Hillary Clinton or Wal-Mart for Health Care?

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton took what many thought was a backhanded shot at American retail giant Wal-Mart during a debate this week with the other Democratic presidential candidates.  When debate moderator Brian Williams asked presidential candidate Hillary Clinton last night whether she thought that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was bad or good for America, some strong words came out reports 'Blogging Stocks.

Hillary Clinton Criticism of Wal-Mart Answered

"Well because when Wal-Mart started, it brought goods into rural areas, like rural Arkansas where I was happy to live for 18 years. And it gave people a chance to stretch their dollar further. But as they grew much bigger, though, they have raised serious questions about the responsibility of corporations and how they need to be a leader when it comes to providing health care and having safe working conditions and not discriminating on the basis of sex or race or any other category."

She added, "Brian, this is all part, though, of how this Administration and corporate America today don't see middle class and working Americans. They are invisible. They don't understand that if you're a family that can't get health care, you're really hurting. But to the corporate elite and to the Administration and the White House, you're invisible. If you can't afford college, you're invisible. So I think we need to get both public sector and private sector leadership to start stepping up and being responsible and taking care of people."

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According to the Associated Press, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott was in Dallas yesterday to accept an award from The Salvation Army.  Scott said Wal-Mart is doing a better job of responding to critics and taking part in policy debates.

Scott said Wal-Mart is making progress in those areas, and that the company is doing a better job listening to criticism than ever before.

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Star Parker added in a column, "While Clinton is dreaming about having a chance to re-introduce her once-rejected plans for universal health care, Investors Business Daily reported this week the following about Wal-Mart":

"The retail colossus announced this week that it will open as many as 400 in-store medical clinics in the next two to three years. By 2014, it said, clinics could be in as many as half its 4000 stores ... While others whine about America's health-care 'crisis' and back monstrous government programs to solve it, Wal-Mart is actually making health care more-affordable.

"Already, Wal-Mart has brought low-cost health care by selling 30-day supplies of more than 300 generic prescriptions at some stores for $4. Almost a third of those $4 prescriptions are bought by the uninsured. Customers have saved $290 million ... since September.''

If this is a mixed blessing, we need more, he rightly concluded.  If the choice is Hillary or Wal-Mart for health care - I'll take the big box store.