Bill And Melinda Gates

[Orange Juche]

I know very little on the charity work involving them... is it anything genuine? What do any of you who know more have to say on it?

[Comrade Marcel]

Originally posted by [email protected] 10 2006, 11:31 PM
I know very little on the charity work involving them... is it anything genuine? What do any of you who know more have to say on it?
Sure it's "genuine". What's so hard aobut giving away 10 million when you have 100 billion and constant surplus?

Also, why not when you know that state is going to by your software and use their cheap labour and resources to build the computers that will run it? Gates just puts a bit of food in some mouths to keep the caviar in his.

[Shadowlegion]

Yeah, I would say it's legitimate. I find it pretty hard to be cynical about giving billions of dollars to good causes. I think it can be a very good force for helping people. I might not personally like microsoft all that much but I don't see anything wrong with giving anything to a good cause no matter who you are.

[Delta]

It's mostly for them to feel better about themselves, but they don't really want to see changes in the world. Just take a look at what they give their money to. The causes are only short-term "shots in the arm" kind of things. With the money they have they could totally restructure some societies and eliminate the root causes for the symptoms that they are focusing on, but of course they won't do that.

[Janus]

It's mostly for them to feel better about themselves
Pretty much. As wealthy philanthropists, they can gain more attention and generate a good media image. Besides, that money is nothing to them. They're just following the "Gospel of Wealth" but I really can't believe that they were Time's Men (and women) of the year.

[Delta]

but I really can't believe that they were Time's Men (and women) of the year

Yeah, well, Hitler was too so... :P

[Pawn Power]

Buffet-Gates `Charity': Another Rulers' Tool to Suck Workers' Blood (http://www.plp.org/cd06/cd0719.html#RTFToC7)

[raz_nz]

The thing that amazed me was that the Gates Foundation gave away more than the US Foreign Aid program. Not counting the US military incursions overseas which I imagine they (the US Govt) would classify in a twisted way as "foreign aid".

[Demogorgon]

Even the worst Capitalists conscience plays up from time to time.

Obviously you can hardly say it is wrong to give away billions to the needy, but the way we are supposed to say "Good for bill" and imagine that solves all the problems in the world leaves a very poor taste in my mouth.