From the Giving Pledge to Totalitarianism

By Arnon Rosenthal

(See also: "Obama's Shared Prosperity: A Euphemism Wrapped in a Lie") Eighty-one wealthy individuals, including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Carl Icahn, Ted Turner, Michael Bloomberg, and George Lucas, have joined "the giving pledge," committed to distributing half or more of their wealth to society. Likewise, Mr. Timothy Cook, Apple's CEO, pledged a corporate charity program matching donations up to $10,000 per employee. There is nothing wrong with charity when the recipient deserves the help and the benefactor can afford it. The issue is whether one has a moral right to exist without giving away his wealth to others. The giving pledges imply that the answer is no. The media and participants refer to these pledges as "return" and "giving back." Thus, Forbes magazine titled its article "Warren Buffet Gets the Wealthy To Give Back," and the pledges include phrases such as "we have long planned to return a substantial majority of our wealth to society ... giving back is a practice and joy ... people wait until late in their.... (Read Full Article)