Why I Despise the Wealthy

I will admit on the outset that this has nothing to do with atheism. However, an NPR story I listened to really pissed me off. Bill Koch does not seem to be as blatantly an asshole as his two brothers but he is still a greedy selfish prick. One of his achievements cited is a good example of his character and the character of far too many rich people.

"In a documentary for ESPN, Koch later said the America's Cup victory cost him $68 million.'Financially, I would say win or lose, it's not worth it," he said. "If you asked me ... if I knew what I know now, would I do it, the answer to that would be no.'"

$68 million for a fucking trophy! He seems to have some regrets about that but doesn't say why. Either way he obviously did not notice or care about the amount he was spending at the time. Think of all the problems that could have been worked on with that type of funding. Poverty, Cancer, AIDS, Homelessness, Local/State Infrastructure, and Resource Development just to name the ones that come to mind first. But no, he had to waste it on a meaningless boat race.

Even the so-called philanthropists are no such thing. The amount they tend to spend is a pittance and if you actually pay attention, most of the problems they give funds to tend to be problems their own economic behaviors helped contribute to in the first place. Bill Gates is a good example of that. He's given to environmental groups in Africa but never acknowledges that some of the biggest polluters there are companies he owns significant stock in. That is without looking at the human rights records of those same companies. Here's a thought, if you own substantial interest in the companies that cause the problems change the fucking policies.

You're wealthy and you want to do something good that's wonderful but actually do something worthwhile without any ulterior motives. If you're filthy rich giving money or resources as a tax write-off or for positive PR is not philanthropy. It's just being more of a pampered over-privileged piece of shit.