The Waltons just gave 900 MILLION dollars to a museum. I suppose when you

[Snoutport]

don't pay your employees a living wage you end up having nearly a billion dollars to give away to a museum.

I think it is really awesome that hungry children will be able to go to a museum.

Is it me or do I smell a big tax write off?

http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=47173

[phantom power]

1. our new Gilded Age

[eleny]

4. +1

[Booster]

2. Rich people are just too stupid.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

7. fucking clueless.

[Sal Minella]

3. Let me guess . . .

A museum of gold cufflinks cast off by the Walton men?

A museum of time-cards altered by supervisors to cut down on paycheck expenses?

A museum of photographs of the Made-In-America items Wal-Mart used to carry, years and years ago?

I can't guess. Someone tell me.

[Snoutport]

49. a museum of what America was before the Waltons helped ruin it?

[nichomachus]

5. And the local Mafia don gives out turkeys on Thanksgiving

[Wednesdays]

35. "Do as I say, and no one gets hurt..."

Same deal.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. People have always suffered so that the rich could have their museums...

I've seen many museums where this was the case.

And I wondered how to justify the wealth that those rich people accrued then just so we could see it now...vs. the painful lives the poor lived then under that horrible system.

[Snoutport]

12. I love museums! I made a list of museums when I was a kid and have made

pilgrimage after pilgrimage to all the museums on my list. I've been to the Hermitage, the Tate, Prado, MET, LA County, Guggenheims in Venice and New York, East Berlin, Cairo, Stockholm...and many many more. I love me some museums!!

But 900 million from one family who is exploiting their workers so badly...I feel these museum dollars come at the expense of hungry children and the American Economy. With so many people hurting to give nearly a billion dollars away is really just flaunting it in the face of your workers and the hurting public.

The fact that the museum only needs 16 million-ish to run a year makes it even more of an insult.

[Capitalocracy]

19. Oh, those dollars represent hungry children all over the world!

Not just in the U.S.

[girl gone mad]

16. I read an interesting essay by an art critic recently.

The gist of it was that her industry has made a pact with the devil, so to speak. They are benefiting enormously from our systemic economic injustice, but it has come at a too high of a price. I wonder if I can find it again.

ETA: found it!

http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/heartney/art-and-money-and-politics-3-28-11.asp

An excerpt:

Isn’t there something basically unhealthy about a society where social programs that serve the poor and middle class are cut to the bone while a Picasso can go for over $100 million? Oh yes, I know, this is “private money,” but how did these art collectors manage to amass such huge fortunes in the first place? Is a CEO, especially one who runs the company into the ground and then floats off with a golden parachute, really worth more than 300 times his lowest paid employee? Why are the bankers who nearly toppled our financial system free to retire to their mansions while we demonize teachers who want to have a tiny bit of retirement security? Why have virtually none of the productivity gains of the last 30 years gone to workers? Whose money is it, really?

And where does this leave us? I can’t help feeling that the art world’s responses to funding crises reveal a glaring myopia. The problem isn’t how we argue for a share of the increasingly tiny budget pie devoted to funding for social services and culture. The problem is the whole concept of the pie. I keep wondering, as state and local governments careen ever closer to bankruptcy and the federal government flirts with a trillion dollar deficit, why isn’t anyone connecting the dots to the extension of the Bush tax cuts? Why is the question of increasing taxes on the very wealthy so completely off the table?

I recently brought this up at an art party, only to be told that measures like a more progressive tax system or a reduction of write-offs like the charitable deduction would diminish art patrons’ ability to fund residencies or support museums. But again, what are we really talking about? Are we saying that art supporters are only motivated by tax incentives? And isn’t part of the bind that museums now find themselves due at least in part to their own grandiosity? Is it possible that they now find themselves over-extended precisely because they expanded beyond their means in good times? Are these really good reasons to argue that the wealthy and privileged shouldn’t be expected to contribute to a more equitable society?

I’m not against the art market, and I think artists (and writers) should be paid for what they do. But what is going on now seems completely out of proportion to what is needed for a vital, innovative and lively art scene, and in fact may even be detrimental to it. Is all the money sloshing around at the top skewing our values? Have we all been bought and sold?

[Snoutport]

20. most excellent!

[cali]

28. huh? museums are for everybody and they're of great value, by and large

this is not intended as an endorsement of the Walton family, but damning museums because of them seems a bit shortsighted.

[Snoutport]

51. I don't damn museums...I damn employers who take every penny from the system they can

and force their employees to live under the poverty level...then give the money away to other rich people. (buying multi-million dollar paintings while children don't eat) plus it is the overkill of it. The museum needs 16 million a year to run...and they get 900 million. That's like giving a beggar 500,000 million instead of a quarter.

[Hannah Bell]

83. they don't "give" anything. it's a scam. they get to put as much money they want into a tax free

investment fund, direct those investments, & give away less than they make every year -- & get another tax break.

it's a crime.

[WatsonT]

8. Yeah, who needs museums?

Seriously, people are pissed off about *this*?

[Duer 157099]

11. If the donor had been someone who earned their money honestly

and who didn't exploit people excessively, including but not limited to Americans, then yes, I can't see getting upset over it.

If someone, say, robbed you but gave it to charity, would you feel ok about that, because it went to a good cause, even if your children suffered because of it? It's like that.

[WatsonT]

14. Who has walmart robbed exactly?

They sell cheap crap and wipe out other businesses but I can't remember one time when I was forced to go there and spend money against my will.

False analogy.

People are lazy and cheap and so prefer walmart to other places. Not bothering to go somewhere else is not the same as being forced to go there. For instance: if my tv is on the religious channel and I don't feel like going to get the remote, am I being forced to watch it against my will?

But maybe you're right: museums are a waste of money. So are libraries. We should build more race tracks and strip clubs instead.

[Snoutport]

15. It is like they are saying to their employees:

"You will get poverty wages because that is what I think you are worth. The money I save from your lousy pay I'm going to give away and flaunt it in your face."

That's what I don't like. In a healthy society you pay your employees enough for THEM to pay into the economy and buy all the products that make a healthy economy.

The fact that anyone can accrue such wealth that a billion dollars means nothing while paying hardly any taxes...

That's what I don't like.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. They've robbed the American people

WalMart has destroyed small businesses all across America.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

31. Small businesses that were ripping off customers and treating their employees crappy.

Just because it's a small business does not mean that they are great to their employees and don't rip people off. My husband and I have worked for small businesses and family businesses, and both times we were treated like thieves, who, if they turned their backs on us, would steal from them or sit down and not work while we were there.
People at DU are always touting the small business, but they treat their employees just as bad if not worse than WalMart. AND they don't have nearly the publicity.
That being said, I never shop at Walmart. I stick to Target and Homeland.
Duckie

[wickerwoman]

32. Their own workers?

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_14813.cfm

They've been caught several times altering time cards to shortchange workers. That's on top of paying them so little they qualify for food stamps.

[dana_b]

36. where have you been?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1063143

[rdking647]

41. who does walmart force to work for them or shop at their stores

dont like how walmart treats employees? dont work there.

[themadstork]

61. That's like saying

Don't like all the toxic shit in our air? Well don't breathe it.

[onenote]

62. actually, its not anything like saying that

Everyone breathes. But not everyone shops at or works at Wal Mart.

[themadstork]

65. Until the gov't supports labor again,

then yes, it is. They have no practical way of demanding higher wages or compensation. And they've got to eat.

[onenote]

68. turnover at wal mart stores is very high -- some estimates put it at 70 percent

so I'll say it again -- folks don't have to work at Wal Mart.

[themadstork]

70. I think the high turnover

essentially proves my point. What % of their workers are unionized? They're exploiting the poor by attaching no security or benefits (or even livable wages) to the jobs they need to accept in order to eat. And they've manipulated the law and public opinion such that these workers have no way to collectively stand up for themselves. The only air available is toxic air, and for the poor the choice is either suck it down and die slowly or suffocate and die rapidly.

[Very_Boring_Name]

106. Right.. because I clearly need crap from wal mart as much as I need air

:eyes:

[Doremus]

66. In many, many parts of the country there is no other shopping choice.

"People are lazy and cheap and so prefer walmart to other places. Not bothering to go somewhere else is not the same as being forced to go there."

Walmart has all but destroyed local retail. In many sections of the country, they are the *only* choice. So let's place blame where it belongs -- not with "lazy" people. Thanks.

[Selatius]

76. True, in many rural areas, they are, in all practical purposes, a monopolistic enterprise. nt

[Hannah Bell]

84. the slave labor those products are made by? the workers in the us they're driving

into poverty?

the us government their tax-free foundations/investment vehicles deprives of taxes?

they're thieves & murderers.

[Snoutport]

98. thank you thank you thank you

I needed some help! so many people have been arguing how awesome the waltons are.

[RKP5637]

9. Many people don't count to many in the US. I don't know how long it's

going to take the masses to figure this out, but maybe then we can get this country back to a democracy and get this country out of being a plutocracy. Until then, I'm not surprised by much.

[Terra Alta]

10. the Waltons donate almost a billion dollars to a museum

while most of their employees live paycheck to paycheck, many on government assistance.

Pathetic.

[Initech]

13. The profit virus strikes again!

[KurtNYC]

17. btw that is 3x what Trump is worth

Pocket change to the Waltons. This is not about tax write offs or wages; it's the Waltons bid for legacy, a kind of immortality.

[themadstork]

64. But noooo, Forbe says Trump is worth several billion!

If he's worth several billion then my big toenail is worth a cheeseburger.

[Rageneau]

18. Should they have KEPT the money instead?

It's pretty common for the super-rich to donate to charity. America got most of its public libraries that way -- from the robber baron Carnegie. Bill & Melinda Gates typically give away billions each year, and most famous art museums were endowed by rapacious tycoons. Even the onerous Koch Bros. contribute large amounts to artsy-fartsy endeavors. So the Walton Family is only doing what they think they OUGHT to do, as good citizens.

Unlike many on this board, the Waltons don't believe they did anything wrong to achieve their good fortune; they believe the opposite: that they saw a need and filled it -- and that they later shared their good fortune with as many people as possible through public gifting.

[Snoutport]

24. feeding starving people, buying medicine for the sick is charity

giving almost a billion dollars of money to other rich people to buy their million dollars antique paintings is not quite my idea of charity.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. Phew. They didn't spend it reforming education.

That's a good thing.

[Snoutport]

23. LOL...I guess I didn't look at it that way....

[w4rma]

29. Yup. That makes me happy. (nt)

[Art_from_Ark]

96. I think you have spoken too soon

http://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/educationreform/index.asp

[edhopper]

25. What pisses my off

is they are using their obscene wealth to buy up major American paintings. And putting them in their museum in bumfuck Arkansas, Not some major city where millions can enjoy them. Bumfuck Arkansas.

[Snoutport]

26. LOL...

it will be good for their economy though :0) that truly is a good thing.

[Art_from_Ark]

33. That's my hometown you are insulting, sir

There are hundreds of thousands of people living within an hour's drive of Bentonville. There's going to be a world class museum now within easy reach of them, especially those living to the east and north of Bentonville who can't make the drive out to Tulsa to see the Gilcrease (another museum set up by a fat-cat). There's a regional airport 8 miles away from downtown Bentonville that has non-stop flights to and from several major cities including Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Minneapolis, Memphis, Washington DC. Why should the Waltons set up a museum in some big city when Bentonville is their hometown?

[edhopper]

39. Certainly describes

Bumfuck to me.

[Art_from_Ark]

53. So only cityfolk are allowed to have museums?

Take your urban elitist shit and cram it where the sun don't shine.
I'll take Bentonville over any dirty, crime-infested city any day.

[Snoutport]

73. wow...c'mon fellas... it's not about where...it's about having a billion dollars laying

around. A billion dollars that could have been paid to employees to keep them above the poverty line.

Everyone deserves dignity and art and beauty and days in the city and days in the country... the art will bring diversity and great things to Bentonville. That is the very best thing to be said about this whole thing.

I just wish they'd used that billion to build a school, or do some good that would benefit people in need of charity...not spend it buying million dollar paintings from other rich people.

[Art_from_Ark]

78. Building schools

I guess a $300 million donation to the University of Arkansas, including $100 million to the graduate program, doesn't count for anything

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-52353852.html

[Snoutport]

85. sure does...thank you for sharing that.

If you are mad because I didn't know about it, well... can't help that.

In Oregon we have insurance for kids under the poverty level that I pay for with my taxes. The kids whose parents work at Walmart qualify because the Waltons don't think their workers are deserving of a pay that would take them above the poverty level. So, awesome that they gave money to a school and a museum. Not so awesome that they have that much money because their workers live in poverty.

Just sayin'....

[Art_from_Ark]

94. Keep this in mind

Arkansas has always been a poor state. With the $300 million grant to the U of A, lots of Arkansas students have been and will be given the chance to attend the state's main university without getting deep in debt to do it.

[Snoutport]

86. Oh, and a Walmart employees children qualify for free breakfast and lunch

that our taxes also pay for. So, the Waltons give billions away to museums and colleges while their employees children qualify for government food assistance.

I just see a better world where a full time job pays enough to feed your kids and take them to the Dr. Instead they are kept at a poverty level so their bosses have 1.2 Billion dollars to give to the people they think are deserving. (your 300,000 just got added to my 900,000)

[Art_from_Ark]

91. A few more things

The high schools in both Bentonville and neighboring Rogers are top-notch schools with state-of-the-art facilities, and word has it that the Waltons made some contribution to both cities' schools.

But if you want the Waltons (or the Walton Foundation) to build new schools, you should be aware that they are big on charter schools.

Another thing-- Arkansas for a LONG time was a dirt-poor state, surpassed only by Mississippi in poverty rate, and was often the brunt of dumb hillbilly jokes (including in cartoons like Bugs Bunny (Hillbilly Hare) and the Flintstones (San Cemente in Arkanstone), not to mention all the jokes made about Bill Clinton). This museum can be a slap in the face to art snobs who think that only big cities are deserving of having world-class museums.

[Snoutport]

103. It is great that a few square miles of arkansas are benefitting greatly from the waltons

at the expense of the rest of the country.

they had 15 billion of profit last year and shared some of that with their hometown. I do think that is great. But they gleaned that money from being cut throat business people and their type of business has harmed many people throughout the country. But heaven forbid they be criticized because of how they make life much better for a few acres of arkansas.

[Art_from_Ark]

105. Wal-Mart may have had 15 billion in profit

but how much of that went directly to the Waltons? How much of that went to shareholders, who live all around the country?

And a few acres? You can't be serious. The state has 50,000 square miles of land area. People on this board like to complain about how the poor are neglected, but when the Waltons make significant contributions to help the poor of their home state, which had long been No. 49 in terms of income, and which had been the laughing stock of the country for a long time, then they're still evil.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about the company. My grandmother attended their grand opening in 1962. My first memory of the store dates from 1963, when, as a little kid, I tore a dollar bill off a benefit Christmas tree that was in the store. My first (and, as it turned out, only) Beatles record was bought there in 1964, as was my first Disney record, "It's a Small World", composed for the 1964 New York World's Fair.

Over the years, just about everyone I knew had some sort of connection at one time or another with working for Wal-Mart-- either directly, or through some family member. Several people in my graduating class went on to become store managers in other cities, while others are working as warehouse managers or in the main office. Some have complained about the working conditions, mostly income, but they're really not any worse than conditions for other types of labor in the area. Try working at one of the chicken processing plants, or the swing shifts at a local factory, for example, and then see if you want to complain about your job at Wal-Mart.

[KamaAina]

55. Oh, and the University of Arkansas is right down the road in Fayetteville

they even have liberals there! :sarcasm:

[Art_from_Ark]

56. You know about the UofA being down the road from B'ville?

Tell me more :)

[KamaAina]

57. Hell yeah! I used to go to Berryville, then Eureka Springs, over summer

my school guidance counselor from Md. retired out there. Eventually she sold the family place in Berryville and built a house right on Spring St. in Eureka.

Oh right, I forgot to mention that Eureka Springs, a town of maybe 2,000, has a thriving GLBT community, as well as quite a few modern-day hippies. (That's why they changed the name from "Bumfuck". :P )

[Art_from_Ark]

63. Oh, I know about the hippies in Eureka

and the artists, and the bikers, and the hotel rooms that outnumber residents, and the Christ of the Ozarks, and Onyx Cave...And they are proud they don't have a stoplight in the town.

Eureka Springs is quite an unusual town, that's for sure

[KamaAina]

71. Of course

but the "Bumfuck" haters probably don't.

A little girl I knew there called Christ of the Ozarks (put up by a rabid John Bircher who also founded a Passion Play in which the jooooos are definitely the bad guys :eyes: ) "a milk carton with arms". Seems the FAA wouldn't let them build it as high as they'd planned. :rofl:

[Art_from_Ark]

75. Ah, the Passion Play

I wonder if they'll ever get Mel Gibson to play the lead role :rofl:

[PavePusher]

34. Urban elitism?

That's fuckin' classy, eh?

[edhopper]

40. Yeah

why should the paintings be in a place where a vastly greater number of people can see them.
Small town snobbery?

[PavePusher]

47. Find $900M and start your own museum.

"Bumfuck Arkansas." Really?

At least you wear your bigotry on your sleeve....

[jmowreader]

89. I've been to Bentonville. It IS Bum Fuck Arkansas

Morality of the Waltons aside, I would have put the museum in Fort Smith--which is on Interstate 40.

[Art_from_Ark]

90. Bentonville's on Interstate 540

and has a better airport.

[jmowreader]

99. It's 80 miles up I-540 to Bentonville

I think if they want a huge number of people to go to this museum they're going to have to really build up the tourist attractions around it in Bentonville--OR they're going to have to put it on I-40.

[Art_from_Ark]

100. Have you ever travelled on I-540?

Between Fayetteville and Bentonville there is a HUGE traffic flow. Get off at the Arkansas 72 exit, drive a couple of miles west, and you're at the museum.

[Art_from_Ark]

102. Tourist attractions within 20 miles of Bentonville

Wal-Mart Visitor Center in Bentonville
Hobbes Estate natural areas outside of Rogers
Pinnacle in Rogers
Beaver Lake (large lake popular for fishing, boating, swimming, camping, hiking)
Pea Ridge National Military Park
War Eagle Craft Fair
Tontitown Grape Festival

Just a little outside of this area are the University of Arkansas and the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, and the Ozark National Forest

And then, about 35 miles away, there's Eureka Springs, a resort town that is always brimming with tourists in the summer despite the fact that it is somewhat far from population centers and it's only served by two highways, one of which is the lightly-traveled Arkansas Highway 23 and the other is the winding US 62.

[NeedleCast]

43. You can't be serious?

It's post like this that make DU fun.

[Freddie Stubbs]

44. People in 'Bumfuck Arkansas' shouldn't have access to art?

[edhopper]

46. It's so easy to fuck

with the yokels.
I'm just messing with you all.

[Gormy Cuss]

50. I'm sure millions can find their way to Arkansas to view the works. n/t

[Art_from_Ark]

54. Millions do find their way to Arkansas

The state's got expressways and train stations and airports and stuff.

Last year, 23 million people visited the state.

Yeah, millions do find their way there.

[tammywammy]

69. It's a beautiful state

My dad's grandmother lived in Arkansas. I remember going there a few times when I was a kid.

[Stevenmarc]

58. Don't worry

the art world has it's way of dealing with interlopers They will never be able to get their hands on really prime works of art, sure they will have some big names in the American art world but not every work an artist does is a pure masterpiece so I expect there will be a building full of, at best, second tier work.

[Stevenmarc]

27. With the Waltons involved rest assured it will be the dullest museum in America

I wouldn't expect any earth shattering exhibits just a lot of mediocre acquisitions of safe art from a restrained curatorial staff

[Snoutport]

30. In a 99 cent plastic frame

[Art_from_Ark]

97. Before you spout off, perhaps you should look at the collection

http://crystalbridgesmuseum.org/public/collection/

[dana_b]

37. wonderful. their own employees can't afford to pay rent, feed their kids,

have any kind of health care but these assholes can afford to give almost a billion dollars to a museum.
Maybe the kids can eat paintings?

[Snoutport]

48. They sure won't be able to afford to buy a ticket for the museum

too spendy for a walmart employee to go to a museum...

[woo me with science]

38. That was really nice of them.

[Yavin4]

42. How Much Would Offering Health Insurance to ALL of their Employees Cost?

What galls me the most about corporations like WalMart is that they make health care costs for other employers rise. The employers that DO offer health insurance have to pay ever increasing rates, because WalMart's employees are NOT insured. So, when WalMart's employees need care, it's the increased health insurance premiums that pay for it.

[Javaman]

45. Fat tax right off. Always go with your gut feeling. nt

[aquart]

52. And this is why I am completely unexcited by the billionaires' pledge to donate.

They shouldn't be that damned rich in the first place. Period.

[themadstork]

67. And how often is the charity any kind of charity the poor would want?

Housing, medicine, education, food, clothes. Let's start there. If they're going to slash the welfare state then they are morally obligated to donate in these areas. Instead they donate to school voucher programs, museums, Ivy League universities, etc. Structures that also benefit themselves directly.

[aquart]

74. Yep.

And they want us to think they're wonderful for doing it.

[deaniac21]

59. An attempt to bring the arts to NW Arkansas.

[Art_from_Ark]

77. We've had the arts in NW Arkansas for a while

Not including the University, there is the Walton Arts Center just down the street from it. There are also various little theaters around the area, and a few small galleries. But it looks like this is going to be a world-class museum. I'll certainly take a look at it the next time I'm in town after it opens.

[deaniac21]

79. This one will be spectacular!

[themadstork]

60. Maybe now they can fork over the rest of their ill-gotten dough.

Slashing the welfare state while lowering taxes on the rich, auctioning off public resources = obvious redistribution of wealth from poor to rich, as if they didn't have enough already. And that's just the *legal* ways they obtain shameful wealth. Illegal suppresion of labor is practically a multinational-corp tradition.

Fuck the Waltons. The bottom 90% needs to take back what is theirs.

[closeupready]

72. This is very nice. Ideally, these gifts would match our desired philanthropic goals, but

the donor is the one who gets to designate. It doesn't make any other of this negative stuff they have done positive, but it is, on balance, money which will help enrich the cultural lives of many people.

[in_cog_ni_to]

80. I love museums, but what kills me....U.S. population....307,006,550 - Jul 2009

They could have given every person in this country 1 million dollars and still donated $592 million to that museum. ONE FREAKIN' family COULD fix the economy...if they chose to. They could pull every citizen out of poverty. They could raise the tide and lift ALL boats.

OMG...could you imagine what THAT could do for this country? WHY don't these Mega wealthy people EVER think of doing something like that? Seriously. :(

[PavePusher]

92. Dude(ette), yer maths iz teh phale. n/t

[Art_from_Ark]

93. Translated, that means

1 million times 307 million = 307 trillion

The Waltons may be rich, but even they are not THAT rich

[Philippine expat]

104. Sorry

they could give every man, woman and child $1 and still have $592 million for the museum.
Or they could of given every person $2.93.

[LetTimmySmoke]

81. $900m can employ 18,000 people for 1 year at $50k a year.

[badtoworse]

88. It likely will - building the museum.

I have no problem with this. They could just as easily have kept the money.

[Hannah Bell]

82. oh those nice philanthropists

[Canuckistanian]

87. And to think they were only poor farmers during the Depression

Now I'll bet they have one o' them cement ponds.

[Frank Cannon]

95. Good night, John Boy.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who immediately thought that when they read that headline.

[mac56]

101. +1

:eyes: