There are no centralized databases of economic development subsidies, but Good Jobs First found 4 deals worth a total of about $9.7 million in West Virginia. They include the following:

Beckley, WV : at least $1.25 million
Logan, WV : $3.5 million
Nitro, WV : $4.9 million
Wayne, WV : not available

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 December 2004, the Bureau for Children and Families, acting at the request of the Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail, released data on the employers of parents of children enrolled in the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Leading the list was Wal-Mart, with 452 workers whose children participated in the plan. Source: John Heys and Paul Wilson, "Wal-Mart Culture: Wal-Mart Tops State CHIP List," Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail, December 26, 2004, p.1A.

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

In the course of researching our report Rolling Back Property Tax Payments , Good Jobs First did not learn of any property tax assessment appeals at Wal-Mart locations in West Virginia.

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