Sam Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) A former "J.C. Penney clerk who opened his first discount store in Rogers, Ark. 1962. Took Wal-Mart public 1970". Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer with more than 5,100 stores, 1.3 million employees and close to 7.2 billion customers per year. Annual sales last year were approximately $285 billion. "Family controls 40% of Wal-Mart. Son Rob serves as chairman; other children not active in company".
The Waltons
When Sam Walton died in 1992 he left a widow,
Helen R. Walton, and four children, S. Robson
"Rob" Walton, John T. Walton,
Jim C. Walton, and
Alice Walton.
John T., the second oldest, a Vietnam War hero, who as a Green Beret medic won the Silver-Star for "saving lives under fire",
died tragically in a plane crash on June 27, 2005 at the age of 58. John was survived by his wife,
Christy, and a son Luke.
(Walton's ultralight aircraft, right)
As you can see from their mini-bios there from Forbes, Sam Walton left his very gracious family with a great deal of wealth.
I don't know much about the Walton family. I remember feeling
surprised at John's heroic military service when reading about his death last year. I don't know why I was surprised other than the simple fact that not many sons of billionaires were volunteering to serve in the Army special forces during 1968.
That sort of leads me to believe the Walton family, more than likely, had a pretty good upbringing. But, that's based primarily on what I read about John and as I said, I don't know much else about the family...And sort of learned a 'lesson' about not prejudging them from last June.
Currently, the 5 Waltons have a combined net worth of $77,900,000,000 and are ranked numbers 6 thru 10 in Forbes' "
top 400 richest Americans ".
To put that much money into a little perspective; If you never made another dime on that $77.9 billion, you could spend $1 million a DAY for the next 213 YEARS....If you earned a mere 1% on that $77.9 billion, that 1% would earn you $779 million in
INTEREST each year so you could spend
$2 million+ per day, every day, for that same 213 years and never touch the principal!
I think the Walton family is pretty well set, don't you? ...I mean, real nice people,....and, you know, not hurting for money and certainly getting very fine health care attention when needed. And the family is the perfect example of the
American Dream of what hard work and, a good family inheritance, can get you in this great country of ours. Sam Walton was quite a man, and one of the most influential Americans of the 20th century. And, we all wish he was our Daddy...
Wal-Mart Employees
As you know, Wal-Mart is
big news again. The retail giant, the nation's largest employer with 1.3 million employees, 'lost' a huge battle in Maryland that could eventually have a dramatic effect on the way they compensate their employees nation-wide.
The Maryland state Legislature overrode Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr's. veto on a bill known as the 'Fair Share Health Care Plan', that "requires companies employing more than 10,000 people to spend at least eight percent of their payroll on health care benefits. Wal-Mart is the only company of that size in the state that does not already do so, though the giant retailer does offer health insurance to its
employees". The Maryland General Assembly needed a three-fifths vote (60%) to override the governor's veto and they got almost 64%, at 118-67.
The argument about what effect raising wages, or compensation for employees has on the increase in prices to consumers, versus what the cost to the public, the same consumers of course, that Wal-Mart is passing on by not providing health care benefits to their many employees, is worth looking at;
Wal-Mart has 1.3 million employees. As was said, they are now the nation's largest employer. They don't pay their employees very well and they offer a very inferior health care package to them. Well, what they do offer doesn't equal '8%' of their compensation and many of the people employed at Wal-Mart are on Medicaid and/or Medicare, which of course is paid for by you. And, we know how expensive Medicaid and Medicare are to the American 'consumer'.
Let's say the average salary at Wal-Mart is $25,000 per year. It's not that high by the way, but let's use it nonetheless. If you multiple $25,000 by the total 1.3 million employees you get a total payroll of, $32.5 billion. Maryland's new law, if applied to the entire nation, would require Wal-Mart to spend 8% of that total payroll expense, or $2.6 billion, on employee health care. So you obviously say, "See how much your consumer costs are going to go up' because of that stupid new law in Maryland"! 'Wal-Mart is going to pass that $2.6 billion onto the consumer and prices will skyrocket!... Well, hold on a minute..
Remember, Wal-Mart had sales last year of $285,000,000,000. That's $285 billion. If they had to increase next year's sales by that new $2.6 billion cost of employee health care, that would equal a less than 1%, (.091%) increase in prices to consumers. So, that pack of gum you bought for a dollar at Wal-Mart will now cost you $1.01. That $100 microwave you bought last year will now cost you $100.91.
And, since Wal-Mart says they are already paying somewhere between 1% - 8% on employee health care, that increase is much lower to consumer prices. That increase is probably not even half of 1%. Your microwave is probably more like, $100.45 this year.
YOU
Do you think you pay more for the cost passed on to Medicaid and Medicare by the segment of those 1.3 million employees that use it, or do you chew an awful lot of gum?
John T., the second oldest, a Vietnam War hero, who as a Green Beret medic won the Silver-Star for "saving lives under fire", died tragically in a plane crash on June 27, 2005 at the age of 58. John was survived by his wife, Christy, and a son Luke. (Walton's ultralight aircraft, right)
As you can see from their mini-bios there from Forbes, Sam Walton left his very gracious family with a great deal of wealth.
I don't know much about the Walton family. I remember feeling surprised at John's heroic military service when reading about his death last year. I don't know why I was surprised other than the simple fact that not many sons of billionaires were volunteering to serve in the Army special forces during 1968.
That sort of leads me to believe the Walton family, more than likely, had a pretty good upbringing. But, that's based primarily on what I read about John and as I said, I don't know much else about the family...And sort of learned a 'lesson' about not prejudging them from last June.
Currently, the 5 Waltons have a combined net worth of $77,900,000,000 and are ranked numbers 6 thru 10 in Forbes' " top 400 richest Americans ".
To put that much money into a little perspective; If you never made another dime on that $77.9 billion, you could spend $1 million a DAY for the next 213 YEARS....If you earned a mere 1% on that $77.9 billion, that 1% would earn you $779 million in INTEREST each year so you could spend $2 million+ per day, every day, for that same 213 years and never touch the principal!
I think the Walton family is pretty well set, don't you? ...I mean, real nice people,....and, you know, not hurting for money and certainly getting very fine health care attention when needed. And the family is the perfect example of the American Dream of what hard work and, a good family inheritance, can get you in this great country of ours. Sam Walton was quite a man, and one of the most influential Americans of the 20th century. And, we all wish he was our Daddy...
Wal-Mart Employees
As you know, Wal-Mart is big news again. The retail giant, the nation's largest employer with 1.3 million employees, 'lost' a huge battle in Maryland that could eventually have a dramatic effect on the way they compensate their employees nation-wide.
The Maryland state Legislature overrode Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr's. veto on a bill known as the 'Fair Share Health Care Plan', that "requires companies employing more than 10,000 people to spend at least eight percent of their payroll on health care benefits. Wal-Mart is the only company of that size in the state that does not already do so, though the giant retailer does offer health insurance to its employees". The Maryland General Assembly needed a three-fifths vote (60%) to override the governor's veto and they got almost 64%, at 118-67.
The argument about what effect raising wages, or compensation for employees has on the increase in prices to consumers, versus what the cost to the public, the same consumers of course, that Wal-Mart is passing on by not providing health care benefits to their many employees, is worth looking at;
Wal-Mart has 1.3 million employees. As was said, they are now the nation's largest employer. They don't pay their employees very well and they offer a very inferior health care package to them. Well, what they do offer doesn't equal '8%' of their compensation and many of the people employed at Wal-Mart are on Medicaid and/or Medicare, which of course is paid for by you. And, we know how expensive Medicaid and Medicare are to the American 'consumer'.
Let's say the average salary at Wal-Mart is $25,000 per year. It's not that high by the way, but let's use it nonetheless. If you multiple $25,000 by the total 1.3 million employees you get a total payroll of, $32.5 billion. Maryland's new law, if applied to the entire nation, would require Wal-Mart to spend 8% of that total payroll expense, or $2.6 billion, on employee health care. So you obviously say, "See how much your consumer costs are going to go up' because of that stupid new law in Maryland"! 'Wal-Mart is going to pass that $2.6 billion onto the consumer and prices will skyrocket!... Well, hold on a minute..
Remember, Wal-Mart had sales last year of $285,000,000,000. That's $285 billion. If they had to increase next year's sales by that new $2.6 billion cost of employee health care, that would equal a less than 1%, (.091%) increase in prices to consumers. So, that pack of gum you bought for a dollar at Wal-Mart will now cost you $1.01. That $100 microwave you bought last year will now cost you $100.91.
And, since Wal-Mart says they are already paying somewhere between 1% - 8% on employee health care, that increase is much lower to consumer prices. That increase is probably not even half of 1%. Your microwave is probably more like, $100.45 this year.
YOU
Do you think you pay more for the cost passed on to Medicaid and Medicare by the segment of those 1.3 million employees that use it, or do you chew an awful lot of gum?
