Loukas

When the widow of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton died last week press reports focused on her philanthropy and her wealth – an estimated $16.4 billion[1] (£8.22bn). A statement by the Walton family on April 24 2007 said that a significant part of this wealth - comprising around 8.4% of Wal-Mart's shares - will go to charity.[2] But what does 'charity' and 'philanthropy' mean in this case, and to what ends is Wal-Mart's founding family's money working?

The most likely recipient of Helen Walton's charity is the Walton Foundation, set up by her and her husband. The Foundation's website states that 'We believe students can receive excellent educations from all types of schools, including traditional public schools, public charter schools, and private schools'.[3] The Foundation's work centres on introducing 'choice' into the US school system – in other words, to lobby for, and to provide funding for, private education. Colorado Educational Association warned it's members that the Walton Foundation seeks to 'Introduce more competition to public schools in the form of support for private schools, alternative schools like charter schools and KIPP (Knowledge is Power), and vouchers, and private school tax credits.'[4] Meanwhile Wal-Mart itself continues to receive over $1bn of state subsidies.[5]

In 2005 the Foundation made $158m (£79.2m) worth of grants, the majority ($80m, or £40.1m) on education reform, mainly donations to private and 'charter' schools (analogous to the 'grant maintained' schools in the UK). Other notable Walton grants were $183,000 for Americans for Tax Reform, which lobbies for a flat tax rate,[6] $200,000 for the Association of American Educators, an anti-strike teacher group[7] and $3,000 for the Cato Institute, an influential right wing think-tank.[8]

The ambitions of the Foundation stretch beyond the US itself, however. Since 1985, the Walton's International Scholarship Program, which received over $4m in Walton grants in 2005, has been open to students from seven countries in Central America, plus Mexico.[9] The stated aim of the programme is to resist the influence of 'communist ideology' in Central America, and educate the future leaders of that region in the benefits of political and economic freedom; the importance of private business is emphasised, and Walton Scholars are expected to 'study and reflect on Christian values and ideals' and live a life-style 'in accordance with the Christian faith'. As is common among the US political elite, the bogey man of 'communist ideology' is used to express fears that southern American countries might pursue an economic policy that allows anything less than totally free access by US corporations to the region's raw materials and labour force.

The Wal-Mart supermarket chain - and the Walton Foundation's grants - continue to depend on the labour of workers in plantations and sweatshops in places like Central America. And US workers are gatting a tough deal as well. A recent Human Rights Watch report stated that Wal-Mart 'stands out for the sheer magnitude and aggressiveness of its anti-union apparatus'.[10] While Sam Walton set up the Walton Foundation with the stated aim to 'motivate ordinary people to do extraordinary things'[11] the Foundation's goal is to continue the domination of corporations such as Wal-Mart – which depend on ordinary people doing repetitive tasks, for the whole of their life, for poverty wages.

References
[1]'Helen Walton estate to pass to charity; Widow of Wal-Mart founder died with an estimated US$16.4B net worth, Reuters, April 24, 2007, www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=5459251d-7ea5-477d-b157-e6220e8a22e8&k;=0
[2]Walton family press release http://sev.prnewswire.com/retail/20070419/CLTH16520042007-1.html
[3]'K-12 Education Reform', www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/educationreform/index.asp
[4]'Wal-Mart Member Education Kit May 2005; John Walton and Public Education', www.coloradoea.org/media/John%20Walton%20and%20Public%20Education.pdf
[5]'Shopping for Subsidies: How Wal-Mart Uses Taxpayer Money to Finance Its Never-Ending Growth', by Philip Mattera and Anna Purinton (May 2004), www.goodjobsfirst.org/pdf/wmtstudy.pdf
[6]Americans for Tax Reform Mission Statement, www.atr.org/home/about/index.html
[7]Association of American Educators, 'code of ethics', www.aaeteachers.org/code-ethics.shtml
[8]Walton Foundation '2005 Grants', www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/aboutus/2005grants.asp#5
[9]Walton International Scholarships website, 'background'; 'objectives' and 'responsibilities' sections, www.wispweb.org/scholarship/
[10]'Wal-Mart Denies Workers Basic Rights', 1/05/07, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/05/01/usdom15797.htm
[11]Walton Foundation 'about us', www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/aboutus/index.asp