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I agree that the insanely disproportionate taxes are causing more problems than donations are solving. However, as billionaires go, Bill and Melinda Gates are exceptionally philanthropic.
Philanthropy is a way for people who created wealth on the backs of their underpaid employees in their businesses that broke multiple laws and dodged taxes. If they actually cared about people they would have paid higher wages or had profit sharing, and would not have pushed for tax breaks for the wealthy.
Nobody calls a blue collar person who donates to charity a philanthropist.
You’re right, but they’ve almost eradicated polio worldwide. So there’s that.
Bill spoke out against Trump’s disproportionate tax cuts, as well as the growing wealth inequality, and called for increasing taxes on the wealthy.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/03/bill-gates-americas-tax-system-is-not-fair.html
He also cofounded The Giving Pledge, an agreement to give the majority of his wealth away to charity rather than pass it on to his children.
https://givingpledge.org/about
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polio_eradication
Hey look, and example of a rich guy buying credit for something that was already being done!
Oh, so he spoke out about the thing he abused to get wealthy, that doesn't make him a hypocrite!
They paid for the GPEI initiative cited in your comment. It literally says “The Gates Foundation” in your quote.
https://www.emro.who.int/press-releases/2005/gates-foundation-funds-new-polio-vaccine-to-accelerate-eradication-efforts.html
They then spent another $1.2B to do what the WHO couldn’t accomplish.
The first problem they tackled was getting the vaccine to remote and war-torn areas while maintaining efficacy. Once they accomplished that, all that was left were isolated tribes. They then paid anthropologists to spend years assimilating into remote villages around the world to earn their trust so they would accept the vaccine.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/gates-foundation-pledges-1-2b-to-eradicate-polio-heres-why-its-been-a-struggle-for-decades
Could have been paid through taxes instead of being the whim of a billionaire looking for a positive legacy.
Agreed. I’m not saying he should have that much money. I’m saying he does far more benevolent things with it than most billionaires.
Frankly, I don't think we should be relying on the benevolence of billionaires.
I agree. So does he. You should read this.
It is easy to say those things when one has already reaped the rewards.
Then why aren’t all the other billionaires saying it? We’re in agreement that they shouldn’t exist in the first place. All I’m saying is they’re trying to do the right thing with the money, which is incredibly rare in a world of Bezos, Waltons, Kochs, and Sacklers.
Why do people keep trying to argue points no one is arguing against. Especially continuing after people have pointed this out specifically.
Welcome to Lemmy.
And they could be just as philanthropic while also paying their fair share of taxes because they're just that rich.
He is, and he’s asking the government to make him pay more. He’s a rare one for sure.
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/03/bill-gates-americas-tax-system-is-not-fair.html
What's stopping him from simply writing Congress a check?
So they are some of the best of thieves and abusers.
Bill and Melinda WERE philanthropic. Then Bill did a cheat and eventually got divorced.
She was always his better half. Bill has always been a piece of shit business man and only started his philanthropy due to Melinda. That's why there's not so much of that same philanthropy from ol' Microsoft, himself, as of late.
Indeed. Now she has only ca. USD$11B left over to survive with. She can buy only five, possibly six Sentinel ICBMs.
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$11B is her net worth prior to issuing the $1B donation. When was the last time you gave 9% of your net worth to a cause?
When was the last time you had USD$10B? Next you're gonna defend Mackenzie Scott's hard-earned USB$34B, I suppose.
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