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10/18/2010
The only way to fight poverty is with employment
Charity doesn’t solve a thing. Interesting article to ponder. Jo
By Robert Frank, Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2010, 12:39 PM ET
Carlos Slim has always had a complicated relationship with philanthropy.
The Mexican billionaire, who Forbes still lists as the world’s richest man, said in 2007 that he could do more to help fight poverty by building businesses than by “being a Santa Claus.”
Mr. Slim’s signature also has been noticeably absent from the Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge. At a conference in Syndey last month, Mr. Slim said that charity accomplishes little.
“The only way to fight poverty is with employment,” he said. “Trillions of dollars have been given to charity in the last 50 years, and they don’t solve anything.”
As for the Giving Pledge, he said: “To give 50%, 40%, that does nothing,” Slim said. “There is a saying that we should leave a better country to our children. But it’s more important to leave better children to our country.”
In a speech in Mexico City Thursday, he reiterated his point that the best way to fight poverty is to create jobs.
Now Mr. Slim isn’t un-charitable. He has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to his foundation and has funded millions of dollars in joint-venture projects with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
So he clearly isn’t against charity entirely. His point seems to be that society would benefit more if the wealthy channeled their creative energies and talents toward building job-creating businesses rather than doling out cash. It is the 21st century billionaire version of the old adage, “give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.”
In these populist times, some might argue that Mr. Slim is being a selfish billionaire who’s simply justifying his own wealth accumulation. But he raises two good questions–ones I have heard from an increasing number of wealthy entrepreneurs:
Would Bill Gates and Warren Buffett be doing more for society by putting their time and money into new businesses rather than funding philanthropy?
Has philanthropy solved any major social problems in the past 50 years?
COMMENTS
See footnote, The Wealth of Nation, Adam Smith, pgs. 1 through the End.Slim is fat on that comment.
Richard Parins (Mon Oct 18 14:26:57 2010)
>>>Has philanthropy solved any major social problems in the past 50 years?<<<
Let's reframe the question since it was written to push a point of view.
How about we ask "Has philanthropy helped people in the past 50 years?"
Yes, and that does not mean merely giving food or money to them. It means helping them start their own business, improve their production their education...
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx
Dean Weichmann (Wed Oct 20 16:55:28 2010)
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