Walton Family Political Contributions Favor Conservatives, Essay Example

Political Action Committees (PACs) are typically formed in order to fund political campaigns that favor the views of an interested party. Many large corporations take advantage of these committees to promote legislation that will help their businesses. One influential company that exercises this privilege is Wal-Mart and although the company generally favors conservative politicians, it has backed President Barack Obama in his most recent campaign. Ultimately, more active PACs are more likely to influence policy and it isn’t surprising that Wal-Mart has had a large influence in the nation’s politics as a consequence.

The major contributors to this PAC, which is known as the Walmart Political Action Committee, includes Walmart employees, political advocates, and the Walton family, who founded and owns most of the company. This PAC claims that their intention is to increase the company’s standing worldwide, which would result in greater freedoms, such as lower taxes and the right to outsource workers. Interestingly, many Walmart employees oppose these views and have made several attempts to fight against the company from acquiring these rights.

Critics of the Walmart Political Action Committee claim that this is a way for the Walton family to influence politicians in ways that will further promote their wealth. However, the family justifies the PAC by claiming that it is not used for just their means and that money is given to both Republicans and Democrats equally. In fact, during the 2011-2012 election cycle, approximately have of the PACs contributions went to the support of Democrats. Issues that this PAC has supported includes pro-gun laws and for the protection of the traditional definition of marriage, which are inherently conservative beliefs (Berman, 2013).

Ultimately, Walmart appears to use their political action committee to protect their interests. However, it is important to emphasize that it is willing to contribute to both Republican and Democrat candidates to achieve its needs. Specifically, the PAC has been known to contribute money to other PACs, such as the Priorities USA Action super-PAC that aimed to have President Obama re-elected. This indicates that Walmart’s contribution to politics is more complicated than originally believed and members of the Walton family, who control these funds, have shown to have very different political agendas (Solomon, 2012). Therefore, it’s difficult to predict the future decisions that this PAC will make and the impact it will have on U.S. politics.

According to the company’s website, Walmart’s PAC has attempted to make their political goals more transparent. In a statement, they report that “we do use corporate funds to make political contributions to candidate and ballot measure committees in various states” (Walmart, n.d.). Ultimately, it is important for the company to be transparent with these intentions because it will allow customers to retain their trust in the stores and continue to be faithful shoppers. However, while most states do require reports of their donations to political campaigns, and Walmart is willing to comply with these requirements, it will not publish this data in states where it is not required. Therefore, even though the company announced it would be transparent for this purpose, this is not necessarily the case in every situation.

Liberal critics of Walmart’s PAC claim that the company has been spinning the truth on their political backings. Ultimately, they conclude that although Walmart claims to support Democrat politicians equally, it is generally to those that are against President Obama’s policies. Since a lot of contradictory information is available on this matter, it is essential for each individual to conduct their research and determine what they believe Walmart’s intentions are for themselves.

References

Berman J. (2013).Walmart PAC, Walton Family Political Contributions Favor Conservatives: Report. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/18/walmart-political- contributions_n_3461267.html

Making Change at Walmart. (n.d.). What’s Right? Walmart’s Words vs. Walmart’s Political Priorities. Retrieved from http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/factsheet/walmart-watch- fact-sheets/whats-right-walmarts-political-priorities/

Solomon B. (2012). Wal-Mart Heir Donates To Obama PAC, Defying Rest Of Billionaire Family. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2012/10/23/wal-mart-heir-donates-to-obama- pac-defying-rest-of-billionaire-family/

Walmart. (n.d.). Political and Policy-Oriented Engagement. Retrieved from  http://corporate.walmart.com/microsites/global-responsibility-report-2013/pdf/Political%20and%20Public%20Policy–  Global%20Responsibility%20Report%20(2013).pdf