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Bill Gates, Time Magazine "Person of the Year"
klubar writes "Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, were named Time Magazine "Persons of the Year". He was joined in this honor with Irish rocker Bono-all being named for being "Good Samaritans" who made a difference."
This should prove... once and for all, to the teeming masses of Slashdot kids, that people, by and large, DO NOT hate Microsoft and Bill Gates.
I don't respond to AC's.
As much as we dislike him, he does give an awful lot of money to charity, so well done Billy.
Of course the other argument is that, percentage wise he doesn't actually give that much...
Keep up the good work, Mr & Mrs Gates.
Backup not found: (A)bort (R)etry (P)anic
As much as I dislike Bill Gates and his business practices, there is no doubt that he and his wife have done more for charitable organizations than anyone in history. Bill Gates and his wife deserve to be celebrated for their efforts.
Aero
Please stop hurting America -- Jon Stewart
Before you all flame Time for liking Bill Gates... bear in mind that Hitler also won man of the year back in his day...
:)
I am not making any links, I am not vehemently anti-Gates, but I just thought it would be a good perspective to keep in mind before you went and sent letter bombs to Time
MoM++ - A Classic Expanded - [Master of Magic 1.5]
http://mompp.sourceforge.net/
Mark 12:41-44
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.
42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.
44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything-- all she had to live on."
As much as I understand the necessity of patting people on their back for doing anything at all with their insanely huge wealth - to stop them turning away sneering at the 'ingratitude' of the world, I can think of a lot of "Good Samaritans" who better deserved Person of the Year
Bill Gates amassed a fortune through ruthless and merciless and eventually illegal practices.
For every illegal practice Bill's company has been accused of, there are at least a few practices that have helped bring computers and the internet to the masses. Not sure I would personally consider Bill Gates to be a good person, but you have to be a ruthless dictator in order to run a multi-national. When in Rome. Show me one CEO who can exist in *that* world, without holding true to the values of the Sith.
That said, much of Bill's contribution to the dark side of the force has sparked great strides for the light. Our enemies unite us, and there is no clearer enemy to Open Source than Bill Gates. Maybe he just wants us all working for free? Nah.
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
Although they did give a large amount back, what percentage is this to what was taken in? There are a lot of people that don't make a lot of money and give a large percentage to charities. The total amount given is really not a measure of one's thoughtfulness, the percentage is really where it counts.
He arguably robbed from the rich and gave to the poor...
Giving away millions does not excuse you from Microsoft tactics such as:
1) EULAs that take away the users rights
2) Operating systems with little or no security
3) Business tactics that make the Borgias look like a kindergarden group.
5/10, try harder.
Ed Almos
The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws. - Tacitus, 56-120 A.D.
Rip off people, lie, cheat, do WHATEVER IT TAKES to make billions... ...then give a lot of it away to receive praise.
Time Magazine, how stupid are you.
The same amount I've raised using illegal business practices.
Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
good samaritan who made a difference n. Rich bastard in need of a tax break.
Standard Slashdot comment every time this topic comes up.
Hopefully, at sometime time, the morons will realize that
making charitable donations doesn't increase your money.
1) You have 100$. No charitable donations.
You pay say 30% tax on it - i.e. 30$.
You have 70$ left with you.
2) You have 100$. You give 20$ to charity.
Now you pay tax only on the remaining 80% i.e. 24$.
The money you have left = 100 -24 - 20 = 56$.
i.e You would have been left with more money if you
hadn't given charity & got the tax breaks.
The only diff to this scenario is when giving the
donation puts you in a lower tax bracket. However
I doubt it that's the case with Bill Gates - he should
far far above the highest tax bracket.
Who's more foolish; the fool, or the fool who follows him?
Yeah right, he's spending $6000 million to get a profit on his $200 million investement in medical companies?
Conspiracy Theory FTW!
Bill Gates is surely giving a larger percentage to charity than I do. I think I gave $2 for the flood victims because a couple of swedes were there, otherwise I usually think "well build yuor homes somewhere else next time". Otherwise I havn't been giving a single penny to charity for about 10 years.
Time also named former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton as "Partners of the Year" for their humanitarian efforts after the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, and the unlikely friendship that developed from that work.
Unlikely friendship??? Someone hand me a hanky. Gotta love applauding Bush for Katrina. It ain't as ironic as giving Kissenger the Peace prize, but it's gettting there. And Bono??? Bono???
The guy may be well meaning and all, but by allowing politicians to exploit him, he essentially allows them to look good while they make the problems of Africa worse. Him and Bobby Geldof were complete tools at the last G8, allowing Blair to look like he wanted to help Africa, when all they did was continue the same IMF policies of handouts in exchange for selling off of resources to the west. And Bono does it over and over again.
Deconstruct the State
I think that tells you what we can all make of Time Magazine's exalted choice.
1 worst
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=1
This quote epitomizes U2's pious, holier-than-thou attitude:
"I don't know why, but we always had this belief that there was something sacred about our music, that it was almost holy."
-Bono, pompous asshole and lead singer of U2
Cocky, high-handed, imperial assholes.
I believe we should be evaluated not by how much we donate, but by what we have left after the donation. Then, I could be considered as a _big_ donator!
No he is not a millionare. And yes you are trolling.
Are you implying that Bill Gates who keeps for himself every bit of "intelectual property" that he has created or has had others create on his behalf is a better man than a guy who has shared his work with all of humanity?
I didnt think you were.
Pragmatism as an ideology is not particularly pragmatic in the long term. Keep it in mind when you dismiss Free Software
It just goes to show that people are stupid and that the mass media are sycophants.
I am sick and tired of hearing what a great genius and philanthropists Bill Gates is.
Let us not forget that Bill Gates went to India in 2002 and gave $100 million to fight AIDS, which received great press. What the main-stream media failed to report was that $421 million of Microsoft's money at the time went to fight Linux and Free Software.
So make your own conclusions about his priorities.
Stick Men
How much Linus Torvalds donates? Look here, how much is that worth?
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
Stupidity is like nuclear power, it can be used for good or evil. And you don't want to get any on you.
... is a bus thief. Say what you want about Bill Gates, or Bono, or whichever "great man" that Time wants to honor this year, but I really can't let my bosom swell over a millionaire or a billionaire throwing out a little bit of their plentiful time and/or money here or there. Hell, if somebody has that much power and money, we shouldn't be "thanking" them for doing the right thing, it should be *expected* of them.
My person of the year is Jabbar Gibson, the 18 year old kid who saved 70 people from the aftermath of Katrina by stealing a bus and driving to Houston. Maybe that's because my definition of a hero is somebody that rises above even when the chips are down.
Tax rates are marginal anyway, so it wouldn't save you any additional money if you did switch brackets. Assuming that there's a tax bracket at $90, with everything below it taxed at 15%, and everything above it taxed at 30% as above. Repeating the same two scenarios that you used:
(1) $100 income, no charitable contribution. $90 @ 15% + $10 @ 30% = $13.50 + $3.00 = $16.50 of taxes. After-tax income: $83.50
(2) $100 income, $20 charitable contribution. $80 @ 15% = $12.00 of taxes. After-tax income: $68
So not only does money not magically appear from crossing marginal tax rate boundries, but your tax refund on the donation isn't even as large ($6 in the parent's example, but only $4.50 here), so while the $20 contribution only took $14 out of the parent's pocket at the end of the day, here the same contribution would cost us $15.50
Wish I had mod points. It is easier for a millionaire to give money, since he has plenty to spare. Linux gives everyone his time and talents, which are more precious.
;)
Kudos to Bill for all the charity work he has done, but the impact of creating a very good operating system that the people in the poorest of countries can use for free, on old "thrown away" hardware is tremendous. I'm not a Christian, but there is good sense in the phrase: Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.
Linus's gift will keep giving years after he is gone because it helps raise the education and living standards in the poorest nations. And he doesn't exactly get a tax credit for it. Of course, let us not forget everyone who contributes to FOSS, be it Samba, Apache, Bind or Squirrelmail, and of course our own Jesus look-alike, RMS
It's hard to measure the impact in dollars, but GNU/BSD/FOSS are great equalizers that embiggen the smallest men.
Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
Bill Gates amassed a fortune through ruthless and merciless and eventually illegal practices. That he has chosen to give some back, and I tip my hat to him for that, anc for all the good he is now doing I liken to the mafia giving ill-gotten gains to charities and somehow being anointed for that.
Bill's corporation competed against other corporations, it harmed some of them, but that is how the market is supposed to work. That is in part how we have a darwinian process that determines supply and demand. MS' illegal practices were not obviously illegal at the time they were put into practice, the line is fuzzy and they were definitely treading in questionable territory but it was not a given that the government would see that it would warrant prosecution and it was not a given that a judge would rule against them. Comparing MS to the Mafia just destroys any credibility you may have, it exposes your politics / blind hatred. Linux destroys corporations, the traditional Unix vendrors. Apple can be even more heavy handed than MS. They merely don't get the bad press because they are not on top. Markets are like hamburgers, their creation is not a pretty picture.
Out of curiousity, what exactly do the Gates donate?
The only headlines I remember about Gates donations deal with MS software and computers that have MS software preloaded, particularly to charities and schools. These donations are simply good marketing. They get people to feel good about MS, they get schools on the MS upgrade threadmill (first one is free, next one costs you), and they get students hooked on MS products so when they go out into the work-force they are MS evangelists. Most big companies, properietary or open source, to varying degrees, use the same strategy. For instance, Jobs wanted to donate OSX for the $100 laptops. Generosity aside, it would have been a huge marketing opportunity for Apple. In the end Red Hat was chosen.
If you subtract all the marketing related "charity" work, what how much have the Gateses actually donated compared to other billionaires in their league?
Now I know you were trying to be funny, but Time's "Person of the Year" is nominated not for being a good person, but for being an impactful person.
Not anymore. In 2001, the Man Of The Year was Rudolph Guiliani, when it is painfully obvious that Usama bin Laden had an inestimably bigger impactful on that year's events. (Indeed, 100% of Rudy's interesting actions were merely responses to Usama's initiatives).
Face it, Time uses at least 4 factors to pick Yearitude: Attractiveness, Deserving, Virtue, and Import.
Most mayors would not have shown the leadership that Giuliani did. See New Orleans, use the mayor or governer as examples. Not bad people, but simply not up to the task and not having the leadership skills needed to cope. You and I would probably not done much better.
Sorry, Katrina is in a whole other order of magnitude from 9/11. We're talking a few buildings knocked down vs. widespread destruction across an entire city and ensuing unlivability and anarchy.
Also, with 9/11, federal aid was instantaneous.
9/11 was a tragedy, but it has been so played-up to incite "patriotism" that many have lost perspective on what a true disaster is.
Wow. I think it is a PR attempt mostly, and judging by the fact my parent comment was modded down, the PR works. Slashdotters are completely taken in by a small amount of charity, and now Bill Gates is a great guy. Very weak minded, in my opinion.
And actually, I think Microsoft has pretty much done everything it could get away with...
How much do you attribute that truth to Bill Gates, and how much do you attribute that to the corporate collective? What I think is that Gates is sometimes sold on really bad ideas that hurt the company, from people who want to get ahead in the company (risk takers, wheeling & dealing). Bill might be a genius, but he buys into sometimes wrong ideologies, because he is possibly an idealist at heart (with the intellect to think he actually can make a difference, because he can see it maybe the way I'm describing it). Some of the most dangerous people have the best intentions, and I like to think Bill gets caught up in corporate politics, not that he's a bad person. Corporatism is not free market, but one man does not truly have absolute power. There are always outside forces, for good and evil.
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.