There are no centralized databases of economic development subsidies, but Good Jobs First found 4 deals worth a total of about $11.6 million in Tennessee. They include the following:

Bolivar, TN : $1.315 million
Midway, TN : $5.4 million
Shelbyville, TN : $2.5 million
Sullivan County, TN : $2.385 million

Many Wal-Mart workers are ineligible for health coverage from their employer or choose not to purchase what is available, because it is too expensive or too limited in scope. These workers often turn to taxpayer-funded health programs such as Medicaid. In January 2005, state officials released the results of a survey, undertaken at the request of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, of companies that had employees enrolled in TennCare, the state's health plan for the poor, uninsured and disabled. Ranking first was Wal-Mart, with 9,617 employees on TennCare, nearly 25 percent of the company's entire workforce in the state. Sources: John Commins, Dave Flessner and Ashley M. Heher, "On the Job and on TennCare," Chattanooga Times Free Press, January 20, 2005, p.A1. Also: Rebecca Ferrar, "Big Companies Have a Large Number of Workers in Program," Knoxville News-Sentinel, January 30, 2005, p.C1.

For an estimate of how much Wal-Mart is costing the state of TN for taxpayer-funded healthcare, see http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/feature/healthcrisis/map.html#TN

In the course of researching our report Rolling Back Property Tax Payments , Good Jobs First learned of property tax assessment appeals at the following Wal-Mart locations in Tennessee:

Nashville, TN

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