The end of `more'

It can be galling to hear companies argue that they have to cut wages and benefits for hourly workers -- even as they reward top executives with millions of dollars in stock options. The chief executive of Wal-Mart earns $27 million a year, while the company's average worker takes home only about $10 an hour. But let's assume that the chief executive got 27 cents instead of $27 million, and that Wal-Mart distributed the savings to its hourly workers. They would each receive a bonus of less than $20. It's not executive pay that has created this new world.

I understand the attraction of asking business -- the perceived "deep pockets" -- to shoulder more of the responsibility for social welfare. But there are plenty of businesses that don't have deep pockets. And many large corporations operate with razor-thin profit margins as competitors, both foreign and domestic, strive to attract consumers by offering lower prices.

The current frenzy over Wal-Mart is instructive. Its size is unprecedented. Yet for all its billions in profit, it still amounts to less than four cents on the dollar. Raise the cost of employing people, and the company will eliminate jobs. Its business model only works on low prices, which require low labor costs. Whether that is fair or not is a debate for another time. It is instructive, however, that consumers continue to enjoy these low prices and that thousands of applicants continue to apply for those jobs.

Maryland recently passed a law aimed at requiring Wal-Mart to spend more on health insurance. This is an extremely flawed path to healthcare reform. We need universal coverage, not piecemeal legislation designed to punish companies because they operate differently than their competitors.

The fact is, demanding more from business based on sales or the number of employees is not always the best way to achieve a just result.

Although I believe we should allow businesses to pay employees based on their skill level, I also believe we should supplement the wages of those who earn the least.

Universal healthcare provided by the federal government is one way to supplement income. It is also a way of relieving hard-pressed businesses of one of their highest cost burdens. It is the rising cost of healthcare that is said to be a major cause of the recent layoffs at GM and Ford.

Another way to benefit workers financially is the earned income tax credit. This is a program that both unions and business can endorse. It also has the virtue of being supported by a progressive tax system, in which the rich are asked to pay more.

Liberals must never abandon their core principles of justice and equality. But union leaders who still see American businesses as the enemy must update that vision.