Jenny Price Article: Against Philanthropy (from good magazine)

Looking through a past issue of Good Magazine, I re-read this concise article. It challenges the philanthropic endeavors of corporations, and suggests a better ways to "help". Read this:
Against Philanthropy

"most philanthropic foundations are endowed by and invest their assets in these same companies, which create the very problems the foundations address."

"We can all be good citizens much, much more effectively in the course of making money than in the course of giving money away."

"In the Niger Delta, a $218 million Gates Foundation program provides polio and measles vaccinations. Yet the foundation invests $423 million in five major oil companies whose oil-plant emissions have created a regional epidemics of respiratory illnesses. These emissions have also been linked to immune deficiencies that make children more vulnerable to polio and measles."


"But what if Gates and Buffett simply applied their sentiments as philanthropists to their work as CEOs in the first place? What if they seriously prioritized employee salaries, benefits, and job security—from Seattle to China? And if they emphasized sound environmental practices, which reap long-term collective benefits at the expense of outsize profits and outrageous executive salaries? They might not have $30 billion to give away, but giving away that much might not be as necessary."

"The assets of the Gates Foundation now dwarf the World Health Organization budget. Does anyone really want any single private interest to exercise such extraordinary influence on international health policy?"