Tuesday, December 15, 2009
A patriotic gesture.
It's generally less than the monetarily affluent amongst us that make the supreme sacrifice in wars. With their lives. Yes, true patriots. Now I'm calling for the rich not to give their lives, but their money to bail out the nation. As sort of a patriotic gesture. Ain't quite like sacrificing one's life. But still, it's something. Bill Gates. Estimated worth $50 billion. Could kick in $10 billion and still have plenty left over. And many of the other billionaries could pitch in with a few billion. If all of the rich came through, wouldn't be a problem raising a couple trillion dollars. And we'd also be narrowing the gap between the rich and poor. --Jim Broede
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"In 2000, Gates and his wife founded the charitable Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The generosity and extensive philanthropy of David Rockefeller has been credited as a major influence. Bill Gates and his father have met with Rockefeller several times and have modeled their giving in part on the Rockefeller family's philanthropic focus, namely those global problems that are ignored by governments and other organizations.[51]
The foundation's grants have provided funds for college scholarships for under-represented minorities, AIDS prevention, diseases prevalent in third world countries, and other causes. In 2000, the Gates Foundation endowed the University of Cambridge with $210 million for the Gates Cambridge Scholarships. The Foundation has also pledged over $7 billion to its various causes, including $1 billion to the United Negro College Fund. According to a 2004 Forbes magazine article, Gates gave away over $29 billion to charities from 2000 onwards. These donations are usually cited as sparking a substantial change in attitudes towards philanthropy among the very rich, with philanthropy becoming the norm."
He is putting his money where it is used, not wasted. Your fantasy socialist government would virtually eliminate philanthropy.
We could eliminate the need for philanthropy if we taxed the hell out of the rich. Then government could provide much-needed social programs. In essence, government would be redistributing the wealth to make for a better balanced society. How many of the rich, especially corporations, hide their wealth off-shore? Some rich tycoons pay a lower percentage of their income in taxes than do their secretaries. Little wonder that the gap keeps widening between the rich and the poor. My position is that the rich don't do enough. They need to be forced to do more. Yes, even Bill Gates. --Jim
Yes, we can tax our way out of the current financial mess. By taxing the hell out of the super rich. Believe me, they'll still be rich after paying their bigger tax bills. They can afford to pay more. Do it for the good of society. For the common good. yes, then I'll salute them. As super patriots. Even more patriotic than George Washington. I'll lobby for hanging their portraits in all of our elementary schools. Right next to George Washington's. --Jim
I'd even name the gated communities where the rich live after Bill Gates. Yes, the Gates Gates. --Jim
" Then government could provide much-needed social programs."
They could do that now; just fix the broken ones, domn't add another mess. You can't make one man rich, by making another one poor. We all should pay the same percentage of taxes. That would be more fair. People like Gates made their own wealth. Good for them. Wish it were me, but it's not.And, I do not think the wealthy sould be taxed more than anyone else. There is simply no justification.
I don't see anything morally wrong with taxing the wealthy at a higher rate than relatively low income people. Too often the wealthy get tax breaks. Due to loopholes in the tax laws. --Jim
We need to do more than fix broken programs. We need new programs, too. Let's divert money from wars and national defense into social programs. --Jim
If that guy Jesus was still alive, I'd hire him to design some suitable social programs. My guess is he'd work on it for free. --Jim
And he might get some rich people closer to heaven by convincing them to give away their fortunes. For the public/common good. In exchange for purity of heart and soul. --Jim
Is it more important to be rich monetarily or rich in spirit? --Jim
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