Anti-charity corporations. No, really.

March 6, 5:13 PMDC Corporate Ethics ExaminerJim Cunningham

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Please read this well-sourced pieced from my beloved Slate Magazine. It’s poorly titled because it’s about much more than Amazon and their maybe/maybe-not charitable giving. They mostly use Amazon to segue into some pretty thought-provoking stuff with the historical perspective to boot. (It’s actually a bit of a book review and collection of suggested reading.)

The New Scrooge
Are there lemonade stands that devote more to charity than Amazon.com?

Here’s a taste:
 

to those who believe, as Warren Buffett bluntly tells Gates in one conversation, "Basically, I don't feel I've got the right to give away the shareholder's money.”

And another:

The problem, contributor and Yale economist John Roemer notes in his tart essay "Just Tax the Rich," is not that corporations don't care enough—it's that we don't. "Repairing the present injustice should not be left to charity (or corporate philanthropy)," he writes, "but instead should be a state mandate."

Don’t mind if I jump in myself. If you found that interesting, you should really read The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein which also draws on Milton Friedman quite a bit to make its points. (I haven’t FINISHED it yet, but I’m really getting into it and I have a feeling it’s going to come up frequently and influence this page somewhat after I do.)