If editorial boards around the country dismissed a certain legislative proposal as one that “misses the point,” “would cost jobs and raise prices,” “is bad news for both business and workers” and “is a leg­islative mugging mas­querading as an act of benevo­lent social en­gineer­ing,” you’d feel pretty confident that it would be pronounced dead on arrival before any reason­able legislative body in the country, right?

You’d be especially confident that the esteemed leaders you and your neighbors elected would steer clear of such a flawed proposal, right?

Unfortunately, if you live in our state, you’d be wrong.

The state Legislature is considering so-called “Fair Share Health Care” legislation that, as written now, would force companies with more than 10,000 employees to spend a randomly determined percentage of payroll costs on health benefits for their employees.

This bill, just like those in other states, is bad public policy. As has been repeatedly pointed out by opinion leaders and public policy experts of all stripes, legislation of this nature would do nothing to address the real health care challenges facing employers, families and businesses across America. Just as bad, it would cost jobs and dampen economic growth.

“Fair Share” legislation like the one before our legislators is specifically designed to affect large employers. But according to a prominent health-policy research institute, nearly all large employers offer coverage to their employees, while only six out of 10 employers with fewer than 200 employees do the same. This statistic alone would seem to suggest that targeting large employers would not address the majority of those in need.

And consider this: Often the reason the uninsured go without coverage is not because their employers don’t offer it or don’t spend enough on it. The reason so many people – 46 million nationwide – are uninsured is because they simply can’t afford health coverage.

Wouldn’t it make sense, then, for legislators at every level of government to concentrate their efforts on addressing the soaring cost of health care? Wouldn’t passing legislation attacking large employers that already offer health insurance and create jobs seem like a misguided waste of time and energy?

While we’re on the topic of attacking job creators, let’s speak to the enormous economic impact “Fair Share” legislation would have on states that enact it. Imposing arbitrary mandates on employers sends a loud and clear message to the business community: “Don’t come here.”

In the global business environment of today, geographic location is becoming less and less important. Why, then, would a business choose to open its doors in Washington when it could just as easily do so in neighboring Oregon or Idaho where ill-informed mandates on employers do not exist?

What’s to stop large employers whose work forces are just above the size threshold set forth in these types of bills, from slashing jobs to ensure that employer mandates like these don’t apply to them?

The Employment Policies Institute considered that question and released a study this month showing that, if passed nationwide, employer-paid health care mandates would trigger job losses for 315,000 Americans. Without question, these bills are bad public policy.

Finally, it’s important to note that the attention focused on these bills, and the fact that 30-plus state legislatures are considering them, is not a coincidence. Rather, it is the result of a multimillion-dollar campaign being run by Washington, D.C., union leaders intent on attacking major employers. As unions are losing stature and members – with job cuts at Ford Motor Co. announced last week – the appeal of organizing the work forces of large employers is all the more enticing. That’s the motivation here, not solving our health care problems.

Every business and working family in America is struggling to deal with the soaring cost of health care. And if a quick-fix solution to the problem existed, we’d have found it by now. Lowering the cost of health care and ensuring that more Americans have access to affordable care should be the central focus of our elected leaders.

The American people and the people of Washington want their legislators to resist the pressure to enact bad public policy and, instead, to work with colleagues and businesses of all sizes to solve the health care challenges facing us all.

I know I do.

Jennifer Holder is Wal-Mart’s senior manager of public affairs for Washington, Oregon and Alaska.