Rights and Liberties: The Women of Wal-Mart By Geri L. Dreiling, AlterNet
Pro-subsidy, anti-union
Ironically, founder Sam Walton's rules for building a business retail include valuing 'associates' and sharing rewards. Last year, Wal-Mart generated $265 billion in revenue and had about $9.1 billion in net income. Today there are 5,000 stores in 10 countries, including Argentina, South Korea and China. When Walton died in 1992, he was second only to Bill Gates for title of the world's richest man.
The impressive growth has come at a high price. In May, Good Jobs First, a nonprofit research center that promotes corporate and government accountability, released a report showing Wal-Mart received more than one billion dollars in subsidies from local and state governments, including sales tax rebates, free or reduced-priced land, tax-increment-financing, state corporate income tax credits and property tax abatements. The study was partially funded by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.