The Waltons are a singular American family. Not exactly like you or me, to be sure. They are, according to Forbes, the richest family in America, with a net worth of $140 billion or more.
They were recently praised by Trump for raising the minimum wage for their 1 million workers to $11 an hour. On the same day, however, they closed down 63 Sam’s Club warehouse stores, putting more than 11,000 people out of work without notice.
I wish any member of the Walton family would try to live for a month on only $11 an hour wages. However, since they are all heirs to their great fortune, it’s likely that none ever held a paying job where they had to show up every day.
Here is an article about them that appeared on the Walton Foundation blog.
While other billionaires have pledged to give away most of their money to charity, the Waltons decline to join them. They know money is power. Also, it means you never have to go to work.
Their primary takeover target is education.
“The largest chunk of the foundation’s retooled and accelerated giving plan — $1 billion over the next five years — will go to education. While family members still evangelize about the benefits of “school choice” for struggling families, they’ve fought enough battles over the past two decades to determine that simply providing parents a slate of options among traditional public schools, charter schools, and private institutions isn’t enough to improve student achievement.
“For school choice to succeed, the Waltons concluded, the foundation has to move beyond making start-up grants for charters and focus more on building a constituency of supporters in local school districts.”
Typically, that means they have to actually buy elections, although the article doesn’t put it quire like that.
Their passion is charter schools. This is a handy way to bust unions and advance the privatization of public education. The Waltons claim to have started one of every charter schools in the U.S.
“Some critics have complained that the Waltons have donated a relatively small percentage of their enormous wealth to charity. Still, their giving is so substantial in terms of raw dollars that other critics contend it gives them too much influence over public policy. In response, the family has sought safe havens: school districts where there are plenty of skilled teachers and administrators excited about new educational models. In those places, the foundation has courted local officials open to charter schools operating alongside traditional neighborhood schools.
“The new approach means the foundation will exit cities where charters have been a tough sell, including Phoenix, Chicago, and Albany, N.Y. Its roster of 13 target areas now includes New Orleans, Oakland, and San Antonio, where charters are seen as ripe for success.”
See, they just sit around and decide how to privatize the public schools in your community. Arkansas is one of the poorest states in the nation. Couldn’t they just concentrate on raising up the families in their own backyard?
Diane Ravitch's blog 