“I’m talking Corporate Welfare,” Bil Musgrave

August 28, 2013, by Bil Musgrave, member of the United Mine Workers of America Local 1189. Editor’s note: This was originally intended as a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal for publication on Labor Day, next week. They turned him down. Fairness_at_Patriot_logo_Compressed_website

What a difference a year makes. Working families are now facing wealth inequality so extreme that it is worse than any time since the late 1920’s. We are back to conditions that happened before the great depression, because we deregulated everything that was put in place after the first great depression to ensure it never happened again. The economic recovery is leaving behind many working families.

Bil Musgrave

Bil Musgrave has fought for mine worker safety and health for more than three decades as a former employee of the Squaw Creek Mine, jointly owned by Peabody and Alcoa in Warrick County, IN. Photo© BlairPhotoEVV

U.S. companies have become so obsessed with generating near-term profits that they’re paying their employees less, cutting capital investments, and under-investing in future growth. We now have the lowest wages in history as a percent of the economy.

It shows that Corporations will stoop to any level to increase profits, like deliberate bankruptcy. I am not talking down on your luck ordinary bankruptcy. I am talking premeditated bankruptcy, the Peabody Coal type.

You see to rid itself of its long term promises of lifetime healthcare for the very workers who made Peabody Coal profitable all those years, Peabody devised a plan.

They would create a new company ironically called Patriot Coal Company; Peabody would take all the retired miners from the very profitable Peabody Energy and move them to Patriot Coal. Never mind that NONE of these miners ever worked for Patriot.

Peabody also transferred to Patriot, high cost mines that could not be profitable. Of course, Patriot filed for bankruptcy.

The cards are stacked against workers in bankruptcy court. Contracts are gutted and every supplier who is owed money comes before the workers. The bankruptcy Court doesn’t count the blood, sweat and tears the workers have put into the company. A recent ruling states Peabody, except for a small percentage of workers, has no obligation for any healthcare expenses of Peabody’s own retirees.

People will die due to this legal form of robbery by Peabody Energy.

It is now spreading to the public sector. Detroit now seeks to destroy the small pension public employees get after giving a lifetime of service to residents.

The last thing that I would like to address is welfare, not the food stamp type of welfare that ensures the nation’s children depend on to fill there cramping hungry stomachs.

I’m talking Corporate Welfare. Walmart is a good example.

The secret behind Wal-Mart’s rapid expansion in the United States has been its extensive use of public money. This includes more than $1.2 billion in tax breaks, free land, infrastructure assistance, low-cost financing and outright grants from state and local governments around the country.

In addition, taxpayers indirectly subsidize the company by paying the healthcare costs of Wal-Mart employees who don’t receive coverage on the job and instead turn to public programs such as Medicaid.

Walmart’s employees receive $2.66 billion in government help every year, or about $420,000 per store. A combination of low wages and less than full-time schedules, leave workers dependent on social programs like Medicaid, food stamps, and section 8 housing – all of which are being paid for with your tax dollars. This direct public subsidy is being given to offset the failures of an international corporate giant who should not be shifting part of its labor costs onto the American taxpayers.

Just one store, in one town, can cost taxpayers more than $900,000 dollars a year. They are also the top recipients of Medicaid in numerous states. Why does this occur? Walmart fails to provide a livable wage and decent healthcare benefits. This direct public subsidy is being given to offset the failures of an international corporate giant who should not be shifting part of its labor costs onto the American taxpayers.

This type of Welfare is not available to small business so they are forced to shut their doors.

You see healthy capitalism is not about “maximizing near-term profits.” It is about balancing the interests of several critical constituencies:
Shareholders
Customers
Employees
Society
The Environment

All working families struggle against great odds. The Labor Movement works to ensure healthy capitalism. All workers benefit.

 

 

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One Response to “I’m talking Corporate Welfare,” Bil Musgrave

  1. Damon says:

    Workers unite! Grew up in warrick county. Thank you for posting this

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