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Jeff Bezos gives $100 million to the Obama Foundation

Sectorseven

Sectorseven

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,560
www.nytimes.com

Jeff Bezos gives $100 million to the Obama Foundation. (Published 2021)

The gift was the largest yet for the foundation and was among several splashy donations in recent months by Mr. Bezos, one of the world’s richest people.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
Former President Barack Obama's private foundation announced on Monday that it had been promised $100 million from the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

The gift, the largest yet for the Obama Foundation, was one in a series of splashy donations in recent months by Mr. Bezos, one of the world's richest people. Last week, Mr. Bezos announced $96.2 million in grants to groups working to end family homelessness.

Since stepping down as the chief executive of Amazon in July, Mr. Bezos has significantly raised his profile as a philanthropist, in addition to traveling to space on a ship made by his rocket company, Blue Origin.

In return for the donation, Mr. Bezos asked that a plaza at the Obama Presidential Center be named for the civil rights leader John Lewis, who died last year. The center, being built in Chicago, will include a library, a museum, an athletic center and more.
 
entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,131
Ah the Foundation grift.

Has a Foundation solved homelessness ever?
 
cyba89

cyba89

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,633
How about paying taxes and not treat your workers like shit?

Fuck Bezos
 
takriel

takriel

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,221
It's so easy to do this as one of the richest men in the world. This does not make it okay for one person to own all that wealth.
 
Nepenthe

Nepenthe

When the music hits, you feel no pain.
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
20,698
Cute.

Now about the labor and wage conditions of your company.
 
Anton Sugar

Anton Sugar

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,946
Just another feather in the cap of a stupid project:

lithub.com

Everything you need to know about the controversy over Obama’s presidential library.

Yesterday saw the groundbreaking of the Obama Presidential Center, former president Barack Obama’s presidential library in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side. In their speeches, the former presid…
lithub.com lithub.com
The Presidential Center is unlike most other presidential libraries. Firstly, the Presidential Center is run by the Obama Foundation, a private nonprofit. All other presidential libraries and museums going back to Herbert Hoover are run by the National Archives and Records Administration, a federal agency. Some skeptics fear this privatization opens the door for partisan interests to curate what is meant to be a public archive.
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More easily understandable are the two controversies stemming from the Foundation's choice of location for the Presidential Center. The Obama Presidential Center was built on 19.3 acres of wooded public parkland in Jackson Park, a historic urban park on the National Register of Historic Places—despite considering an alternative site near Washington Park. This raised major concerns for local environmentalists, who learned over one thousand mature trees in and around the park would be felled; migratory birds would be harmed by tree removal and the construction of a tower so close to Lake Michigan; and two major roads would have to be closed. These problems would not be present if the Presidential Center was built at the Washington Park site.
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But the Jackson Park location isn't just controversial for environmental preservation reasons: locals also expressed concern over the Presidential Center's possible impact on residents of the nearby, predominantly low-income neighborhoods. An investigative study by the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center found that rents within a two-mile radius of the Presidential Center site have been rising at a faster rate than in the city overall since 2016; as of 2017, 42% of renters make less than $20,000 annually, and 91% pay more than 30% of their monthly income on rent. Eviction rates in those areas are higher than the Chicago average. In Woodlawn, right by the Obama Presidential Center, around half of households make less than $25,000 a year. The draw of the Presidential Center, and ensuing economic development, has the potential to make rents skyrocket and displace residents. More than a dozen local groups united to form the Obama Community Benefits Agreement Coalition, which urged the Obama Foundation to sign a community benefits agreement promising to set aside jobs at the Presidential Center for community residents, protect housing for working families, and strengthen neighborhood schools.

Obama was having none of it. In 2017, at an event for the Obama Presidential Center, when asked directly by Woodlawn resident and community organizer Jeanette Taylor, Obama said he would not sign any community benefits agreement.
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The conversation still isn't over. Yesterday, just blocks away from the Presidential Center's groundbreaking ceremony, the Community Benefits Agreement Coalition held a press conference where they called on Mayor Lightfoot and the city to follow through on the ordinance: one year after the passing of the ordinance, the city hasn't designated which city-owned vacant lots will be for affordable housing.
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mute

mute

â–² Legend â–²
Member
Oct 25, 2017
25,095
Okay but how much is he giving to the Trump foundation?
 
BossAttack

BossAttack

Member
Oct 27, 2017
42,998
Anton Sugar said:
Just another feather in the cap of a stupid project:

lithub.com

Everything you need to know about the controversy over Obama’s presidential library.

Yesterday saw the groundbreaking of the Obama Presidential Center, former president Barack Obama’s presidential library in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side. In their speeches, the former presid…
lithub.com lithub.com
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I don't really see what is stupid. Every one of these projects has critics, opponents, and NIMBYs. The article just collects a bunch of them, without analysis, and acts like the project is bad. Instead you could just read the Economic and Environmental Assessments done on the proposed project:

ParkPlanning - Environmental Assessment for 30-Day Public Review

parkplanning.nps.gov parkplanning.nps.gov


For example, the article repeats claims by opponents that hundreds of trees will be destroyed and migratory birds severely impacted. But the environmental assessment done by the National Parks Service states that all tress taken down will be replaced 1:1 by the city and that due to seasonal migration patterns, the birds would not be affected by the proposed project.

National Parks Service said:
The proposed actions do not impact the Wooded Island, the Bobolink Meadow, or the Lake Michigan shoreline. Additionally, migratory birds would be protected by the City commitment to restrict tree removal, between March 1 and August 31, for projects assessed in this Environmental Assessment. This commitment excludes tree removal that may need to occur at any time during the year due to damage, disease, pests, or other unforeseen circumstances in the interest of public safety. If removal is needed, a staff expert at the CPD would inspect potentially impacted trees for signs of nesting activity prior to removal and postpone, if necessary. With this commitment in place, there would be no effect on the nesting activity of migratory bird species by the project alternatives. Habitat for migratory birds would be temporarily impacted by tree clearing; however, all trees removed will be replaced at a 1:1 mitigation replacement ratio (See Appendix D). In conclusion, the alternatives would result in no impacts on recognized natural areas, the Lake Michigan Shoreline, or on nesting for migratory birds. Additionally, any temporary impacts to wildlife habitat due to tree removal within Jackson Park would be minor, with ample habitat remaining throughout the property. Because Jackson Park is an urban park, wildlife within Jackson Park is acclimated to human activity and development. The proposed actions would not alter the overall quality of the wildlife habitat of Jackson Park. Therefore, the impact topic of other wildlife and wildlife habitat is not carried forward for further analysis.
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Anton Sugar

Anton Sugar

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,946
BossAttack said:
I don't really see what is stupid. Every one of these projects has critics, opponents, and NIMBYs. The article just collects a bunch of them, without analysis, and acts like the project is bad. Instead you could just read the Economic and Environmental Assessments done on the proposed project:

ParkPlanning - Environmental Assessment for 30-Day Public Review

parkplanning.nps.gov parkplanning.nps.gov


For example, the article repeats claims by opponents that hundreds of trees will be destroyed and migratory birds severely impacted. But the environmental assessment done by the National Parks Service states that all tress taken down will be replaced 1:1 by the city and that due to seasonal migration patterns, the birds would not be affected by the proposed project.
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And what about the residents who were denied a community benefits agreement? Those who are worried about being pushed out because of gentrification and rising costs?
 
BossAttack

BossAttack

Member
Oct 27, 2017
42,998
Anton Sugar said:
And what about the residents who were denied a community benefits agreement? Those who are worried about being pushed out because of gentrification and rising costs?
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Which the economic assessment partially covers. It's not a government report so can't exactly put my full trust into it. But A) no one can exactly specify what a community benefits agreement would look like and how it would cover. Also, there's questions regarding its legality, you can't discriminate against hiring people by saying you're only hiring people from one area. And B) as far as gentrification goes, that's just the way the market goes. Any new development in an area is going to generate more income for the area and possibly push out residents, the solution is not to stop investing in areas. Rent control has never worked.

Also, not really gentrification to have a black Chicago resident decide to build a non-profit community center including affordable housing.
 

Deleted member 21469

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
1,095
Anton Sugar said:
Just another feather in the cap of a stupid project:

lithub.com

Everything you need to know about the controversy over Obama’s presidential library.

Yesterday saw the groundbreaking of the Obama Presidential Center, former president Barack Obama’s presidential library in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side. In their speeches, the former presid…
lithub.com lithub.com
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The fact that his library is managed by a private entity and not the state is the most Obama thing ever.
 
Anton Sugar

Anton Sugar

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,946
BossAttack said:
Which the economic assessment partially covers. It's not a government report so can't exactly put my full trust into it. But A) no one can exactly specify what a community benefits agreement would look like and how it would cover. Also, there's questions regarding its legality, you can't discriminate against hiring people by saying you're only hiring people from one area. And B) as far as gentrification goes, that's just the way the market goes. Any new development in an area is going to generate more income for the area and possibly push out residents, the solution is not to stop investing in areas. Rent control has never worked.

Also, not really gentrification to have a black Chicago resident decide to build a non-profit community center including affordable housing.
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I don't think "that's just the way the market goes" is in anyway acceptable when the person pushing this construction through is a wealthy ex-president who refuses to bargain. I think their demands are pretty reasonable:

The problem

Washington Park, Woodlawn, South Shore and surrounding neighborhood residents are at risk of being displaced by the impact of the Obama Center and University of Chicago hotel, dorm, and conference center.

3,750 - 4,500 renting households in Woodlawn are at high risk of displacement. Half of Woodlawn's current population. (1)

14,429 more units of affordable housing are needed to meet the need in the area surrounding the Obama Center. (2)

Large investments in amenities result in gentrification, ex: 606 trail. (3)

Most Obama Center Area Residents are Low Income:
  • Median income of Washington Park = $25,390, Woodlawn = $23,986, South Shore = $24,941. (4)
  • Household income is less than $50,000 for 70% of households in Washington Park, Woodlawn, and South Shore. (5)
  • 55-64% of area residents are rent cost burdened (pay more than 30% of income in rent). (6)
Home Values and Rents are Rising:
  • Home values increased 23% in Woodlawn in 2017. (7)
  • There is no incentive to provide more section 8 voucher units: many landlords in the area already get more for Market Rate units than for Section 8 units.

The solution

Pass the CBA Housing Ordinance to Stop Displacement
the ordinance will apply to the area 2 miles around the Obama Center, and requires:

30% Set aside of Affordable Housing
  • no option to pay in-lieu of the requirements
  • for new developments of 3 or more units*
  • for substantial rehabs of 6 or more units
  • requires 2 & 3 bedrooms in larger developments
  • sets aside ALL city-owned vacant residential land for affordable housing and/or LOCAL HOMEOWNERSHIP
*Does not apply to owner occupied buildings.

Create Right of First Offer for Tenants
require buildings in the area be first offered for sale to the tenants.

City conduct quarterly study and report on displacement, with community engagement

Establish Community Trust Fund
That can be used for:
  • HOME REPAIR AND PROPERTY TAX RELIEF FOR LONG TIME RESIDENTS
  • COMMUNITY LAND TRUSTS, COOPS, and affordable housing developments
  • Rental assistance for long time residents
  • Job training and workforce development
*Trust fund will be funded in part by commercial linkage fee on large developments

Property Tax Freeze and Anti-Displacement Task Force
Create community driven task force with County Asessor's office to provide property tax relief for long time residents.

[1] Network of Woodlawn "Getting Ahead of Gentrification" Smith, Lane, Butler. 2018.
[2] https://www.housingstudies.org/rese...ousing/2017-state-rental-housing-cook-county/
[3] Institute for Housing Studies at Depaul University. Mapping Displacement Pressure in Chicago. Dec. 2017.
[4] MetroPulse Community Data Snapshot.
[5] Network of Woodlawn "Getting Ahead of Gentrification" Smith, Lane, Butler. 2018 citing IHS at Depaul 2018.
[6] Chicago Rehab Network Housing Fact Sheet.
[7] Cholke, Sam, "Woodlawn Home Values Soar" DNA Info, September 12, 2017.
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And a good article from last week with residents/organizers:

www.chicagotribune.com

As work on the Obama Presidential Center progresses, South Shore residents and organizers call on city for protection

Alvyn Walker has lived in the South Shore neighborhood for around 40 years, since he moved to the United States from Liberia. Now he lives with his elderly mother in a home that’s been in his…
www.chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com

And no, I don't agree that a rich Black ex-president is incapable of gentrifying an area. The race of the perpetrator doesn't really have any bearing on which residents are affected in low-income neighborhoods.

Halman said:
The fact that his library is managed by a private entity and not the state is the most Obama thing ever.
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Neoliberal dream of a library.
 
Zombegoast

Zombegoast

Member
Oct 30, 2017
14,238
Crazy how rich people refuses to to pay to fix roads in black neighborhoods but instead to honor John Lewis
 
Chikor

Chikor

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
14,239
QuigleyMcShine said:
Was gonna say, a lot of these "Billionaire donates millions" stories are actually pledges and not donations, with the full amount being donated in increments over years, if at all. Can't get past the paywall to see if that's the case here or not.
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Also in America it's legal to give money to an organization you fully control and call it charity.
Bill Gates gives money to the Gates foundation and we as a society go "oh wow, so generous, moving money between bank accounts he controls".
 
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