Look at Bill Gates. He’s a complete asshole and was widely hated until he stepped down from Microsoft. But, spend just a small fraction of his fortune on charity, much of it self-serving, and he’s now he’s widely loved.
If I randomly obtained a billion dollars, let alone hundreds of billions, I’d spend the rest of my life riding a warm-and-fuzzy high. Helping people feels good!
The thing is, you don’t become a billionaire if you have empathy. If you’re a normal kind of person who likes helping other people, you start giving away your money long before you hit $1B.
In a functioning society, we wouldn’t have to rely on the “philanthropy” of rich people to fund good causes. It should not be possible for one person to hoard so much wealth that they get to personally decide which issues get ignored.
I completely agree. It’s like one of those supposedly uplifting news items about a kid selling their rare stamp collection to pay for their bus driver’s surgery. Sure, it’s nice the kid did that, but what kind of dystopia are we in where someone with a steady job can’t get the health care they need.
Look at Bill Gates. He’s a complete asshole and was widely hated until he stepped down from Microsoft. But, spend just a small fraction of his fortune on charity, much of it self-serving, and he’s now he’s widely loved.
The thing is, you don’t become a billionaire if you have empathy. If you’re a normal kind of person who likes helping other people, you start giving away your money long before you hit $1B.
In a functioning society, we wouldn’t have to rely on the “philanthropy” of rich people to fund good causes. It should not be possible for one person to hoard so much wealth that they get to personally decide which issues get ignored.
I completely agree. It’s like one of those supposedly uplifting news items about a kid selling their rare stamp collection to pay for their bus driver’s surgery. Sure, it’s nice the kid did that, but what kind of dystopia are we in where someone with a steady job can’t get the health care they need.
All hail the orphan crushing machine.
Money is a social construct. Society should have a say in how it’s allocated.