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Have you ever heard the story in the bible of the guy who gave a bunch of money to the poor and braged about it and the guy who gave a bunch of money and kept it to himself and then Jesus asked whom was more Christ like??? (or something like that)

Im not saying that Steve is a saint... but he does donate to charity. He just already has such a good image that he doesnt need to brag on the street corner about it.

ok another bible reference (sorry). You know the story of all the rich people donating loads of money to the church and then a women (who was very poor) and gave 2 small coins and it was all that she had.

Well I know this isnt the same... but Bill is worth about 40 billion and Steve is worth about 3. Its a much bigger deal for steve to give a million dollars than it is for Bill. In fact, for bill thats only .0025% of his money. For steve, its .033%.
 
That, and it's not Bill, it's Melinda. And I don't have a problem at all with her spending her husbands money, especially considering how he got it. Much better than her going all Paris Hilton or Anna Nicole. :p
 
w_parietti22 said:
Have you ever heard the story in the bible of the guy who gave a bunch of money to the poor and braged about it and the guy who gave a bunch of money and kept it to himself and then Jesus asked whom was more Christ like??? (or something like that)

Im not saying that Steve is a saint... but he does donate to charity. He just already has such a good image that he doesnt need to brag on the street corner about it.

ok another bible reference (sorry). You know the story of all the rich people donating loads of money to the church and then a women (who was very poor) and gave 2 small coins and it was all that she had.

Well I know this isnt the same... but Bill is worth about 40 billion and Steve is worth about 3. Its a much bigger deal for steve to give a million dollars than it is for Bill. In fact, for bill thats only .0025% of his money. For steve, its .033%.
The old widow, The Rich Young Man (not what you referenced to though).
Giving to the needy.
That is an awesome site for searching through almost every version of the Bible.
 
iGary said:
Who. Gives. A. ****?

If I'm a bazillionaire and I keep all my money - so what?

I hate it when people say rich folks are obligated to give their money away. :rolleyes:

Maybe it's a "thank you" to the community for allowing you to become so hideously rich. Maybe it's to give a helping hand to those you ruthlessly crushed on your way to the top.

Personally, I don't think anyone is worth millions of dollars more a year than anyone else. Do you seriously think anyone at Enron earned their money? They didn't even own a product. They were just the middle man. What about Trump? Should we applaud everytime he builds a building with his name on it? All he did was buy and sell buildings for a profit. He didn't improve the quality of life one iota.

I also feel this way about music artists and professional athletes. Yes they are entertaining, but I don't feel these people (nor their greedy puppeteers) deserve the millions of dollars they receive each year while doctors and scientists have to FIGHT for grants to continue life-changing research.

As for these computer giants, I agree they both revolutionized computer technology. However, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs did not do it by themselves. Yes, their idea, their direction, but without their programmers, we would have nothing but a piece of note paper. I think they do deserve to be millionaires, but no one should be worth hundreds of mililions or billions of dollars ahead of everyone else. In Japan (not sure if it's still true), CEOs would set their salary at 7-times the lowest worker's pay. It won't make the CEOs filthy rich, but it certainly raises the standard of living for all.

Think about this: people make fun of those who work in fast food or as garbage men (excuse me, sanitation engineers). And I agree, doctors and police men should make more than these people. However, what if everyone went to college, got engineering degrees, and wanted to become engineers. Who would cook our burgers!? There is a need for these people too, and I don't think they should be stepped on and forgotton.
 
I applaud Bill Gates in this, even as, as someone stated in this thread, I don't choose to purchase Windows. Philanthropy plays a part in mitigating the huge economic disparities we find in the US. It's how so many of our great public institutions are supported. It helps keep the arts alive.

Steve Jobs has done wonders for Apple, and there's no doubt he is a true visionary....But as for his private life, I just don't know enough to pass judgment one way or the other. He keeps it rather private, for one thing, and I have no idea what drives him as a person beyond coming up with great products. Perhaps that's enough.

But--possibly unethical (and, more to the point, unimaginative) business practices aside--Gates is definitely to be commended in this. Melinda Gates, too--maybe more. It's so easy to forget that most people in the world have things so much more difficult than we do. Bill Gates is not a saint, but in this area he's making an effort. And a lot of people are thankful to him for it.
 
skytown205 said:
I applaud Bill Gates in this, even as, as someone stated in this thread, I don't choose to purchase Windows. Philanthropy plays a part in mitigating the huge economic disparities we find in the US. It's how so many of our great public institutions are supported. It helps keep the arts alive.
How much money from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation goes to supporting the arts at all or destitute in the U.S.?
 
Counterfit said:
How much money from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation goes to supporting the arts at all or destitute in the U.S.?

None of it, so far as I know....I was just trying to make a point about the role of philanthropy in the US in general....Sorry for the confusion!

as a sort of tangent, did anyone see the article in the NY Times about charitable contributions in the US? Seems that the rich give much less, relatively speaking, than the middle class.
 
Exactly....

w_parietti22 said:
Have you ever heard the story in the bible of the guy who gave a bunch of money to the poor and braged about it and the guy who gave a bunch of money and kept it to himself and then Jesus asked whom was more Christ like??? (or something like that)

Im not saying that Steve is a saint... but he does donate to charity. He just already has such a good image that he doesnt need to brag on the street corner about it.

ok another bible reference (sorry). You know the story of all the rich people donating loads of money to the church and then a women (who was very poor) and gave 2 small coins and it was all that she had.

Well I know this isnt the same... but Bill is worth about 40 billion and Steve is worth about 3. Its a much bigger deal for steve to give a million dollars than it is for Bill. In fact, for bill thats only .0025% of his money. For steve, its .033%.

I was discussing the other day of "giving 'til it hurts." I know I don't. And I suspect none of the rich and famous do. Whereas, there are many poeple who have pursued missions and given away everything. Let's not let the large $$$ signs make us believe that the Gates are "more charitable."
 
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