Last night a southern unit of the Walton family’s national private political operation attempted to shut down a speech by Elizabeth Warren. Ostensibly this was about charter schools. Realistically, it was probably about the wealth tax.
Not much gets past Central Massachusetts political observer Lance Harris, who tweeted last night that a Walton family political operation in Georgia was disrupting a speech by Elizabeth Warren. In addition to Mr. Harris’s vigilance, there were reporters on the ground. Here are some tweets that occurred during the event, first from The Intercept’s Ryan Grim:
And one more, from CNN’s Greg Krieg:
Notice the details. The group’s leader says they formed a few weeks ago “organically.” But really, it had been funded by the Waltons 100% for some time, and was able to rent buses and get themselves to Atlanta – all after just forming. Sound familiar? Try the equally fishy Massachusetts Parents United creation story.
A beautiful touch from Ryan Grim: “Walton Foundation protesters disrupted event. No sign of the Waltons themselves.” Among privatizers, it is a tried and true technique to put people of color out front while the very white and very wealthy funders stay back in the boardroom.
Good insight from Greg Krieg: “a pro-charter group funded by the Waltons protested a Warren speech about a pioneering union led by black women.” The Waltons hate unions with the heat of a thousand suns.
If the Waltons hate anything so much as unions, it would be taxes. The family and WalMart are huge into tax dodging. And guess who has a plan for that? Elizabeth Warren. So yes the Waltons are big into charter schools but they are bigger into their own wealth. Disrupting Warren on any grounds is a good thing to them. Remember, dark money is never what it seems.
Here in Massachusetts the Waltons have their own political operation as I showed in The Walton Family’s Massachusetts Political Team, 2019.
And the beauty of these political operations the Walton Family Foundation backs in Massachusetts and around the country? They are mostly tax deductible at the top rate of thirty-seven percent. The Waltons pick up about sixty-three percent of this and you, the grateful taxpayer, pick up thirty-seven percent.
When the Waltons push charter schools, what they really mean is lower state and local taxes on Wal-Mart. When the Waltons try to shout down Elizabeth Warren, it’s about the wealth tax. The Waltons do all this with tax deductible political fronts. Taxes, taxes, taxes.
What happened in Georgia is that a taxpayer subsidized unit of the political front of one of America’s richest families attempted to shut down a political candidate. Expect more of this.
Money never sleeps. Follow the money.
Wal-Mart’s workplace practices include “a vociferous anti-unionism, embedded gender discrimination, compulsive cost cutting, and near-comprehensive control over workers and the workplace.” – Prof. Thomas Jensen Adams
[Full disclosure: as an educator in the UMass system, I am a union member. I write about dark money, not education.]