only 8 percent of Wal-Mart inspectors’ visits to factories were unannounced, giving supervisors the chance to coach workers what to say and hide violations. Wal-Mart claimed it planned to double unannounced visits by its inspectors but that would still leave 80 percent of inspections announced. [CFO Magazine, August 2005]
* A former Wal-Mart executive James Lynn has sued the company claiming he was fired because he warned the company that an inspection manager was intimidating underlings into passing Central American suppliers. Lynn documented forced pregnancy tests, 24-hour work shifts, extreme heat, pat-down searches, locked exits, and other violations of the labor laws of these Central American countries. [New York Times, July 1, 2005 and James Lynn to Odair Violim, April 28, 2002, www.nclnet.org]
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Wal-Mart and Worker Injuries
Wal-Mart cares little for the safety of its workers
* In 2005, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has upheld a $5,000 fine against a Wal-Mart store in Hoover, Ala., for blocking emergency exits. The court upheld a decision by a judge who found that Wal-Mart was guilty of a serious and repeated offense. [New York Times, 5/17/05]
* According to New York Times report in 2004, Wal-Mart instituted a “lock-in” policy at some of its Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores. The stores lock their doors at night so that no one can enter or leave the building, leaving workers inside trapped. Some workers reported that managers had threatened to fire them if they ever used the fire exit to leave the building. Instead, they were supposed to wait for a manager to unlock doors to allow employees to escape in an emergency. [New York Times 1/18/2004]
* The West Virginiastate workmen’s comp agency placed Wal-Mart in an “adverse risk” pool because Wal-Mart had unusually high accident rates. [Charleston Gazette, 6/3/99]
Wal-Mart takes a combative approach to workers’ compensation claims
* Arkansas Business in 2001 described Wal-Mart as “the state’s most aggressive” when it comes to challenging worker’s compensation claims. The company “stands far above any other self-insurer in challenges to employee claims.” [Arkansas Business, 1/8/01]
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Wal-Mart Non-Health Care Benefits
Wal-Mart fails to provide a secure retirement benefit for its employees.
* Wal-Mart sponsors two retirement plans — a profit sharing plan and 401(k) plan — neither of which guarantee workers a fixed monthly pension benefit.
* Wal-Mart has shifted risks to employees by concentrating investment in its own stock. From January 2000 to January 2005, the average adjusted share price of Wal-Mart’s stock lost more than a fifth of its value. By being concentrated in one security, employees’ retirement plans are subject to the whims of one stock rather than having the safety of a diversified portfolio. [Wal-Mart Annual Reports, 2000-2005]
* Wal-Mart's retirement plans are Enron-like -- in 2003-04, 67% of their combined assets were invested in Wal-Mart stock. [Wal-Mart Stores 5500 IRS Filing, 2004]
Wal-Mart shares little of its $11 billion profits with employees.
* In 2004, Wal-Mart contributed $570 a year per U. S. employee for profit sharing and 401(k) plans for the United States. [Chambers, Wal-Mart Internal Memo, 2005, www.walmartfacts.com]
* To boost its profits by 1 percent, Wal-Mart is seeking to reduce its contributions to the profit sharing and 401(k) plans from 4 percent of wages to 3 percent of wages. As opposed to reducing the benefit to the 1.2 million hourly workers, Wal-Mart should reduce the number of stock options that it grants to management. In 2004, this expense amounted to 2 percent of net profit. [Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Internal Memo, 2005, Wal-Mart Proxy Statements 2004-5]
Wal-Mart shifts retirement costs onto communities
* When employees retire without adequate savings and benefits, they are less able to pay for health care, housing, and food. Communities and taxpayers ultimately bear the cost.
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Wal-Mart Anti-Union Policy
Wal-Mart closes down stores and departments that unionize
* Wal-Mart closed its store in Jonquierre, Quebec in April 2005 after its employees received union certification. The store became the first unionized Wal-Mart in North America when 51 percent of the employees at the store signed union cards. [Washington Post, 4/14/05]
* In December 2005, the Quebec Labour Board ordered Wal-Mart to compensate former employees of its store in Jonquiere Quebec. The Board ruled that Wal-Mart had improperly closed the store in April 2005 in reprisal against unionized workers. [Personnel Today, 12/19/05]
* In 2000, when a small meatcutting department successfully organized a union at a Wal-Mart store in Texas, Wal-Mart responded a week later by announcing the phase-out of its in-store meatcutting company-wide. [Pan Demetrakakes, Is Wal-Mart Wrapped in Union Phobia? Food & Packaging 76 (August 1, 2003).]
Wal-Mart has issued A Manager
* This toolbox provides managers with lists of warning signs that workers might be organizing, including frequent meetings at associates and associates who are never seen together start talking or associating with each other. The Toolbox gives managers a hotline to call so that company specialists can respond rapidly and head off any attempt by employees to organize. [Wal-Mart, A Manager’s Toolbox to Remaining Union Free at 20-21]
Wal-Mart is committed to an anti-union policy
* In the last few years, well over 100 unfair labor practice charges have been filed against Wal-Mart throughout the country, with 43 charges filed in 2002 alone.
* Since 1995, the U.S. government has been forced to issue at least 60 complaints against Wal-Mart at the National Labor Relations Board. [International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), Internationally Recognised Core Labour Standards in the United States: Report for the WTO General Council Review of the Trade Policies of the United States (Geneva, January 14-16, 2004)]
* Wal-Mart’s labor law violations range from illegally firing workers who attempt to organize a union to unlawful surveillance, threats, and intimidation of employees who dare to speak out. [“Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay for Wal-Mart, A Report by the Democratic Staff of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, 2/16/04]
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Wal-Mart & Gender Discrimination
Download the Wal-Mart and Gender Discrimination fact sheet - PDF
Wal-Mart discriminates against women
* In 2001, six women sued Wal-Mart in California claiming the company discriminated against women by systematically denying them promotions and paying them less than men. The lawsuit, Dukes v. Wal-Mart, has expanded to include more than 1.6 million current and former female employees, and was certified on June 21 2004 as the largest class action lawsuit ever. [Mondaq Business Briefing, November 1, 2004]
* In 2001, while more than two-thirds of Wal-Mart” Financial Times 11, 11/20/03]
* In 2001, women managers on average earned $14,500 less than their male counterparts. Female hourly workers earned on average $1,100 less than male counterparts. [Drogin 2003]
* In 2001, for the same job classification, women earned from 5 percent to 15 percent less than men, even after taking into account factors such as seniority and performance. [Drogin 2003]
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Wal-Mart & Child Labor
Download the Wal-Mart and Child Labor fact sheet - PDF
Wal-Mart violates Child Labor Laws
* An internal Wal-Mart audit found extensive violations of child-labor laws and state regulations requiring time for breaks and meals.” [New York Times, 1/13/04]
* One week of time records from 25,000 employees in July 2000 found 1,371 instances of minors working too late, during school hours, or for too many hours in a day. There were 60,767 missed breaks and 15,705 lost meal times. [New York Times, 1/13/04]
* Wal-Mart agreed to pay $135,540 to settle child labor violation charges in January 2005 for allegedly breaking child labor laws in 24 incidents. [Wall Street Journal, 2/12/05]
* Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell announced that the state found 11 violations in three Wal-Mart stores in the state and that 337 minors worked at the company's 32 Connecticut stores from 2003 to 2005. The probe came after the Labor Department in February said the retailer had similar violations nationwide. [Bloomberg News, 6/22/05]
* Wal-Mart has also been fined $205,650 for 1,436 violations of child labor laws in Maine for the period 1995 to 1998. The settlement represents the largest number of citations as well as the largest fine ever issued by the Maine Department of Labor for child labor violations. [Bureau of Business Practice News]
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Wal-Mart & Undocumented Immigrants
* In 2003, federal authorities arrested 250 undocumented immigrants who were employed by janitor contracting services and hired by Wal-Mart in 21 states. Many of the janitors - from Mexico, Russia, Mongolia, Poland and a host of other nations - worked seven days or nights a week without overtime pay or injury compensation. Those who worked nights were often locked in the store until the morning. [Wall Street Journal, 11/5/05, CNN Money, “Wal-Mart pays $11m over illegal labor”, 2005]
* In March 2005, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $11 million to settle federal allegations it used undocumented immigrants to clean its stores. This was the largest immigration related fine ever levied. [CNN Money, “Wal-Mart pays $11m over illegal labor”, 2005 and Wall Street Journal, 11/5/05]
* In October 2005, Wal-Mart shut down work on seven stores under construction in North Dakota to check for undocumented workers after two illegal immigrants working on Wal-Mart projects in Bismarck were charged with molesting two 13-year-old girls. [Associated Press, 11/18/05]
* Federal immigration officers, in November 2005, arrested 125 illegal workers in a raid at a Wal-Mart distribution center under construction north of Philadelphia. The workers from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico were detained Thursday at the site. [Associated Press, 11/18/05]
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