4 ms·

Interestingly a lot of the larger philanthropic organizations are just as administration heavy as the US government and suffer from the same mission creep and t

Interestingly a lot of the larger philanthropic organizations are just as administration heavy as the US government and suffer from the same mission creep and the same obfuscated, bureaucratic decision making process, etc. Not to mention the leadership is often richly compensated (i.e. $1M in salary) and non-elected. In fact we should probably celebrate gifts to the US government more than we do.

jimcsharp 2y ago
My hunch is that taxes are the most efficient 'charity', even with the bloat, and everyone's too busy sniffing farts in their corner to see it.
- enos_feedler 2y ago
  Not only that but it’s also the structure that enabled the riches in the first place. I don’t see why more people don’t do this.
  - advael 2y ago
    Mostly because of a very successful propaganda campaign by people who sought to loot the post-war economic boom Generally speaking, the sad truth of a complex economy is that coordination is hard, and there's usually a short-term privatized gain to be had by someone willing to poison the future and the commons. No amount of benefit to humanity overall or even the specific society such a person lives in will convince a person who simply doesn't care about anyone else. Fortunately for humanity, a very small minority of people actually operate like that. Unfortunately for humanity, some of them have managed to accumulate a lot of power
    - enos_feedler 2y ago
      Well said! I feel better already
- mozman 2y ago
  No thanks, I’d rather keep more of my paycheck.
  - schneems 2y ago
    The ultra rich don’t get paychecks. If you’re thinking in terms of “paychecks” you’re not who they are talking about when they say “tax the rich.”
    - bialpio 2y ago
      100% this. This reminds me of what my SO says: if you have to work, you are not in the upper class. I don't think I agree with this statement fully (I personally think that top decile by income is already upper class), but I feel like I'm becoming more open to re-evaluating my opinion...
      - bluGill 2y ago
        Most upper class work. They work different jobs, but they are generally not sitting around retired. They might or might not get a paycheck, but they are working. (if you own a restaurant you will probably pay yourself minimum wage when you do work - dishwashers start at double that - talk to your accountant but this is often the best legal way to handle your hours that are trackable) Steve Job's was famous for taking a salary of $1/year - he clearly was working and upper class.
        triceratops 2y ago
        But they don't have to work.
        bluGill 2y ago
        Most middle class don't have to work either - they are just not willing to accept the lifestyle that forces. Even poor people could find enough savings by 30 to not work if they really want to live that lifestyle. (I don't blame anyone for not wanting to live like that)
- bluGill 2y ago
  Taxes are not and never will be because no two people have the same priorities. Even if my favorite charity is only 10% as efficient as the government in doing what I want, a donation to that charity does what the charity does. A donation to the government goes to military, welfare (social security, medicare...), roads, scientific research, and a long long list. If I want to put extra money into say Lymphoma research $10,000 to a really bad lymphoma charity will get $3000 to research (finding a lymphoma research charity that bad is left as an exercise for the reader - the ones I'm aware of are considerably better). The same $10000 to the government will add nothing to lymphoma research since the share of the budget going to that is a rounding error.
  - wizzwizz4 2y ago
    But if you and a million other people, all with differing priorities, all agree to pay taxes…
    - bluGill 2y ago
      Most of the right wing who is against taxes still agree to pay taxes on something. They disagree what taxes should go for and how much, but they generally agree some are needed. Society is about the compromise. However that compromise makes nobody happy.
schneems 2y ago
> we should probably celebrate gifts to the US government more than we do. I had the idea that we should put a donation box on tax forms. The 100 top donators get on the “US 100” list (like Forbes) but it’s based ONLY on how much you donate, not how much you claim to be worth. It’s one thing to claim to be rich to a Forbes reporter, it’s another to have the (tax) receipts to back it up.
- internetter 2y ago
  This is sorta genius. I could totally see Musk and Bezos engulfed in an ever escalating leaderboard feud: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrickcai/2021/09/28/elon-musk-responds-to-replacing-jeff-bezos-richest-person-silver-medal/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrickcai/2021/09/28/elon-musk...
- dh2022 2y ago
  Billionaires flaunt their wealth via yachts, mansions, space rockets and super-PACs. Which to me seems way more fun than getting your name on a tax list…
  - safety1st 2y ago
    I think it's a great idea. It would generate good press for the donors and some billionaires care a lot about that. Guys like Buffett would do it. It's basically free money for the government.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 2y ago
    That's not flaunting it; that's just buying things you like because you have the money. Flaunting would definitely be getting your name on a list that you don't need to be on.
    - freejazz 2y ago
      Gigantic luxury yachts of ever-increasing lengths are absolutely flaunting. > Flaunting would definitely be getting your name on a list that you don't need to be on. Oh, like a list of the largest yachts and their owners?

jimcsharp 2y ago

My hunch is that taxes are the most efficient 'charity', even with the bloat, and everyone's too busy sniffing farts in their corner to see it.

enos_feedler 2y ago
Not only that but it’s also the structure that enabled the riches in the first place. I don’t see why more people don’t do this.
- advael 2y ago
  Mostly because of a very successful propaganda campaign by people who sought to loot the post-war economic boom Generally speaking, the sad truth of a complex economy is that coordination is hard, and there's usually a short-term privatized gain to be had by someone willing to poison the future and the commons. No amount of benefit to humanity overall or even the specific society such a person lives in will convince a person who simply doesn't care about anyone else. Fortunately for humanity, a very small minority of people actually operate like that. Unfortunately for humanity, some of them have managed to accumulate a lot of power
  - enos_feedler 2y ago
    Well said! I feel better already
mozman 2y ago
No thanks, I’d rather keep more of my paycheck.
- schneems 2y ago
  The ultra rich don’t get paychecks. If you’re thinking in terms of “paychecks” you’re not who they are talking about when they say “tax the rich.”
  - bialpio 2y ago
    100% this. This reminds me of what my SO says: if you have to work, you are not in the upper class. I don't think I agree with this statement fully (I personally think that top decile by income is already upper class), but I feel like I'm becoming more open to re-evaluating my opinion...
    - bluGill 2y ago
      Most upper class work. They work different jobs, but they are generally not sitting around retired. They might or might not get a paycheck, but they are working. (if you own a restaurant you will probably pay yourself minimum wage when you do work - dishwashers start at double that - talk to your accountant but this is often the best legal way to handle your hours that are trackable) Steve Job's was famous for taking a salary of $1/year - he clearly was working and upper class.
      - triceratops 2y ago
        But they don't have to work.
        bluGill 2y ago
        Most middle class don't have to work either - they are just not willing to accept the lifestyle that forces. Even poor people could find enough savings by 30 to not work if they really want to live that lifestyle. (I don't blame anyone for not wanting to live like that)
bluGill 2y ago
Taxes are not and never will be because no two people have the same priorities. Even if my favorite charity is only 10% as efficient as the government in doing what I want, a donation to that charity does what the charity does. A donation to the government goes to military, welfare (social security, medicare...), roads, scientific research, and a long long list. If I want to put extra money into say Lymphoma research $10,000 to a really bad lymphoma charity will get $3000 to research (finding a lymphoma research charity that bad is left as an exercise for the reader - the ones I'm aware of are considerably better). The same $10000 to the government will add nothing to lymphoma research since the share of the budget going to that is a rounding error.
- wizzwizz4 2y ago
  But if you and a million other people, all with differing priorities, all agree to pay taxes…
  - bluGill 2y ago
    Most of the right wing who is against taxes still agree to pay taxes on something. They disagree what taxes should go for and how much, but they generally agree some are needed. Society is about the compromise. However that compromise makes nobody happy.

schneems 2y ago

> we should probably celebrate gifts to the US government more than we do. I had the idea that we should put a donation box on tax forms. The 100 top donators get on the “US 100” list (like Forbes) but it’s based ONLY on how much you donate, not how much you claim to be worth. It’s one thing to claim to be rich to a Forbes reporter, it’s another to have the (tax) receipts to back it up.

internetter 2y ago
This is sorta genius. I could totally see Musk and Bezos engulfed in an ever escalating leaderboard feud: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrickcai/2021/09/28/elon-musk-responds-to-replacing-jeff-bezos-richest-person-silver-medal/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrickcai/2021/09/28/elon-musk...
dh2022 2y ago
Billionaires flaunt their wealth via yachts, mansions, space rockets and super-PACs. Which to me seems way more fun than getting your name on a tax list…
- safety1st 2y ago
  I think it's a great idea. It would generate good press for the donors and some billionaires care a lot about that. Guys like Buffett would do it. It's basically free money for the government.
- HeyLaughingBoy 2y ago
  That's not flaunting it; that's just buying things you like because you have the money. Flaunting would definitely be getting your name on a list that you don't need to be on.
  - freejazz 2y ago
    Gigantic luxury yachts of ever-increasing lengths are absolutely flaunting. > Flaunting would definitely be getting your name on a list that you don't need to be on. Oh, like a list of the largest yachts and their owners?