Warren Buffet/Bill Gates= generous Americans

Warren Buffet, the second richest man in the world, has bequeathed 30 billion dollars to Bill and Melinda Gates' charitable foundation to equal a total of 60 billion dollars, the equivalent of the GNPs of Kuwait and Bahrain put together. For the past couple of years, especially when the tsunami hit the East Indies, all I heard from you Euro-twats was how selfish America is when it comes to giving to the world. Well, see if two Europeans, two Australians (STANG???), two people from the other naysayer-countries-you know who you are-will match these two philanthropists, perfect examples of the "evil" Capitalist system. Their $$ will go to fighting malaria, AIDS, hunger, building schools in 3rd-world countries, not to mention schools in the crowded urban U.S. system (minorities??). I get sick of you overseas-turds spouting your rhetoric about how selfish Americans are. Granted, these are private citizens and not the Government, but it still represents the generosity of two Capitalist giants and millions of working-stiffs who donate a few dollars here and there to help others less fortunate. The following illustrates my point:

July 27, 2005

By Elizabeth Farabee
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- International giving by American citizens, the private sector and nongovernmental groups is an important measure of U.S. foreign assistance and reveals that Americans are generous when it comes to helping others, says Carol Adelman, a specialist in foreign aid and development with the Hudson Institute in Washington.

In terms of official government foreign assistance, “the U.S. gives the most in absolute amounts, more than twice what the second ranked donor, Japan, gives,” said Adelman during a global Internet chat July 27.

But this number does not include substantial private foreign assistance, such as aid that comes from private donations, charities, religious associations and other nonprofit groups.

“Private international giving by Americans is over three and one-half times that of U.S. government foreign assistance,” Adelman told participants in the Internet chat. “When you take into account this U.S. private giving, our foreign assistance far exceeds other countries by any measure.”

A former presidential appointee at the U.S. Agency for International Development in charge of foreign aid programs to Asia, the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe, Adelman specializes in international development, foreign aid, trade and global health issues. She has estimated that U.S. private international giving to the developing world exceeds $62 billion.

Addressing questions concerning American giving abroad, Adelman called the standard measure of U.S. foreign assistance “outdated” and “flawed.” The standard measure of foreign aid, which ranks the United States last in terms of the percentage of its Gross National Income, grossly underestimates the total amount of U.S. foreign assistance, she said.

Additionally, no standard measure of private foreign assistance exists, making it difficult to calculate a comprehensive total aid figure. To address this shortcoming, Adelman said, the Hudson Institute is developing the “Index of Global Philanthropy,” a new measuring tool to calculate private foreign aid "first from the United States, and hopefully soon from all countries.”

She said that in 2003, at least $7.5 billion worth of overseas aid came from Protestant, Catholic and Jewish organizations in the United States. “We do not have numbers for all religious organizations, and we believe that the $7.5 billion per year is grossly underestimated,” she said. “Our goal is to get these numbers over the coming years.”

Even though Europeans and others give foreign aid more through their governments, Adelman said, “private giving is on the rise in Europe.”

She believes that the bulk of foreign assistance “should involve U.S. volunteers -- not consultants -- whose mission should be to create lasting institutions in developing countries. Private philanthropy has many such projects. The U.S. government has started some projects along these lines, and I believe this is the future of foreign aid for all countries.”

Adelman offered some guidelines, or “market tests,” to gauge the performance of a foreign assistance program, such as the creation of local institutions in the recipient country, its ability to raise private funds and volunteers to participate and the degree to which it creates peer-to-peer relationships between professionals.

She said private sector donors can go even further than the U.S. government in requiring aid recipients to practice good management of the money they receive. For example, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation “required that countries receiving aid submit a business plan on how the funds would be used and evaluated. If the country could not do this, funds were not disbursed.”

She concluded the Internet chat by saying that “measuring generosity should not be a numbers game. The important thing to look at is how developing countries themselves are creating good governance, transparent societies, rule of law, freedom and a climate for growth and investment. This is what reduces poverty. Without these conditions, all the aid in the world cannot help countries create prosperity.”

More information on Adelman and a recent article she wrote on U.S. financial assistance abroad are available on the Hudson Institute Web site. The Hudson Institute describes itself as "a non-partisan policy research organization dedicated to innovative research and analysis that promotes global security, prosperity, and freedom."

To receive information or participate in upcoming Internet chats in which top scholars discuss important international issues, send an e-mail to iipchat@state.gov.

P.S. The government ain't so stingy either whenever an earthquake hits somwhere in the world...even in islamofascist countries like Iran or Pakistan.....

So, eat crow peckerwoods!!!

Originally posted by chancremechanic
Warren Buffet, the second richest man in the world, has bequeathed 30 billion dollars to Bill and Melinda Gates' charitable foundation to equal a total of 60 billion dollars, the equivalent of the GNPs of Kuwait and Bahrain put together. For the past couple of years, especially when the tsunami hit the East Indies, all I heard from you Euro-twats wa ...[text shortened]... even in islamofascist countries like Iran or Pakistan.....

So, eat crow peckerwoods!!!

Originally posted by chancremechanic
Warren Buffet, the second richest man in the world, has bequeathed 30 billion dollars to Bill and Melinda Gates' charitable foundation to equal a total of 60 billion dollars, the equivalent of the GNPs of Kuwait and Bahrain put together. For the past couple of years, especially when the tsunami hit the East Indies, all I heard from you Euro-twats wa ...[text shortened]... even in islamofascist countries like Iran or Pakistan.....

So, eat crow peckerwoods!!!

Originally posted by chancremechanic
Well, see if two Europeans, two Australians, two people from the other naysayer-countries-you know who you are-will match these two philanthropists

I sometimes visit a rather odious website run by and for republicans.

Quite funny how they're spinning this to be yet another diabolical act by damned commie liberals. 😀

Originally posted by treetalk
I sometimes visit a rather odious website run by and for republicans.

Quite funny how they're spinning this to be yet another diabolical act by damned commie liberals. 😀

Originally posted by chancremechanic
Warren Buffet, the second richest man in the world, has bequeathed 30 billion dollars to Bill and Melinda Gates' charitable foundation to equal a total of 60 billion dollars, the equivalent of the GNPs of Kuwait and Bahrain put together. For the past couple of years, especially when the tsunami hit the East Indies, all I heard from you Euro-twats wa ...[text shortened]... even in islamofascist countries like Iran or Pakistan.....

So, eat crow peckerwoods!!!

I wish people would stop dwelling on what country someone is from. The guy donated 30 BILLION dollars...If you had 30 billion dollars to spare, would you donate it? No, you wouldn't. You'd buy a big house, nice cars, probably your own island. Stop criticizing.

I bet Buffett didn't even want the attention that came with his donation.

Originally posted by Derfel Cadarn
I wish people would stop dwelling on what country someone is from. The guy donated 30 BILLION dollars...If you had 30 billion dollars to spare, would you donate it? No, you wouldn't. You'd buy a big house, nice cars, probably your own island. Stop criticizing.

I bet Buffett didn't even want the attention that came with his donation.

Originally posted by Derfel Cadarn
I wish people would stop dwelling on what country someone is from. The guy donated 30 BILLION dollars...If you had 30 billion dollars to spare, would you donate it? No, you wouldn't. You'd buy a big house, nice cars, probably your own island. Stop criticizing.

I bet Buffett didn't even want the attention that came with his donation.

Originally posted by Wheely
While I take your point and think the guy should be applauded let's not make him out to be a saint. He has still left himself with several billion dollars which will probably allow him to buy the the odd house, car and island should he wish to.

He hasn't actually lost anything except a large number on his bank balance.

Originally posted by scottishinnz
Of course, one would point out that this is only 2 people, not the entire nation. And that money was made on the backs of others.

http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=6919139

"Forget about the Gates Foundation. The world's biggest charity owns IKEA—and is devoted to interior design

...

The Economist has investigated the group's no less astonishing finances.

What emerges is an outfit that ingeniously exploits the quirks of different jurisdictions to create a charity, dedicated to a somewhat banal cause, that is not only the world's richest foundation, but is at the moment also one of its least generous. The overall set-up of IKEA minimises tax and disclosure, handsomely rewards the founding Kamprad family and makes IKEA immune to a takeover. And if that seems too good to be true, it is: these arrangements are extremely hard to undo. The benefits from all this ingenuity come at the price of a huge constraint on the successors to Ingvar Kamprad, the store's founder (pictured above), to do with IKEA as they see fit.

....

Together these companies had nearly €11.9 billion in cash and securities at the end of 2004, even after I.I. Holding paid out a dividend of nearly €800m during the year. Most of this money has undoubtedly come from the collection of franchise fees. In total, these two groups suffered tax bills of a mere €19m in 2004 on their combined profits of €553m. Clearly, the Kamprad family pays the same meticulous attention to tax avoidance as IKEA does to low prices in its stores.

..."

Originally posted by Derfel Cadarn
So you think he should donate all of his money until he has the average persons' salary?

Originally posted by Wajoma
No, your research is on the back of others making you a parasite. The way gummint extracts money is with force and threats of force. These guys made their money through the voluntary exchange of value for value, whether as employers or through the developement and sale of their product.

The difference is the 'F' word. FORCE

It's used by gummint and criminals. (and by proxy, scottish uses it to fund his pet projects) Not Gates and Buffet.