Is Buffet & Gates Pledge Really Such a Good Idea?
America’s two richest men; Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, are getting a lot of publicity with their crusade to have America’s billionaires give half their wealth to charity. Despite all the hype the Buffett and Gates giveaway may not be such a good idea. Now obviously wealthy individuals who give their money to charity in a responsible and intelligent way such as Bill Gates is doing can do a lot of good. Gates is certainly doing a lot of good with his foundation which is funding vital research and vaccines for the poor. But not all charitable donations can be good or constructive. Under Gates and Buffett’s pledge a billionaire who gave half his fortune to the Adolph HitlerAdolph Hitler Memorial Foundation for Holocaust Denial would be doing “good.” Meanwhile a billionaire who invested half his fortune to build factories that put people to work, helped families enter the middle class and grew the economy would not be doing “good.” Not all “charity” is beneficial to society and many rich
