Philanthrobbery

[Hannah Bell]

WARREN BUFFETT ($40 billion in net worth, number 2 on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans in 2009) says it was an "easy sell" to get 40 billionaires to join him in the "Giving Pledge"--a commitment by the super-rich to give away at least half of their wealth to charitable causes... The truth about the Giving Pledge is that the rest of us are getting taken--big time...

Of course, a few incurable cynics poked some holes in the story that Gates and Buffett, by making a few phone calls, had netted $600 billion--the project's claim--for making the world a better place.
For one thing, many of the contributions cited by Giving Pledge participants have already been given...THE QUESTION of what the Giving Pledgers are really giving comes into even sharper focus when you consider what their "charity" is directed toward...(Pete) Peterson plans to devote his fortune to the un-coincidentally named Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which spreads the gospel of...government fiscal austerity in order to reduce the federal deficit...

BUT PETERSON'S peculiar definition of a "charitable cause" throws a deeper issue into sharp relief.
The initiatives spearheaded by Gates and friends, described so often as altruistic, but more often than not shaped by their political prejudices and organized according to their cherished free-market principles--what authors Matthew Bishop and Michael Green call "philanthrocapitalism"--have come to the fore at exactly the same time that government programs aiding working people and the poor, protecting the environment and advancing social goals have been cut back...

As journalist Peter Wilby wrote in the Guardian: "If the rich really wish to create a better world, they can sign another pledge: to pay their taxes on time and in full; to stop lobbying against taxation and regulation; to avoid creating monopolies; to give their employees better wages, pensions, job protection and working conditions; to make goods and use production methods that don't kill or maim or damage the environment or make people ill." But of course, that's not what the Giving Pledge is about. The philanthrobber barons want to give on their terms, to advance their agenda, without any accountability--and with an eye out for what's in it for number one.

http://socialistworker.org/2010/08/10/philanthrobbery

[dkf]

1. The first thing I thought when I saw this is that they don't want their funds to go to poor

Americans. Charity can be used for all sorts of pet projects. Cynical me.

[RandomThoughts]

2. Some rich people do use there money for good works.

Some probably use it for what continues other agendas.

And many people would not know what one of those they are doing, some really believe they do good even by doing bad. And actually those people do do good by intent, and if doing wrong it is education, or not understanding.

Although the concept that a few people should decide where charitable contributions go is flawed, unless you can argue they have shown some attribute that makes them better to decide that. Many argue the ability to make money is a good attribute, and one that should determine things like that. It is a hard arguement to make unless you can also show that things good for all of society are shown in ways of making money, or that some people don't matter.

There are probably many rich people doing many good works, and probably many doing self serving ones, someone else can decide which one they are doing.

heh, although I have thoughts on the topic.

[jotsy]

3. Rec'd

600B? Out of just 40 people? And they think they're good guys? Or that they convince the masses of that by only keeping half of what they let people steal on their behalf...nope. Not gonna cut it for me. The message here is stop hating us rich people and we'll promise to throw what look like bones while we reroute that back our way anyway. No matter how much they try to kill the quality of public education, not enough will be stupid enough to believe that crap.

[Hannah Bell]

4. k

[LWolf]

5. Great word.

Philanthrobbery.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: