Evil Incarnate

Can it be bad to sell generic drugs for just $4 for a full month's supply? That depends on who's doing the selling.

Wal-Mart has announced just such a program, to begin Friday at 65 stores in Tampa Bay. The plan is to expand to the entire state of Florida in January. According to AP:

Critics said the plan was a cover for Wal-Mart's failure to provide its employees adequate health care. They contend that the company's benefits are too stingy, forcing taxpayers to absorb more of the cost as the workers lacking coverage turn to state-funded health care programs.

Maybe Wal-Mart could offer its employees a deal permitting them to buy a one-month supply of any generic prescription drug for only $4.

We couldn't help but notice that the story (written by an "AP Business Writer") includes the odd information that a company spokesman "wouldn't be specific about why Florida and specifically the Tampa Bay area was chosen for the rollout of the initiative . . . ." Wow. We can't imagine any connection between cheap prescription drugs and Florida. In other mysterious Wal-Mart marketing news, the company has decided to heavily discount snow blowers in all of its Buffalo area stores.

And notice that "critics" are cited as calling for "adequate" health care. Other critics have complained that the Federal Government has utterly failed to provide adequate jelly doughnuts for its employees, often limiting them to the boxed, store-bought kind with that nasty powdered sugar. Some critics have even demanded that the ultimate -- Dunkin' Donuts Bavarian Cremes -- be provided weekly.