Spoiled-rotten Walton heirs own as much wealth as bottom 30 percent of Americans

What is wrong with this picture:

The six children of Walmart's founders, Sam and James "Bud" Walton, had the same net worth in 2007 as the entire bottom 30 percent of American earners, according to an analysis from Sylvia Allegretto, a labor economist at University of California-Berkeley's Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics.

Though the 2007 figure is striking, the gap between the Walmart heirs and the rest of the country may get even bigger -- the Walton's combined fortune has grown by more than $20 billion, according to data compiled from the Forbes 400 this year.

Nothing is wrong, smart-ass.

1. Walmart is a job creator.

2. By 2012, the Walton Six will control as much riches as half of all working Americans -- say, 125 million.

3. Those Walton kids have kids. They need toys, too.

3. Wealth acquisition is like the board game Risk. Once you own everything, the game is over.

That is the American way. Oh, and thank you for shopping at Walmart.

Walmart won't sell you wine if you've got booze breath

Engadget has the lowdown:

Whenever technology is used to solve a real problem, it warms our hearts. It really does. But when technological perambulations are needed to work their way around antiquated state liquor laws (the likes of which have tormented at least one poor Engadget editor since he reached the age of majority), it just seems sad. For instance, it's illegal to sell alcohol in grocery stores in Pennsylvania, but it's not illegal to install a vending machine that dispenses wine: as long as the user is asked to take a breathalyzer test, swipe their state issued ID or Driver License, and then show their mug to a state official sitting somewhere in Harrisburg, who is keeping an eye on the proceedings via CCTV. Simple, right? Maybe not, but it does protect the state's monopoly on liquor sales. The Pronto wine vending machine is currently only available in select grocery stores in the state, but it's just been announced that the PA Liquor Control Board has given Walmart preliminary approval to put the things in some of their locations outside of Pittsburgh. We'll try one out ourselves, as soon as they start carrying Blue Nun.

What is a wino to do?