COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE IN THE GUARDIAN
How Bill Gates aims to
clean up the planet
________________________________
Response to “He’s
giving away most of his money, which is more than most wealthy (and
non-wealthy) people”:
Sorry, I think you have that wrong.
Creeps like Bill Gates thrive on such misunderstanding, and
he is a creep owing to a career spent screwing both his customers and
competitors. There is no evidence there of a large spirit.
There have been a few genuine philanthropists who literally
gave most of their money away for truly worthy causes.
I think the best known, and one of the most admirable, was
Andrew Carnegie with the countless libraries he bestowed on communities all
over plus a few other worthy efforts.
He was a tough businessman but not the kind of man who
dumped obsolete or inferior goods on the market.
However, the modern American Foundation laws, under which
the likes of Bill Gates operate, achieve something else entirely.
Foundations such as his enable the owner of a great fortune
essentially to keep control of it forever without taxes.
Gates and others only have to give a certain amount away
regularly for the tax concessions.
In many cases this can be achieved by giving away the
interest on the capital and not the capital.
Gates gets to sit on throne in effect the rest of his days,
having people come and propose interesting projects to him and keenly hoping
for some money.
It would be hard to imagine a more interesting and
entertaining way to spend your days. Must often feel like ancient royalty being
solicited for a favor.
So long as he doesn't give away the capital, the game can go
on forever, bestowing blessings on your name and memory, as well as jobs for
progeny. Your family stays as "somebodies."
We see this in older foundations like the Rockefeller
Foundation still operating.
We perhaps need a new term for this American creation.
I think “philanthropist” is highly inaccurate. That could be
Carnegie's title but not Gates'.
