Comment by hellbannedguy | Hacker News Reader

Comment by hellbannedguy | Hacker News Reader

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I’ve heard the Charity excuse a few times, and hope people look deeper.

Be it Billy Gates, Bezos, or one of the many Midwestern Financial Gurus—-their use of 901c3‘s are basically tax dodges.

Gates foundation gives back less than 1% of the wife’s fund to the nation that birthed him, and provided a comfy launching pad for that privileged life. (I get you need to help developing nations, but America is dying. I have never seen so many homeless.)

I don’t know Bezos charities, but if it’s related to his companies commercials in media, those are carefully selected to brainwash the masses. How much money did they spend so we knew their employees had soap to wash their hands this past year? And I guess Amazon warehouse workers chuckle fund was receiving hand sanitizer that looked like vodka bottles.

I see how Amazon is now worried about climate change now with his promise of electric vehicles, so he must be worried about something? Maybe he’s running short of tax write offs, and heavily federally subsided electric vehicles make sense fiscally? Not even taking into account the millions he will save on a depreciating asset? In a way, we are buying his gift to carbon neutrality? (I would bet in five years—he will take the Uber approach to deliveries more than he does now, even requiring workers to furnish their own electric vans). I could see the boys laughing over this at the catered hootenanny. It feels good to be a gangster bllly—huh?

I only know of a few charities that truly give back. Most of the big ones we all know through media are overfunded. I once heard there is a very popular children’s hospital who could operate for the next twenty years without another cent, even when taking into account inflation/tech costs.

I used to look up nonprofits on WayStar. They have now made looking at the free 1040’s complicated.

(Does anyone know of a truly selfless charity? I’ve always given Salvation Army a long rope. They have been feeding America’s hungry forever, and I know people who eat there.)

> Be it Billy Gates, Bezos, or one of the many Midwestern Financial Gurus—-their use of 901c3‘s are basically tax dodges.

Do you mean 501c3? How are these a tax dodge? How does someone end up financially better off than just keeping and investing their wealth if they choose to donate it or deploy it in a donor advised fund?

> Gates foundation gives back less than 1% of the wife’s fund to the nation that birthed him, and provided a comfy launching pad for that privileged life. (I get you need to help developing nations, but America is dying. I have never seen so many homeless.)

If you think America is dying, boy do I have news for you about the state of most of the world. I also deploy most of my personal donations outside America, through GiveWell and Watsi (and more targeted donations independently).

America has a lot of problems. I live in NYC and can empathize with the dissonance of seeing the homeless sleeping in the cold on Madison Ave. I don't want to diminutize that, and this is something I also care about.

But the blunt fact of the matter is that America is far better off than the countries Gates focuses on. It's not even a fair comparison in terms of poverty and healthcare. Gates deploys his wealth primarily in regions that have never or only rarely "birthed" billionaires like Gates, in your words.

It is uniquely selfish to criticize billionaires for hoarding their wealth while also insisting they focus their charity on one of the richest countries in the world by median.

I do agree that charity is often overplayed and many billionaires give away so little that they barely notice. But Bill Gates definitely is an exception. Of course they don't spend all their money in a few years, that wouldn't allow them to continue their work afterwards.

But the whole life of Bill and Melinda is about their work in the foundation. It's not a side gig for good press, they don't do anything else. I can understand criticism where billionaires have a charity next to their business. But there's no other business left for Bill.

But to be fair, Bill Gates is probably the only prominent example of a billionaire who quit the industry completely and dedicated his whole life towards charity.

> But to be fair, Bill Gates is probably the only prominent example of a billionaire who quit the industry completely and dedicated his whole life towards charity.

James Simons has more or less done this for the past 15 years.

> Gates foundation gives back less than 1% of the wife’s fund to the nation that birthed him, and provided a comfy launching pad for that privileged life. (I get you need to help developing nations, but America is dying. I have never seen so many homeless.)

Alternatively, why should Gates spend charity money on America if that money would go have a greater impact on helping people and improving lives elsewhere?

> but America is dying. I have never seen so many homeless

My mom grew up in a village where some had to resort to cannibalism to survive. My grandfather was eaten after being beheaded by communists. I am blessed to be an American.

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