The federal deficit is rising and cuts are being made to the federal budget. Taxes for the wealthy are also being cuts, balanced with cuts to programs that are vital to American society. To pay for these tax cuts for the rich, there are to be cuts in public education, environmental protection, scientific research, especially that of medicine, and just about everything else benefitting society.
This is going to be the number one cause of the deterioration of America as a whole, with countries like China and India coming in and filling the vacuum.
Enter the new multi-billionaire philanthropists; Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Peterson, to name a few, making their fortunes from Silicon Valley, or inheriting it, or starting new companies that straddle the world, and all having literally hundreds of billions of dollars to give away. They are coming in to establish their own foundations, with goals such as to improve public schools, sustain colleges and universities, save the environment, fight climate change, support the arts, prevent wars from happening (yes), and fund medical research to find new cures, in lieu of the U.S. government.
One may think that all this will save America, but don’t jump to conclusions. One doesn’t just throw money at a problem thinking that it will solve itself, something the government has learned (?) the hard way. Many foundations have failed in their causes, regardless of the intent, and this is one of the reasons why.
What they’ve learned is, before giving out any money, formulate a plan on the cause. For example, we want to reform a public school system in a city. See what is wrong with the schools, why they are adverse, and form a plan to improve them: new buildings, workshops, laboratories, better teachers (with decent pay), and new curriculums, and what to expect from the students.
Formulating a new plan applies to any and all fields of interests.
Many of these mega-philanthropists are getting together and forming their own organizations, one step above the foundation, in these fields of interests.
This book, in general, explains the concept, the causes they cover (and some of them will surprise you, like saving or abolishing Obamacare, or making a treaty with Iran), how these organizations of mega-philanthropists are formed, the money they have, and together, it’s massive, and most of all, the power they acquire.
Whether it is the government, huge corporations, or mega-philanthropists, money is power.
As this book progresses, it also points out the down-side of this new phenomenon, and what abuses can occur; i.e. “We will help in your cause if you do this and this (support a political candidate, rally against raising taxes for the rich, read a certain book, etc.).
In addition, mega philanthropy is reaching a good many people, but not the majority. Funding Harvard, for example, benefits only those who attend Harvard.
All this results in filling a vacuum that the government leaves, but, like the government, it needs to be regulated, which it isn’t now. Mega-philanthropists can literally set any rule they want. The last chapter explains this and how this can be controlled.
Mega-philanthropy is a blessing to American society. It is growing, and we desperately need it in order to survive, but it has to have regulations. By the same token, the government cannot abandon support for research, development, education, and the environment, to name a few, that the U.S. badly needs if we are to continue to be prosperous.
Philanthropy and the U.S. government need to complement each other, not compete, or replace one another. This book explains this new trend and how it can benefit society without being abusive or exclusive.
While reading this book, one can imagine new mega-projects not mentioned, such a macro-engineering projects, that a philanthropic organization, partnered with the government, can initiate, and construct. A project that can benefit the world, beyond what we can presently imagine. Think about it.
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