IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 18, 2008

CONTACT: Meghan Scott
(202) 538-0362

NEW WAKEUPWALMART.COM AD HIGHLIGHTS MCCAIN’S SOLUTION FOR THE ECONOMY: BILLIONS IN TAX BREAKS FOR WAL-MART

WAKEUPWALMART.COM ASKS CONSUMERS IF WAL-MART REALLY NEEDS MORE WASHINGTON GIVEAWAYS

Washington, DC - WakeUpWalMart.com, America's campaign to change Wal-Mart with 433,000 members nationally, today launches a hard-hitting 30-second TV ad-"Part of the Problem"- that highlights John McCain’s solution for our failing economy: billions in giveaways for large corporations like Wal-Mart. It asks if McCain's 'solution' isn’t part of the problem. (Full script below.)

The ad comes just days after the economy took serious hits as financial institutions like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and American International Group failed amid the worst housing crisis in decades. Despite millions of Americans struggling with a dire economy, Wal-Mart has been making record profits. Indeed their Chief Financial Officer, Tom Schoewe, said that, "tough times are actually a good time for Wal-Mart." The retailer makes $21,000 in profit a minute, and made a record $12 billion in profits last year. Despite their record profits, and the failing Economy, John McCain’s economic plan calls for a $1.5 billion tax cut for Wal-Mart, and millions more for their CEO.

The ad will begin airing nationwide today in 7 states: Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. It can be viewed at http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/video/mccaintaxbreaks.

TV AD SCRIPT

If a corporation makes twenty-one-thousand dollars in profit per minute…

If their Chief Financial Officer says "tough times are actually good" for their bottom line...

…do they really need more tax giveaways from Washington?

John McCain’s proposed billions in new tax breaks for big corporations like Wal-Mart – one-point-five billion for Wal-Mart alone, millions more for their CEO.

More Bush-style corporate tax breaks – that's McCain’s solution for America’s economy.

But isn't that part of the problem?

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