$7.74
$7.74
At a press conference this afternoon, President George H. W. Bush singled out the Walton Family for their generosity to Katrina relief efforts:
I don’t think anyone would mind if I singled out the chairman and CEO of Wal-Mart, Lee Scott, who is right here. He told us that they gave the Bush-Clinton fund a total of $23 million…$15 million from the company and then $8 million more from the Walton family, the marvelous philanthropists that they are.
Let’s put that in perspective. The Walton family’s net worth is $90 billion. So $8 million dollars represents .009 percent of their total.
The average family’s net worth is $86,100. If an average family contributed at the same rate as the Waltons, they’d donate $7.74.
There are thousands of families all around country that are being far more generous to Katrina victims than the Waltons. Few of them will be personally thanked by a former President.
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For a listing of things a competent administration might have done, see http://www.hairytruth.blogspot.com
September 5th, 2005 at 2:28 pmIt’s clear that Wal-Mart is just using this as another part of their PR campaign. It’s disgusting that Bush I (and Clinton) are playing along.
September 5th, 2005 at 2:29 pmOne need also note that the millions of dollars collected thus far from so many who have given so much, and from corporations seeing windfall tax writeoffs, has yet to tally half a billon. The US taxpayer has contributed more directly, and a far higher percentage of their per capita wealth, than any of these wealthiest families.
Just think if we all gave 9 mills(1/1000th of a dollar) for each $100 we have available to us today. Wow, that would really add up fast now wouldn’t it?
September 5th, 2005 at 2:29 pmI’m sure the Port of New Orleans is vital to the imports of Walmart’s China goods. I’m interested to know how quickly the port will re-open with pressure applied within the administration?
Now a little off topic. The Rovian spin has begun; “We were not informed of the full extent of the disasterâ€, “blame the Democratic State Government of Louisianaâ€, now it is only a matter of time until we hear “stop attacking the brave rescuers and blaming Americaâ€. We all know their modus operandi, and they are given free reign.
It is time we demand a leader from the progressive side to fight back. We have only “politicians†on our side, with no visible leader stepping up. Perhaps we progressives need to demand the current list of “politicians†step down. We can only do so starting at the local grassroots level. Nationally, we put money into races targeting these “politicians†in the primaries, cutting the tumors out one election at a time. If we get rid of Liberman and Biden, then all the others are put on notice.
September 5th, 2005 at 2:44 pmI want to know how much the Jesus boys pony up (Robertson, Falwell, Dobsom, Graham, et.al.). Lets see if we can measure christian values. It might prove to be useful debate material for the 2008 election.
September 5th, 2005 at 2:47 pmWhile your calculation is perplexing, it’s not complete. You did not deduct the value of medical and food assistance covered by tax payers to cover Wal-Mart’s near poverty wages. Factor that in and you’ll probably see a negative contribution not $7.74.
September 5th, 2005 at 2:55 pmWhich brings us to the latest front in the Republican class war: repealing the estate tax.
For the grim story about the coming windfall for the Bushes and the Waltons, see:
“The Choice: Estate Tax or Dynasty Dividend.”
September 5th, 2005 at 2:59 pmSince DHS had Operation Blessing on their website for contributions I have also been wondering where are Robertson’s semi-trailers full of food and water?
September 5th, 2005 at 3:01 pm23mill will be a great tax deduction for wallmart!…which means you and I will have to make up any tax shortfall.
September 5th, 2005 at 3:03 pmJon, re the estate tax repeal being hurried through Congress by Frist, one could also call it “Aristo Aid.” The French Bourbons would have loved it. In fact, they did. Perhaps Frist feels he should push such a Frenchified tax policy in honor of the principal French city in the US, New Orleans. It’s the best memorial that he could think of on such short notice.
September 5th, 2005 at 3:08 pm#6 and #8. Robertson’s “Operation Blessing” received FEMA funds a few days ago as part of Bush’s faith-based bullsh*t. I’m sure that every bit of my tax money Robertson received went to charity down south, minus his “overhead” of course. But how much did HE put up out of his own pockets personally? With his huge salary, he damned sure has more to give than I do.
September 5th, 2005 at 3:28 pmI suggest that you get a video tape of every politican making statements about Katrina.
Use the tape in polictical ads or public anouncements ads to show his corruption total lack of caring for the truth.
I think the people with remember who supports Bush more than representing their people.
September 5th, 2005 at 3:32 pmright on Hank, when will they learn, Jim Bakker,Jim Jones, Oral Roberts and on and on and on…just sucking up money from the people.
September 5th, 2005 at 3:34 pm[...] A blog called Think Progress has posted this blurb about G.H.W.Bush and the Walton family (owners of Wal-Mart) which exposes the extreme divide of the class war and the ridiculousness of those in power with regards to the current situation in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. [...]
September 5th, 2005 at 3:34 pm—Bush is no better than traveling show a flim-flam man:
September 5th, 2005 at 3:39 pm—German newspapers reported that stockpiles of supplies for victims used as a backdrop in dubya’a visit Friday, were whisked away as soon as he left the area; the people got none of it. German newsmen were aghast.
—Drudge Report is mocking Sean Penn for his attempts to rescue people.
—GW wasted no time in nominating Roberts for CJ of the SCOTUS – he should have been so nimble in getting the feds into action last week.
—Latest polls ABC/Washington Post show dubya still in the upper 40’s for approval; people are not blaming him for the tragedy.
—What more needs to be done to wake people up?
Marie, the polls will not go much lower no matter what. The right wing of the Replican party will always support their leader, no matter what. So will the extremely wealthy, the large corporations, “the fair and balanced” side of the news, and most religious zealots and fanatics and the influence they have over their “flocks.” Throw in those politico’s “on the take” with campaign contributions in the form of bribes, kickbacks and influence peddling they use to manipulate the public and what have you got? Forty plus percent of the population. Simple math, really.
September 5th, 2005 at 3:57 pmHank, #16, I don’t doubt your math or your extrapolation from the polls, but it underlines what an uphill battle we have to get this gang of thieves out of office.
September 5th, 2005 at 4:01 pm“Haint we got all the fools in town on our side? And hain’t that a big enough majority in any town?”
—-Samuel Clemens(Mark Twain) in ‘Huckleberry Finn.’
September 5th, 2005 at 4:02 pmOh, but these lying …….s, knew well in advance what was coming…The National Weather Services Director is quoted in the Seattle Times as saying everyone, Bush, Chertoff, Brown were fully advised in advance how dangerous and destructive Katrina was going to be. And Homeland Security’s own documents indicate that they and not the states were responsible for handling such disasters. So lie all you, you scum. You can’t hide the truth from the American people. This not Iraq where you can control all the media and allthe media knows is the BS you pump out.
September 5th, 2005 at 4:02 pmThe emperor and all his hencemen are clearly seen to be naked as jaybirds. I can only hope that their next outfits will be either orange jumpsuits, or black and white strips with the words CRIMINAL clearly stenciled on the back.
***IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING KATRINA***
After surfing the net for hours and pilfering others’ clever ideas for monikers, my DOG AND CAT have jointly issued the four decrees below. They’ve commanded me to proclaim these edicts to the human race via this blog. BY ORDER OF MY DOG AND CAT, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY AND UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, ALL BLOGGERS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH THE FOLLOWING:
1. KATRINA, NEW ORLEANS, FEMA
The city of New Orleans shall hereby be referred to as LAKE GEORGE. With a nod to Herbert Hoover, all Katrina relocation centers shall be referred to as BUSHVILLES. FEMA chief Michael Brown, an underachieving Republican crony whose main pre-BushCo career accomplishment involved getting fired from the International Arabian Horse Association, shall hereby be known as BRONCO BROWN, MISMASTER OF DISASTER. Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff will be known as MANIPULATIVE MIKE, MISMASTER OF DISASTER.
2. CHENEY AND RICE
Dick “Heart Attack” Cheney, the cyborg who supported the gross underfunding of New Orlean’s flood control efforts, and then refused to leave his Wyoming vacation once the deluge began, shall hereby be known as DICK BANS DIKE. In tribute to Condi Rice’s thousand-dollar shoe buying spree in New York City during the peak of the crisis, she will hereby be known as IMELDA RICE, STILETTO QUEEN, or NO SHOES, NO SERVICE, at your discretion.
3. BUSHIES
Reflecting a failed presidency and his colossal dereliction of duty this past week, the act of reflexively defending George W. Bush shall hereby be referred to as BUSH FLUFFING. Those who engage in same shall be deemed BUSH FLUFFERS. Should Bush hallucinate about “mandates” or “political capital,” these will be known as FLUFFY BUSH MOMENTS.
4. GOP AND TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH
Rather than focusing on Katrina relief, congressional Republicans will soon fixate on eliminating the Estate Tax, a levy paid only by the wealthiest 1% of estates last year. This GOP giveaway to the rich shall be referred to as THE PARIS HILTON TAX CUT.
I will promptly relay any forthcoming edicts issued by my pets. Failure to comply may result in your furniture being scratched or peed on. BUSH LIKES NICKNAMES, SO LET’S MAKE THESE STICK BY REPEATING THEM IN FUTURE POSTS! My dog and cat thank you.
September 5th, 2005 at 4:40 pmIt all comes back around to failing to recognize that John Edwards wasn’t being political when he referred to “Two Americas.”
I’m a returning adult full-time college student with no assets and extremely limited financing. My semester just started, and my financial aid package fell short of a couple thosand dollars in tuition expenses that I just paid out of my meager savings. I’ve just bought a semester’s worth of books.
I donated $100 to the Red Cross. I have $19 in my checking account until my first work study paycheck rolls in.
I don’t want to hear about the generosity of billionaires.
September 5th, 2005 at 4:47 pm#6 is right on the money
probably every penny Walton family donated belongs to taxpayers – and then they’ll deduct that and will pay less or no taxes next year – hell they probably pay negative taxes as it is
don’t shop at wal mart
September 5th, 2005 at 4:54 pm#21 — Good luck, Matt.
September 5th, 2005 at 4:57 pm#20 — Good sarcasm – I will try to remember to use the appropriate titles for these characters.
Hank and Marie #16 & #17–
Perhaps when they start pulling the hundreds of bodies out of those house attics, and out of the receding waters; maybe some of that base may suddenly recognize how foolish it is to defend Bush’s disaster!!!
September 5th, 2005 at 5:05 pmDoes anyone know when the White House website deleted the email address for Bush? I was just on there & it appears the only one you can send direct email to is Cheney – who is still on vacation.
September 5th, 2005 at 5:06 pmLet them eat cake
They dropped Vienna Sausages in response to hospital chaos
“…Instead, Quigley says the Army helicopter dropped some food supplies that turned out to be just three or four boxes with tin cans of Vienna sausages.”
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Lethal_chaos_Law_professor_describes_scene_at_New_Orleans_ho_0905.html
September 5th, 2005 at 5:10 pmonly a bit off topic…watching wolf a few minutes ago, a montage of photos, one of w. climbing a few steps up some bleachers, shook someone’s hand (person was hidden from view), and imediately wiped his hand on his pant leg….i dunno, it just looked funny to me (not haha funny)……
September 5th, 2005 at 5:23 pmRe: 25
September 5th, 2005 at 5:26 pmWhy would W need an email address. They would have to divert resources in order to teach him to read. ‘My Pet Goat’ had him looking blank as a chimp perusing Cicero in the original latin.
DOn’t you remember Bush announced that he wasn’t going to use e-mail anymore? I think it was at the same press dinner with the “Where are those pesky WMD video.” He said that he didn’t want his e-mails to his daughters to turn up in their newspapers.
Those Internets sure are tricky.
Doesn’t that moron realize that his daughter would have to give the e-mail to the newspaper for that to happen. What a imbecil.
September 5th, 2005 at 5:33 pmI see that Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is doing her part to help out. I checked out her site just now and saw the letter she sent to the Honerable Dennis Hastert-R mentioning that “we must assure a prompt and thorough response by creating a Select Hurricane Relief Task Force.” She noted that “time is of the essense.”
The letter was dated Thursday, September 1.
HEY NANCY, IS ANYBODY HOME? In case you missed it the hurricane hit on SUNDAY and your letter is a little late! Please, do your party and the country a favor and resign you party leadership role. Jeeeze! Hastert doesn’t need any help from you to make Bush look good. Why don’t you start kicking a little ass, like a real leader, and try being seen IN FRONT of Bush and Hastert instead of BEHIND them?
September 5th, 2005 at 5:37 pmAny of you folks out there ever hear a rhyme called ‘Georgie Porgie’? It well describes the current resident of the White House, his social values and his resolution.
September 5th, 2005 at 5:51 pmHow much has Bush and Cheney personally contributed?
September 5th, 2005 at 5:56 pmRe: 32
September 5th, 2005 at 6:01 pmAbout 10.5 billion dollars – but 90% of that will get back to Halliburton.
I don’t think I’ve seen but one to two people here that have posted an objective comment. Most everyone here are Michael Moore clones who can’t say a nice thing about anyone trying to help out. You all must really be stupid if you can’t see that EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS. You don’t have to donate a particular percentage of your income to be viewed as a “good guy”. And while money is nice, it doesn’t get the job done.
Why aren’t you blasting Celine Dion, Diddy or Jay-Z for their measly $1 million each? Or what about Ellen DeGeneres who is a NO native? So far, she hasn’t donated any cash herself. So I suspect that makes her evil, since she donated 0% of her income?
I suspect that if you see someone almost as rich as the Walton family, like say Oprah, donate $1 million, you won’t see anything on here but praise. Why? Because you LIKE her.
But that’s okay. Sit there in your comfy little houses sending in those checks equalling 13.28395% of your income and go to bed at night feeling good about yourselves helping out, all the while criticizing people who might be donating a bit less but are actually DOING something to help.
September 5th, 2005 at 6:11 pmI’m going to give to the Red Cross. I gave a small donation this weekend while I was out with my friend, Sara. The bar we were at, Babylon, was selling Jell-o shots & Mardi Gras beads to help raise money. I’ve been glued to CNN. And I’ve taken a couple days off from blogging because I almost feel guilty writing about my love life when so many people’s lives have been shattered.
September 5th, 2005 at 6:12 pmI gave to the Red Cross, but also to the Salvation Army. The latter found a fridge for our family when mom had triplets in the midst of WWII. Up til then, we had an ice box which heaved up about 20 square feet of flooring in the kitchen.
September 5th, 2005 at 6:25 pmRe: #5: To be fair, it turns out that the the Southern Baptist Church has dozens of mobile mass kitchens and other portable infrastructure units that they’ve been deploying generously everywhere. (Who knew?) I’m sure other *real* churches (as opposed to the TV virtual kind, every one of which exists only to enrich its so-called “pastor”) are doing what they can as well.
There’s plenty of criticism to go around — and the paltry $8 million from the Walton family is a valid one, as far as I’m concerned. But let’s not pile on until we have the full set of facts. Just because the Limbaughs of this world do it doesn’t make it right.
September 5th, 2005 at 6:33 pmThe demons at Faux News are having a poll on the handling of Katrina. You know what to do…
September 5th, 2005 at 7:03 pmhttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,168286,00.html#poll
Needed Orders. Holy shit, just DO it. I think getting courtmartialed for this would be my HONOR, were I the captain of this vessel.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0509040369sep04,1,4144825.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
September 5th, 2005 at 7:07 pmMel Brooks once said, “it’s good to be king.” Well when it comes to hurricanes, it’s even better being the President’s brother. Especially in a vital swing state. In an election year.
Louisiana’s Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco is learning that the hard way. While her state suffered through a disastrous, disorganized and delayed response to Katrina from FEMA and the Bush administration, Florida governor Jeb Bush had no such problems as his state weathered four hurricanes in 2004.
There is no mystery to this discrepancy, as GovExec.com wrote in “How FEMA Delivered Florida for Bush” on November 3rd, 2004, literally the day after the President won reelection…
For the full story, see:
“Louisiana’s Problem? It’s Not Florida.”
September 5th, 2005 at 7:17 pmThis is the last one–I promise. I think it is fitting for this thread.
http://www.storytimedolls.net/mmff.html
Thanks! Almost 2500 viewed the site over the weekend with no negative comments. The trolls are dead!
September 5th, 2005 at 7:20 pmNo, the REAL reason why Florida fared much better wasn’t political. It was because THEY HAD A PLAN and get this, they USED IT. They got their people out. They had structure to their local emergency agencies. THEY know how to do it RIGHT! They take their evacuations seriously. They practice, they drill, they advertise shelter locations, provide transportation, evacuate the sick, they stockpile supplies, they just plain ACT. They don’t ignore it, hoping that they won’t NEED it. They prepare, then hope they won’t need to USE it.
September 5th, 2005 at 7:56 pmBut I don’t ask you believe me just because I write it here, like many here seem to do. Ask anyone that lives there.
This is about generosity. Generosity of compassion. Barbara Bush has just said that things in the shelters in Texas are very well for the displaced disaster victims because “they were underprivileged anyway.”
September 5th, 2005 at 8:21 pmThat bitch was the First Lady! – everyone’s grandma with the pearls — she has as little class as her son.
I would say that the whole Bush clan has the same amount of class–all of the lower variety!
September 5th, 2005 at 8:41 pm#42
We just spoke to my wife’s ex inlaws. They moved back to New York for one reason–they were afraid of Florida. Their response to your claim: “He is full of shit.” Pop is an ex boiledmaker so you must excuse his sentiments even though they are accurate.
September 5th, 2005 at 8:44 pmKeith Olberman (MSNBC) gave a notable commentary tonight on his show. He is a welcome addition to the staff on that channel of Matthews and Scarborough.
September 5th, 2005 at 8:47 pm#42 -TF
September 5th, 2005 at 10:02 pmI live in Lee County, Fl and local news show our Emergency Mgmt team discussing evacuation using school buses in case of Hurricanes….currently the county needs extra 50 full time drivers…I believe when the order to evacuate comes, the current bus drivers will take their families out in their cars….we will have a lot of buses but no one to drive them…
[...] I came across a site called Think Progress the other day. I enjoyed reading it because of the some what critical comments and posts about the government. I am a true believer in being critical of the government. I say this not because I have hard feelings towards the government as a whole. This is very opposite of how I feel of the USA. I would not have served for eight years in the military had I not been dedicated to protecting everything I hold true to my heart. I think the government has room for improvement and it is up to every American to let those in office know. To the article that spurred this rant. The site goes to slamming the Walton Family (Wal-Mart founder) for donating $23 million. According to their figures it equates to $7.74 proportionally to the families networth. Could they have given more? Yes, of course…. but they didn’t have to. They did this because they wanted to. Regardless of conspiracy theories of looking for publicity (and the President praising them for it). Who cares. Take the money and put it to good use. Let’s get a grip; I donated money at McDonalds today when I went with my kids. Does this make me any better then the Waltons because my per capital contribution was higher? Give me a break, no. I didn’t have to donate either. [...]
September 5th, 2005 at 11:32 pmGive Walmart a break – they were quicker to respond than gov’t; I’d rather they do something than nothing.
September 6th, 2005 at 1:53 am[...] they were thanked by George H W Bush for their contribution. Permalink | Comment | Trackbackurl [...]
September 6th, 2005 at 8:12 am[...] OVER AT ‘THINK PROGRESS’. [...]
September 6th, 2005 at 9:17 amDont Foreget President Clinton applauded Wal-Mart too. A the same press conference he said, “But I am very grateful to all of the folks who have given. I, too, want to thank Lee Scott and Wal-Mart. And I want to mention something that they are doing because this, I hope, will give some guidance to our members of Congress — Hillary and Senator Obama and our House members who are here — go back to work and wonder what they should do.”
what was he thinking
September 6th, 2005 at 12:17 pm$8 million is $8 million.
I don’t give a rat’s ass if it’s a small amount compared to their income. They don’t have to give a dime yet, between corporate and personal money, they are contributing $23 million.
Unfortunately, the other problem is you m’fers don’t understand what “net worth” means. Net worth doesn’t mean “we have $80 billion in the bank”. It means all of their assets, stock, ownership in stores, etc…is $80 billion. It’s not LIQUID.
September 6th, 2005 at 12:43 pmThis is really petty and undignified criticism of Walmart and the Walton family. They gave money and that gift should be appreciated – regardless of the amount in relation to their ‘net worth’.
September 6th, 2005 at 12:53 pm“They don’t have to give a dime yet, between corporate and personal money, they are contributing $23 million.”
Actually, they do if they want the tax break. If it was just for kindness, they wouldn’t have done a press release and shouted to the world.
September 6th, 2005 at 12:56 pmTo: Bill Clinton
Could you and pappy call these people first? I am a little tight with the gas gouging, Iraq War, and all.
Here’s the list.
http://www.forbes.com/home/forbes400/2004/09/22/rl04land.html
September 6th, 2005 at 1:03 pmWal-mart “always low”
September 6th, 2005 at 1:17 pm#53 Jason…. I am sure glad you know how things work. I bet the Walton’s appreciate having you look after their interests.
Most of the people on this post know about financial issues.
Just because W-mart owners money is not liquid, they may have access to vast amounts of cash (either hidden in tin cans around their estates, or stuffed into mattresses.) Some of the more cosmopolitian of the group may even have lines of credit…. I am certian they could do better.
I don’t blame you for not helping. It doesn’t seem to be your style or dumbya’s style to care for the poor and people in need unless they are from the “right side of the tracks”
God help you.
September 6th, 2005 at 1:21 pmI have called walmart “the evil blue empire” for years. I never knew how correct I was until now.
September 6th, 2005 at 1:23 pmJason and Wayne,
September 6th, 2005 at 1:50 pmMake sure you show your support by shopping at your local Wal-Mart. Better yet, since you think they are so swell, go there and work, then let us know how that works out for you.
“And Homeland Security’s own documents indicate that they and not the states were responsible for handling such disasters.”
John the Elder, can you post/email backup for this?
September 6th, 2005 at 2:38 pmIs that $15 million “from the company” a corporate donation from Wal-Mart itself, or is it the aggregation of individual donations from Wal-Mart employees? If it’s the latter, it’s hardly a donation “from Wal-Mart.”
September 6th, 2005 at 3:25 pmAhh the largesse of the Walton clan;
September 6th, 2005 at 3:45 pmFor ever 5 families ruined, one family helped.
if anyone is familiar with Atlas Shrugged, I welcome the withdrawal of productive people from productive society, soon.
Then let Jesse Jackson have the presidency, Donna Brazile the Sec’y of State, Mayor Nagin FEMA Director and Ted Kennedy and all their remaining cohorts the entire Senate.
I will be eager to see the results of such a nirvana.
September 6th, 2005 at 6:30 pm“Nothing but the best Clarke”
September 6th, 2005 at 6:35 pmre: comment #4
“It is time we demand a leader from the progressive side to fight back.”
Just go check this out. Everyone!
2008 Presidential Candidate Karl Schwarz has formulated a Plan, The American Patriot Movement, for America and the World to bring back fiscal responsibility and respect to the United States and bring Justice to victims of 9/11 and the Middle East wars.
http://www.karlschwarz2008.com
At this very moment Karl Shwartz is revealing to the public, the blind ones, that is, just how criminal the Bush administration is. http://www.karlschwarz.com/
The following is a must see!!!
http://www.reopen911.org/video/cte_26.mov
WAKE UP AMERICA!!
September 6th, 2005 at 7:43 pmThe original blog entry was about the generosity of a $8m donation compared to net worth, not the business practices (low wages, community impact, etc.) of the Walmart corporation. By all means we can wheel out that horse and beat it again! Please do not mistake my argument to show gratitude for donations (of any amount) as a tacit endorsement of Walmart’s business practices.
September 6th, 2005 at 7:52 pm#67
The point of my post was to show that their generosity is not very generous. They donated $8 million. For what I believ is a tax deduction and nothing more. Then they pretty much told the hurricane victims to get back to work.
September 6th, 2005 at 8:12 pmEvery now and then I forget exactly why I stopped associating myself with the mainstream left, and then I come across a blog post like this one and I am reminded of just how irrational and out of touch with reality it has become.
September 6th, 2005 at 8:56 pmcripes – I would still give the gift if I were the Walton’s, no matter the effed-up attitude of some of you lovely folk. Just accept it in the spirit it was given and, perhaps, better to go after the oil companies gouging and raping you.
September 6th, 2005 at 9:43 pmwhat bloody moron figured out $7.74!!This donation is
September 6th, 2005 at 11:05 pmtax deductible.Try $4 for a closer figure. Now that Wal-Mart is in the news as the good guys, what about
STACY CLAY DRIVER, the poor bastard who already got burried having been accused of shoplifting and murdered by Wal-Mart security guards.That miserable $8 million will just do the job, bury him once and for all.
[...] $7.74 [...]
September 7th, 2005 at 5:32 amlol. lefties are funny.
September 7th, 2005 at 12:49 pmIt’s ob
September 7th, 2005 at 3:15 pmLet’s try this again.
It is perfectly obvious that none of you whining slugs ever donate anything to charity. If you did you would know that the Tax rates are a sliding scale and you NEVER can donate money and have it quote “Work out to your benefit.â€
September 7th, 2005 at 3:16 pmJust like always the doers of the world are criticized by the non-doers.
What a bunch of puds you are.
September 7th, 2005 at 5:14 pmClick on my name to view even more outrageous numbers.
September 7th, 2005 at 9:17 pmPut this in perspective. If the Walton family gave 8 million personally, and the current private donations are listed as 500 million dollars, that means that one family (out of how many tens of millions in America?)gave 1.6% of the relief. That’s pretty generous.
September 7th, 2005 at 11:37 pmWhile we’re at it, let’s discuss what net worth means. It is not cash-in-hand. It is real estate, business, stocks, savings, personal property, etc. While you may think the Waltons sleep on one giant mattress with 90 billion bucks stuffed in it, this is likely not the case.
Now, how is worth created? Worth is created by investing capital into ventures that lead to more capital. How many people do the Waltons employ? Every time they buy something or invest money, that money is pumped into the economy. How many people have been happy to sell properties, cars, boats, businesses, mocha lattes, etc. to the Walton family? Are they complaining too? Wal-Mart takes relatively good care of their employees, despite what comments above state. For every mom and pop shop that has shut down because they could not compete, how many jobs with flexile hours, benefits, vacation plans (which mom and pop shops generally do not have the means to provide) have been created? All this in the name of giving people decent products at decent prices. How horrible.
Please remember, this family is obligated to give nothing.
I am so disgusted by all the fingerpointing and complaining about the way that things were handled. Yes, they could and should have been handled differently, there is no question about that; however, I think now is the time for all of us to join together in the effort that is ongoing to help the situation instead of lambasting the efforts of those that have helped. The rich will probably always be rich and we poor or low income families will always be poor and low income. How many of you that have posted comments have done anything to help? I live in Pensacola, FL and feel terrible that I don’t have much to donate, however, I have donated supplies, food, clothing, and time. What have you done except complain. The time to complain or do something about any government officials is as the polls. Do you vote? Your vote is important. I am not a Republican fan, however, he was elected, by whatever means. If you don’t like the way things are run, get active in your political arena and do something about it instead of griping after the fact. I think that everyone in this country feels horrible about the disaster, I don’t care if you are white, black, green, or purple, people are people and need help and we that weren’t as affected by the Katrina should reach out and do whatever is necessary to rectify the situation.
September 8th, 2005 at 5:31 amonly in america!! give away millions and get ripped! how many who are critical hear gave ANYTHING!!?
September 8th, 2005 at 8:10 amIf all the negative energy on this board could be captured and converted to something positive, the recovery process for the gulf coast would be about 1/3 of the way completed. Please consider taking your energy and donating in the form of action to the cause of your choice. I can’t give money but I did do something to directly provide relief to someone who is not as well off as I am.
September 10th, 2005 at 12:45 amGeez, I never thought being generous could make sooo many people despise you. They didn’t have to give anything but they did.
September 30th, 2005 at 1:09 pmI appreciate that there are people in this world willing to stand up for the rights of others to spend their money however they see fit. The Waltons and others earned their money and are entitled to spend it as they see fit. The “you should have given more” attitude sure isn’t going to inspire anyone to open up their wallets next time. How about we applaud generosity for its own sake?
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January 19th, 2006 at 6:00 pmLet’s see… which would you rather have $7.00 bucks or $8 million. Anyway you look at it, giving $8 million to someone is kindness no matter what the motives are. Yes I realize the PR impact and the tax benefits and so on, but does that change the fact they game 8,999,993 more dollars than the person that gave $7?
April 3rd, 2006 at 10:37 pmHey-at least they gave something. How much did Bill Gates give? How much did you give?
September 21st, 2006 at 12:31 pm23 million dollars sure helps the people that don’t have anything. Those people appreciate it. Instead of criticizing people that gave money saying “You have more to give” Why not criticize those that gave nothing? moron.
So there’s such a thing as “Bad Money”? If anyone else gave this money we would all be happy; since it was walmart; well I guess we’ll turn up our noses and say “Not Good Enough”!! How many of you even donated your seven bucks? Since it was Bush who said “thank you”, that makes it “Bad Money”. Lest we all forget our liberal “Super Hero”‘; Hillary Clinton was once a former Attorney for Wal-Mart.
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[...] the article that spurred this rant. The site goes to slamming the Walton Family (Wal-Mart founder) for donating [...]
April 1st, 2008 at 12:15 pm