Walmart is donating $600,000 to Haitian Relief. The Walton family is worth $82 billion.

[hedgehog]

http://www.idahopress.com/?id=29233

http://www.waltoninfluence.com/influence/news-archive/arkansas_business_25_wealthiest_arkansans_25th_anniversary/


The Waltons could donate $600,000 every single day for the next year (that's about $200 million), and their worth would drop to $81.8 billion dollars.

The Waltons could donate $6 million every day for the next year (that's about $2 billion), and their worth would drop to $79.8 billion.

The Walton family income is about $1 billion per year. The Waltons spent at least $3.2 million lobbying for a lower tax rate.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2005-04-05-waltons-usat_x.htm

Bank of America is donating $1 million to Haitian relief. Bank of America paid its CEO Kenneth Lewis $20 million in 2008, including a $5 million bonus.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/business/04pay.html

The average income in Haiti is $50- $300 a year.

http://www.usaid.gov/stories/haiti/ss_haiti_education.html

The Haitian government is estimated to owe $1.8 billion on foreign debt.

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/01/19/paris-club-haiti-lending.html

[WolverineDG]

1. They don't have to donate anything

AND, who's to say that this donation is the only one they will be making?

dg

[hedgehog]

11. IMO, Walmart is currently using the Haitian earthquake as an opportunity to

present itself as a caring corporation. I suspect every major main stream outlet in the country is carrying the story of this donation. For comparison, Walmart spends about $285 million on advertising.

http://moneynews.com/StreetTalk/wal-mart-ad-spending/2009/02/23/id/328408


While no one is required to donate a penny, I wanted to put some facts out there so Walmart's donation could be put into context.

[WolverineDG]

13. Every corporation donates to make itself look "caring"

not just Walmart.

dg

[arcadian]

2. Like Rockefeller handing out dimes to children

It's for show.

[T Wolf]

3. And is that money coming from the corp or from their workers through forced donations? nt

[hedgehog]

9. I'm not sure, but I think the money is coming out of our pockets.

I think the corporation is making the donation. If so, doesn't the corporation get a tax break for the donation? Who do you think makes up for the deficit from that tax break?

[BoWanZi]

4. And your point is what?

People and companies can choose exactly how much they want to donate or not. Its not required by law to "donate", is it?

You may not like it but you aren't the one with the money or the power to donate.

[rurallib]

5. True- but I can choose not to shop at Walmart and I do not

and try to get others not to also.
Would you join me in boycotting Walmart and Sam's? And get your friends to boycott also.

[HughBeaumont]

6. With the interest and yield on that net worth, they wouldn't miss a LICK.

They could give your max of two billion and they likely wouldn't experience even a miniscule drop in net worth. They'd more than likely make most of it back within a year or two.

[MrCoffee]

7. That's $600,000 more relief money than there was yesterday

Good for them.

[hedgehog]

12. Haiti needs every penny it can get right now. It needed every penny

it could get a month ago, before the earthquake. Granted that there is an incredible level of corruption in the Haitian government. Still, the question needs to be asked: how much of Haiti's poverty is tied to unchecked capitalism?

[MrCoffee]

14. There are enough reasons to hate on WalMart...this is not one of them

Sorry.

[hedgehog]

15. Given the need in Haiti and the fabulous wealth of the Walton family,

I think that the $1 million donation from the corporation is an insult to humanity.

As the Gospel of Mark tells us:

"He (Jesus)sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.

A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.

Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.

For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood."

No one in Haiti would turn down help from the Devil himself today, but after this crisis passes, we need to keep asking why Haiti is so incredibly poor.

[Rebubula]

8. Jebus Christ...

...someone does something good and it is not good enough....

I dislike WalMart for their anti-Union stances and worker treatment, but they are giving a lot of money and likely will give more. Add to the fact that the Walton offspring may be donating personal money as well.

Unrec for silliness.

[hedgehog]

23. No, it's not good enough. That's exactly my point. The Waltons are donating

the crumbs from the week old leftovers from the banquet.

[Dappleganger]

10. The more the better.

I don't care if it's ass-pimple Limpy giving $$ (which he won't, btw), at least it's a donation to a good cause.

[bigwillq]

16. I am not a big Wal-Mart fan but

my sister is on numerous non-profit organizations in the area that we live in. She says that the local Wal-Marts are very, very generous everytime they ask for a donation. Whether it be money, gift cards, diapers and clothes for children, etc. I know on the grand scale of things that the money and other items they donate is very small compared to the overall profit that the company makes but she says they are very cooperative, generous and supportive of the non-profit charities in this local area.

[Stevenmarc]

20. Apparently good will comes at a low price too.

And by the way a corporation giving a gift card as a donation is a way of maximizing their charitable tax deduction since it based on the value of the card not the wholesale value of the merchandise and has the added benefit of funneling the recipient back into the store where they are more than likely spend more than the value of the card.

[kestrel91316]

17. They could singlehandedly afford to rebuild Haiti. EOM

[hedgehog]

18. Another example of the kind of money corporations in America throw around:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/21/conan-blowing-nbcs-money_n_430883.html

[bullwinkle428]

19. They could probably find more between the cushions of their couch.

[Bucky]

21. Lessee, my family income is about $41k compared to their worth of $82bil

So, doing some quick math... that would be like me donating 30 cents to Haitian relief.

[metalbot]

26. To be fair, use your whole extended family and use income not net worth

Assuming that the $82 billion in net worth translates to $4 billion in annual revenue, then the $600k is about .15% of their annual income.

So that would actually be the equivalent of $61.50 from you. But of course, when you talk about the Walton family, you are talking about wealth that is spread across about 6 non-spousal members of the family. These are probably distinct family units from the way that you are calculating family income (or maybe you just have a really small family).

Once you use income and family size, it's really the equivalent of you giving $369.

[slackmaster]

22. So, by my calculations if I donate $1 I'll be doing my fair share

Thanks!

[ima_sinnic]

24. for the statistically minded, that is .00073% of their net worth

That would be like somebody who makes $40,000 donating 29 CENTS.

[shadowknows69]

25. Anyone got a match? My torch seems a little cold.

[Igel]

27. You confuse net worth with annual income.

Don't.

Our net worth is lower than our annual income. We consume much of it, some assets have depreciated, and our annual income recently increased so we haven't had time to have a lot in savings.

My parents' net worth is far higher than their annual income. They both had decent incomes for decades, and while they didn't invest well their net worth is still much, much higher than their annual retirement incomes. On the other hand, most of their net worth is in fixed, illiquid assets. If they needed $100k in cash next Monday, they'd have troubles.

My brother-in-law has income of $20k, his wife is in disability, they have net worth over $3 million. Not because they earned it, but because he inherited it. Very little of their net worth is in fixed assets. If they needed $2 million in cash next Monday, they'd have it in hand by COB Friday.

Net worth =/= annual income.

[ima_sinnic]

28. I know trhe diff, but cited it just for comparison

people can relate to income and know how much they make. The point is that billionaires giving $600K are greedhead, stingy skinflints.