Even if he gave 99.5% of his money, he would be left with 550 million, which is enough for two or three life times I think.
The government so they can afford to give companies even bigger tax breaks.
Well I could use a million or two.
And at the same time other billionaires control the system.
How come he has more money now than when he retired, despite giving a lot of donations? That is bullshit, my friend.
I thought that response was fair. It is not scalable to rely on the kindness of the rich. Force them to pay. I just hope Gates isn't trying to assist in determining how much his taxes should be raised.
Thank you for defending me. *tears up* It's so hard as a budding entrepreneur trying to sell programs on how to be a successful entrepreneur.
He want to raise taxes, but he also wants to decide how much.
I dont' think he is right.
www.vox.com
- NYT Article
Why would he hand over control of Microsoft to someone else?
My point that this is just talk from him. As far as I know, he's not putting any of his money toward promoting progressive tax reform, and he's not choosing to actually give more money directly to the federal government.
I wonder why so many people struggle to understand this. Nobody can literally, physically work their way to even 1 billion dollars.
A lot of charities simply reinforce cycles of poverty without creating a real way for those they are "helping" to empower themselves and their own communities. So when I hear, "It's cool he donates to charities" used to defend someone, I wanna know which charities before that statement will have any impact on how I view them. Otherwise, "donates to charities" = "he has lots of tax write-offs"
I disagree. Then we would clearly see the argument, "We do not need to officially raise taxes on the rich because look at Gates! He paid more himself. Let's just let the rich pay more on their own."
Him giving his 110 billion is like 8-10% of one year's federal budget. One year. What happens in year five?
www.vox.com
You make good points. Though yes, I would still like to see him point some funding towards progressive cantidates.I disagree strongly. When billionaires use their billions to affect public policy in areas where democratic institutions exist, it's breaking democracy and making it more brittle... It instantly makes Bill Gates the most powerful person in America, 110-billion times more powerful than you. Why would anybody ever listen to you if Bill Gates can decide to fund the federal budget? He'd become the most powerful person in America in the stroke of a pen and not in his area of expertise, but in something that he arguably knows no more than you or me about (tax policy).
I'd recommend listening to this interview, it changed my mind on this subject. Giridharadas can be a bit of a pompous douche but he makes good points, and it encouraged me to read his book. I find the argument convincing that when tech billionaires donate billions to issues that I even agree with, it's ultimately a bad thing because democratic institutions already exist in those areas and it gives someone undo influence simply by their wealth... That it'd be better if they gave nothing at all and hoarded their money, rather than selectively influence democratic institutions.
Tech billionaires who donate millions are just "bribing society at large," Anand Giridharadas says
Zuckerberg, Bezos, and Gates shouldn’t have an outsize say in how we run our country, Giridharadas says on the latest episode of Recode Decode.
Instead of donating billions to influence policy, billionaires should voice their concerns with their voices and encourage law-makers to do the right thing. In this case, I think Gates is acting responsibly. Though, like you said, who knows, he may also donate money to candidates who believe in issues like this.
Eradicating polio in poor countries and developing something as simple as a waterless toilet is alot IMO. That't the kind of stuff his foundation is aiming for, i think it's a good way to make a difference
honestly why wait until he dies to donate all of it? he probably could live on a few billion for a while
Of course. They got there by not paying taxes.
