Those terrible billionaires some love to rail against

[evertonfc]

Jeff Bezos just committed 10 billion to address climate change. The effort will fund scientists, activists and nongovernmental organizations. In 2018 he donated 2 billion to organizations that help homeless families.

[live love laugh]

1. Billionaires aren't the problem the system that concentrates wealth is

And that same system that doesn’t tax them is the problem.

There are good and bad rich people. Only fools think otherwise.

[ArtTownsend]

5. Good and bad people is not the point. The point is we shouldn't have to be reliant on their charity.

And that charity can and often does come with strings attached.

And then there are those who aren't charitable, or are actively working against the basic interests of all of us. That includes the Kochs and Adelson, and many others.

[live love laugh]

8. I agree -- that's systemic though. For the most part

they didn’t create the system that they benefit from—except for the Kochs and their ilk who have poured $$$ into politics.

[ArtTownsend]

9. Fair enough

[stopdiggin]

2. acknowledge your point (it's a valid one)

and counter by say "yes, but .. how many billions (to this point) toward strengthening unions, and issues of income inequality?"
-- -- --

Having got in my dig .. I think you have to recognize that there is a real difference between a Bezos, a Gates or a Buffet .. and an Adelson, Koch .. or Russian oligarch.

I'll take Jeff, thanks.
-- --

[ArtTownsend]

6. I'll take strong unions and less income inequality over any billionaires myself.

[in2herbs]

3. IMO there would not be the push back billionaires are receiving if they were taxed

in order to pay for the social net. Unless and until they are taxed in this way the rest of the US is at the knee of these guys (and some gals) who only want to pay for what they want to pay for. I, for one, am tired of existing on the whim of the rich. How much $$ for philanthropic issues would they be supporting if they also paid their fair share of taxes?

[ArtTownsend]

4. The problem is that billionaires' wealth gives them immense power at the expense of others' power.

I don't know about you, but I don't want our country and our planet to be dependent on the good intentions of certain billionaires, and I don't want to be in a position where we have to assess whether any given billionaire has our best interests at heart.

[live love laugh]

10. Neither do I but who's responsible for their wealth accumulation

the billionaires or the laws of the land?

The laws need to be changed. Period.

[Downtown Hound]

7. And he got those billions off of what practically

amounts to slave labor. So if you're looking for me to kiss his ass, find somebody else.

[onecaliberal]

11. How many years has he paid ZERO taxes.

Why does he continue paying slave wages to people?

[Apollo Zeus]

12. I'll wait for the details

He has said similar things in the past.

Bezos did NOT "donate 2 billion" in 2018 -- Seems to have committed only ~4% of that number ($98.5 mil) via Day One Funds so far.

https://www.bezosdayonefund.org/day1familiesfund

[flotsam]

13. And if he paid a corporate tax rate within shouting distance of what I paid...

...during my working years and THEN donated the money, I might be impressed.

[Bradical79]

14. $10 Billion is a drop in the bucket

It's nothing compared to the impact his, and other massive companies, have caused. $10 Billion is nothing, especially for someone who is worth around $150 Billion.

[OneGrassRoot]

15. I think it's obscene...

First, kudos to Bezos -- assuming this commitment plays out -- for committing 7.7% of his wealth to doing good.

I posted this elsewhere on the topic and will share here:

I don't believe anyone should be a billionaire in a world where untold millions suffer due to lack of food, shelter and care for their well-being.

Yes, wanting to limit individual wealth and income is a slippery slope, but I say screw the slippery slope and at least start with the fact that that degree of wealth inequality is absurd, corrosive and obscene. When someone can have multiple mansions, yachts, private planes, etc., while others go hungry and can't afford to exist -- Houston, that's a problem. It's a hoarding and greed problem, no matter how much they give to charity.

If they aren't giving enough so that they are no longer billionaires, it's not enough.

Both the billionaire status and poverty are policy failures, imo.

The same people who believe more billionaires is a good thing and that they'll fix issues via philanthropy are buying into the "daddy, please take care of us" patriarchal vibe. They dislike government taking care of anyone but are fine with one person's judgment to help or not, to destroy or repair. I believe in democracy and the quaint ideal of We the People, so I'd rather put my faith in a government of, for and by the people rather than an individual whose self-interest is obviously the priority, or else he/she wouldn't be a billionaire to begin with.

(Only 11% of billionaires are women; Kylie Jenner is one, btw. But my opinion remains the same regardless of gender or any other aspect of someone being a billionaire.)

Many more people in the US than I realized seem to like the idea of kings, a feudal system and authoritarianism over democracy and the concepts of equality and equity.

That's sure not my idea of freedom.

[Spider Jerusalem]

16. The fact that some billionaires donate (relatively negligible, in the grand scheme of things) sums..

to what might be deemed "worthy causes" does not make the existence of billionaires as a class a net societal good (any more than the fact that Andrew Carnegie built all those libraries justified the inequalities of the Gilded Age).