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by komali2 2552 days ago
What is your take on the reasoning he put in the article on why he doesn't "just" do that?

> Two decades ago I turned full-time to philanthropy and threw myself into supporting public education, scientific and medical research, and visual and performing arts, believing it was my responsibility to give back some of what had so generously been given to me. But I’ve come to realize that no amount of philanthropic commitment will compensate for the deep inequities preventing most Americans — the factory workers and farmers, entrepreneurs and electricians, teachers, nurses and small-business owners — from the basic prosperity we call the American dream.

1 comments

That's not a reason why he can't do it, he's just saying that other people will need to do it too. I completely agree with him on that, he certainly can't do it alone. However, I think that he should set an example without waiting for others to join him.
What more can he do that would be considered "setting an example?"

He devotes himself full-time to philanthropy.

> What more can he do that would be considered "setting an example?"

Eli can take his money and send it as a gift directly to the US government.

> He devotes himself full-time to philanthropy.

Giving money to private charity is very different from giving money to the government.

Ok, fine, so how much money does Eli have to give to the US government for his opinion to count, by your measure?

Because I give literally no money to the US government voluntarily, and I think the hyper-rich should be taxed more.

Why are we attacking the individual with ad hominem? His argument is sound. Philanthropy alone is not enough.

This whole time I've basically been arguing around the fact that lots of people are participating in the rhetorical fallacy known as Ad Hominem.