Research Center: Political Influence

TITLE	DATE
Resurrection of the Robber Barons: Reassessing the theory of the firm A report from Susan Clark Muntean at UC San Diego examining corporate political action using Wal-Mart as a case study.	07/07/08
Congressional Toy Safety Hearings: Where’s Wal-Mart? As Congressional hearings commence to investigate the dangerous Chinese toy recalls, the House and Senate are calling some of the industry’s largest players to testify about their roles in the process.	01/03/08
Frontline: Is Wal-Mart Good for America? This television special from PBS’s “Fronline” examines the impact Wal-Mart has on several aspects of American life.	12/19/07
Shopping for Subsidies (Good Jobs First) How Wal-Mart Uses Taxpayer Money to Finance Its Never-Ending Growth	12/19/07
Social Movements as Extra-institutional Entrepreneurs A look of how outsiders gain corporate influence through the lens of social movement theory	11/28/07
Wal-Mart and Walton Family Lobbying Billions of dollars can buy political influence	11/01/06
Issue Background Documents Background information on various issues related to Wal-Mart	11/01/06
Maryland Fair Share Health Care Legislation Examining Wal-Mart’s battle with the Maryland legislature over the Fair Share Health Care Bill	10/16/06
Handshake With Sam Research Documents Backup research documents for Wal-Mart Watch’s Handshake with Sam	10/13/06
Wal-Mart’s Political Profits Wal-Mart has parlayed its enormous economic power into nearly unrivaled political power, which the corporation uses to tip the rules toward its favor and further boost its profits.	07/07/06
Wal-Mart Lobbying Letter to Senator Grassley In 2005, Wal-Mart executives sent a letter to Senator Charles Grassley, lobbying for passage of the Central America Free Trade Agreement.	11/23/05
Strong Arm Politics in Flagstaff Wal-Mart overwhelms opponents with money and vicious campaign tactics.	07/15/05
Wal-Mart Doles Out Money to Corrupt Politicians In 2005, Wal-Mart Watch discovered a financial transaction between GOP House Majority Leader Tom Delay and Wal-Mart’s PAC, after DeLay was indicted by a grand jury.	07/15/05
New York City Comptroller Compliance Letter Shareholders request the New York Comptrollers Office investigate labor violations and corruption at Wal-Mart.	06/23/05
Low Prices at What Cost? Wal-Mart Watch’s 2005 Annual Report Our look at some of the most important issues surrounding Wal-Mart’s business practices.	05/23/05
Inside the Leviathan (New York Times Review of Books) The New York Times Review of Books takes a look at Wal-Mart who has “grown into a business whose dominance of the corporate world rivals GM’s in its heyday.”	12/01/04
Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay For Wal-Mart A 2004 report by Congressman George Miller finds that, “while charging low prices obviously has some consumer benefits, mounting evidence from across the country indicates that these benefits come at a steep price for American workers, U.S. labor laws, and community living standards.”	02/16/04