Anti-Wal-Mart group Wal-Mart Watch took out a full page ad in Friday's New York Times bashing the sales giant for its treatment of workers. Interestingly, while most people who attack Wal-Mart based on this come from the viewpoint
of stopping the unfair wages paid to the workers, this campaign doesn't try to touch upon the benevolence of people but rather their selfishness. The ad claims that due to low wages and bad healthcare, Wal-Mart employees are forced to "resort to Medicaid, food stamps, and public housing" which they call the "Wal-Mart Tax" that adds up to $1.5 billion extra per year. They also claim that on top of this tax payers have to pay more to support the costs of public services such as roadways and electricity lines that Wal-Mart uses. Their truck fleet especially tears up roads but doesn't have tp pay for it. This is a rather interesting tactic and it should produce results. People will always talk about seeing the suffering of others but they are much more likely to actually do something if they feel personally affected.

The ad can be seen here: Wal-Mart Ad PDF