Wal-Mart Should Be Publicly Owned By Its Consumers Like The Green Bay Packers

[DTRV]

I don't understand why the children of Sam Walton should reap most of the monetary benefits from the profits of Wal-Mart. They did not build or produce the products that made Wal-Mart a mega company. From my understanding, the Walton family primarily owns the means of production of the business therefore, they decide if they get the biggest piece of the profit pie. Perhaps, the government should give the Walton family a final severance pay for their contributions to the company and eventually make Wal-Mart a publicly owned company like the Green Bay Packers (NFL Team). Green Bay is a competitive team which does not need an owner reaping most the profits because they own tools necessary for the players to play (ie. stadium, helmet, football). The fans indirectly fund the providing of these tools as the team's consumers. The same should hold true for Wal-Mart when it pertains to its consumers.

[Demsrule86]

1. That doesn't even make sense.

[jimfields33]

2. The Walton family own 14 percent of the Walmart stock

That’s their ownership. Have them sell them and watch the stock market go to a free fall and eventually will effect the economy huge.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

3. The consumers, pretty much by definition, don't 'own' any businesses

SOME 'owners' are also consumers, true ... In the case of the Packers, the tiny subset of consumers that pay taxes in the city or county of Green Bay or however it works, may also go to games or watch on TV ... but that's not even close to the entire group of Packers Football 'consumers'.

It's also the case that the Packers are like a 100 year old football team, and are the ONLY team without an 'owner' or 'ownership group' comprised of a handful of individuals, all really rich.

No government just 'took away' the ownership by fiat from the Packers 'owner', and handed it to 'consumers', rather it's ownership structure developed organically, a long-ass time ago.

Also, Walmart doesn't own hardly any 'means of production', they buy things from others, distribute it, and sell it. Thousands of other companies own the means of production for the things they vend at their stores.

How about we just raise estate taxes on multi-billion $ estates? Bit more of a practical solution to the problem.

[Casady1]

4. This is why republicans call

democrats communists.

[Mysterian]

10. No, a post on a message board is not why republicans call

Democrats communists. Republicans call Democrats communists because republicans are intellectually lazy idiots who love to be spoon-fed disinformation that supports their twisted world views.

[alphafemale]

28. Also a poster with less than 100 posts calling out a post as evidence we are communist

Made by a poster with less than 50 posts.

Look suspicious to anyone else?

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Silly

Even the most appropriately regulated capitalistic system wouldn't simply appropriate private equity & disburse it.
That sounds more like Chinese style communist authoritarianism. And, even they quit doing it!
I worked for a company with a sizeable manufacturing presence in China which why I went there 6 times. (Product made there was for the Chinese & Southeast Asian markets. There were no exports to North America.)
Anyway, our top execs, with whom I regularly worked with, would never have dropped that capital if they thought there was anything more than an intergalactic distance to one chance the government would seize control of, and distribute the assets to the consumers.
And, you think we should do what even the Chinese Communist Party no longer does?

[Hortensis]

25. Yes. Just by the by, noting that China cancelled its national healthcare system.

Even well established central planning, long after successful seizure of all the wealth of the hated, undeserving elites, couldn't keep the collectivist dream from collapsing.

[wallingfordfc]

6. Better Yet

Maybe we need to create an entire marketplace - not just for Wal-Mart - but where normal everyday people could own tiny shares of all kinds of companies, like McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Apple, JP Morgan, Bank of America, Pfizer, Moderna, etc...

[WarGamer]

12. that's a great idea!! Someone oughta rush out and make that happen.

[Pisces]

7. Fishing for trolls

[NCjack]

8. Walmart (stock symbol WMT) is a publicly owned campany

that is traded on the stock exchange. Anyone can buy a piece of them.

[Hortensis]

26. Including employees, who can auto purchase stock by deductions

from each paycheck. And as is normal in these things, Walmart will contribute to purchases up to a modest amount.

But the lure of course is TAKING.

[we can do it]

9. What are you smoking?

[WarGamer]

11. You couldn't be more wrong.

If you tried to be more wrong, it'd be tough.

I'm an owner of WalMart.

Holding stock and even played Options last week.

So the family owns a bit under 50% of the business... so?

If YOU want to own a piece of WMT, bust out your wallet.

[snort]

13. FED-MART!

[crud]

14. I think there are less disruptive ways to achieve simular outcomes.

Let the workers be part owners in companies where they work. Profit sharing and worker input. I suppose the feds could make it a requirement once a company becomes so large and vital to society. Also there could local taxes and oversight boards to decide how to maintain local businesses and keep them competitive. There are tons of ways to make capitalism work without calling it socialism.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

15. Sometimes someone comes up with a great idea,

but this isn't one of them.

Were you actually serious about this?
If so, this is my response:

[MarineCombatEngineer]

16. I'll bet you're not getting the response you were expecting.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

17. All businesses should be co ops.

That would put a leash on greedy ceo's.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

18. Are you saying that my trucking business should be a co op?

Even though I'm the one that put all the hard work and capital into my business?

[I_UndergroundPanther]

19. The employees you use

To make your money
Need a voice in the company and empowerment.

You seem like that offends you.

Capitalism is all about hierarchy and exploiting everything for profit. That is the nature of zero sum games capitalism fosters.

We will never have equality while capitalism exists.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

21. My emplyees, which consist of one,

do have a say in MY BUSINESS.
I do use a book keeping business, should they have a say in my business also?

Regardless, I wholeheartedly reject your statements here on this subject.

[StarfishSaver]

20. Hunh?

[TomSlick]

22. I hope your post was misunderstood.

I assume you know that Walmart is a publicly traded company and that anyone is free to buy stock.

Please help us understand what you are saying. Are you suggesting that some companies are too large to be controlled by majority stockholders? If so, what are you suggesting as the alternative? Please explain.

[GulfCoast66]

23. Ha! My wife and I are part owners of many companies. Including the one we work at.

And got that ownership at bargain basement prices.

It has ensured us a comfortable retirement.

Look up things called IRA’s and 401Ks. They are amazing.



Of course we also have a defined pension that is really good. Maybe focus on making them common again rather than tilting against windmills.

[BGBD]

24. For $135.17

you and live your dream of being part owner of Wal-Mart.

[Hortensis]

27. Redistribution of a different sort is proven to work: thru taxation and regulation.

Not because there isn't plenty to go around if we did it even slightly better than now, but because we must eliminate the new centimillionaire and billionaire classes we so foolilshly allowed to develop. Their extreme power is incompatible with government of, by and for the people. An empowered electorate is an existential threat to them, and vice versa.

Not at all a new idea, of course. Speaker Pelosi even reminded us of the need in a national address. Just need "the people" to finally wise up and empower the fix.