The Charity Industrial Complex

Easy Money Begats Easy Billionaires, who build Easy Foundations, which are easily captured. And before you know it, the apolitical becomes political, and the political becomes a lobbying machine. Big Money becomes Huge Money and Huge Money wields power.

And a perfectly good civilization goes to waste.

h/t Scott of the Pacific

How Charity Foundations Damage Western Societies

by John Smoke, im1776

Monument, Tomb, Ruins, Stone.

by Freestocks-photos

Charities are as large as the entire University sector.

Charitable foundations, and the specific charities they fund, are the single most important force in modern Western societies. They complete a triumvirate of the “journalism plus academia” shorthand of the Cathedral as Curtis Yarvin sees it. The amount of money sloshing around these organisations is simply mind-boggling. The latter is hard to reliably quantify, but in the UK, the charity ‘industry’ apparently registered £45 billion in revenues in 2021 alone. Compare this to the £40.5 billion total income in the UK higher education sector a couple of years ago and you get the idea.

John Smoke adroitly connects the dots and draws the spiral vortex that draws most charities in.

It starts so gently:

Imagine a billionaire. He’s an apolitical man. The driving purpose of his life has been to create goods and services for consumers and to provide shareholder value. He’s seventy years old, and suddenly realising he won’t be around forever starts thinking about his legacy. He consults his younger wife. She is also apolitical. After a few days or so of consulting each other they decide to find a way to donate 800 million to charity. They set to go and speak to their wealth advisors, to consult on where to go from here.

Medieval statue, civilization, city, charity, power.

by hansLinde

Gradually the mildly left leaning middle managers attract the moderately left, who employ the passionate left. Each round of funding attracts the harder-hard-liners, and gradually reaches more edgy projects. What starts off as “child poverty” becomes a plan to “counter digital hate”. Before long it’s a communist enclave pulling on the levers of power, armed with lawyer-sharks, millions of dollars, and professional fund managers to leverage the long term advantages of a large fund. It’s legal, but crazy.

Then there is way these machines may be handed to the spouses of said Billionaire after they expire or divorce. And thus some people driving national policy are not accountable to the voters, or the shareholders, but only to their own whims, or the whims of those who manipulate them.

Universities set the culture, but the Charity Machine makes it real

Charities are the main intermediary unit between academia and journalism. They can imbibe whatever is coming out of universities, turn the issues in question into campaigns, and then use those campaigns to secure coverage in media outlets. This all serves to exert pressure on liberal-democratic legislatures, getting them to copy-paste the charity’s findings into legislation which lawmakers can rubber-stamp.

The Charity industrial complex can go on indefinitely, long beyond their creator:

Unless we collectively do something to stop them, these charitable foundations are set to go on indefinitely too. Assuming their investments are managed prudently (most hire professional investment managers), there is no reason for them not to continue splurging billions for years to come. The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust was founded in 1904 by a Quaker pacifist. By the 1970s it was funding Communists in Mozambique. It’s now one of the biggest charitable foundations in the UK, funding racial demagogues and cybertron armies alike.

Same goes for the Ford Foundation, set up of course by Henry Ford, who at least judging by the international grants it made in 2021 ($656 million worth), has also gone Communist. When George Soros dies, do people really expect his influence to suddenly stop? It won’t. It will be continued by the same machine that is currently in place, and probably going even crazier and more unhinged once the old man kicks it.

While personalising attacks on oligarchs such as Soros can be useful, what we are dealing with here is a structural problem.

This excellent essay does not describe the evil spawned by easy money from corrupt currencies based on thin air and IOUs  — but the power of the billionaire flows downstream from that.

While some billionaires are gifted and wise, the Easy Billionaires who grew rich through predatory capitalism and monopolistic control might not be the kind of people we want running the country.

Nor their wives.

Read it all

9.6 out of 10 based on 80 ratings

103 comments to The Charity Industrial Complex

  • #
    peter jones

    Interesting article, however not comprehensive enough in many ways, there was a 1953 House Unamerican Activities Committee investigation into the tax free foundations.
    Also called the Reece committee, it revealed A LOT, but was quickly shut down by the Eisenhower administration.
    Directly relevant to the global warming panic, is the fact observed in 1953 that the Foundations were setting the direction of the research they were giving grants for and indirectly encouraging the research outcomes they favored,
    in addition they were giving large grants to the universitys themselves AND endowing chairs for favored researchers who
    were willing to go along.
    For some reason Penn State comes to mind, or is that State Penn ?
    The results of that directed research were then in many cases used as a rationale to adopt the policys of the foundation as government policy by beaurocrats put into place by the political influence of the foundations and their owners.
    There is still a book available on the Reece committee findings C 1958 called Foundations Their Power and Influence by Renee Wormser, when you read it you will understand HOW we got to where we are now.
    I also reccomend an old U Tube interview with the Chief Investigator of the Reece Committee Norman Dodd, it covers a number of subjects BUT they will ALL be of great interest, and in some ways quite surprising.

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    • #
      max

      correct

      The Reece Committee Hearings (1954): How Leftist Non-Profit Foundations Undermined the Constitution
      Gary North
      https://www.garynorth.com/public/17058.cfm

      Congressman Carroll Reece’s 1957 Summary Report on America’s Tax-Exempt Foundations.
      https://www.garynorth.com/public/1965.cfm

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    • #
      Fran

      I just listened to Norman Dodd referred to above. It is truly shocking and indicates that the takeover of education which is obvious now was planned just after WW I.

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      • #
        Yonason

        Yes, but it’s roots go deeper into history.

        In particular…
        ”… the Nazi movement had developed out of the “enlightened” and “progressive” socialist and collectivist ideas of the pre-World War I era, which many intellectuals in England and the United States had praised and propagandized for in their own countries.”
        https://ray-dox.blogspot.com/2006/05/american-roots-of-fascism-american.html?m=1

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      • #
        peter jones

        Sorry Keith but we are talking about VAST sums of money here, truly vast, nothing Australia donates even comes close to the economic and politial power of the worlds most powerful capitalists.
        As an example i offer you the frank reason expressed by our treasures as to WHY Scott Morrison was COMPELLED to go to
        COP 26, that is international bankers have stupendous power, as do some of the most powerful industrialists and if you do not do what THEY want they are capable of engaging in economic warfare against you and collapsing your economy.
        I suggest you read a book called I Was an Economic Hit Man, which gives some insight into how the system works at the lower levels.

        [Mods: Reply is to Fran but reference is to Keith. I’m confused. ] LVA

        [May have just made a mistake on the name. I’m more interested in why they were flagged as spam?]ED

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  • #
    Alfred+T+Mahan

    The situation is analogous to pre-Reformation England. Then, the church and the monasteries controlled an enormous proportion of the country’s wealth, skewing its culture and impeding innovation. Henry VIII’s desire for Anne Boleyn as a cause of the break with Rome shouldn’t conceal the enormous benefits to the country from the dissolution of the monasteries, and we need something similar today.

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  • #
    peter jones

    Oh i missed a point of importance, far from having gone communist based on Ford foundation grants in 2021, the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Carnegie Foundation etc were ALWAYS large donors to the communists from the 1920’s? onwards, much of it via a communist front , itself a tax free foundation, The Institute For Pacific Affairs.
    I would also suggest buying the three volume set of Western Technology and Soviet Industrial Development by professor Anthony Sutton,which apart from the documented stastics also demonstrates that the owners of the large foundations
    largely built the military industrial complex of the Soviet Union by technology transfer, and the supply of factories and essential equipment etc, this comtinued all the way through the Cold War, and included Kissinger getting Nixon to approve the sale of the essential manufacturing equipment that allowed the Soviets to produce very accurate missile guidance systems for the first time and shortly thereafter MIRVED warheads.
    A U.S company also designed some of the Soviet five year plans for them, their own efforts being unworkable.
    The Foundations coordinated their effrts to take control of the U.S State department, department of Trade, department of Education etc.
    For those who have not read it i suggest Tragedy and Hope by professor Carroll Quigley (Bill Clintons university mentor) this gives a background on the group that encompasses many of the foundation owners.

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    • #
      OriginalSteve

      How about this ?

      https://wearechange.org/bombshell-documents-reveal-bill-gates-has-given-319-million-to-hundreds-of-media-outlets/

      “BOMBSHELL: DOCUMENTS REVEAL BILL GATES HAS GIVEN $319 MILLION TO HUNDREDS OF MEDIA OUTLETS
      “Posted by John Titor | Nov 15, 2021 |

      “Up until his recent messy divorce, Bill Gates enjoyed something of a free pass in corporate media. Generally presented as a kindly nerd who wants to save the world, the Microsoft co-founder was even unironically christened “Saint Bill” by The Guardian.

      “While other billionaires’ media empires are relatively well known, the extent to which Gates’s cash underwrites the modern media landscape is not. After sorting through over 30,000 individual grants, MintPress can reveal that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) has made over $300 million worth of donations to fund media projects.

      “Recipients of this cash include many of America’s most important news outlets, including CNN, NBC, NPR, PBS and The Atlantic. Gates also sponsors a myriad of influential foreign organizations, including the BBC, The Guardian, The Financial Times and The Daily Telegraph in the United Kingdom; prominent European newspapers such as Le Monde (France), Der Spiegel (Germany) and El País (Spain); as well as big global broadcasters like Al-Jazeera.

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      • #

        That is interesting. Thanks Steve.

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      • #
        peter jones

        Sorry Keith but we are talking about VAST sums of money here, truly vast, nothing Australia donates even comes close to the economic and politial power of the worlds most powerful capitalists.
        As an example i offer you the frank reason expressed by our treasures as to WHY Scott Morrison was COMPELLED to go to
        COP 26, that is international bankers have stupendous power, as do some of the most powerful industrialists and if you do not do what THEY want they are capable of engaging in economic warfare against you and collapsing your economy.
        I suggest you read a book called I Was an Economic Hit Man, which gives some insight into how the system works at the lower levels.

        00

      • #
        peter jones

        That IS very informative, however we should NOT be surprised , my reccolection of the congressional investigation into the CIA revealed amongst other things Operation Mockingbird, where the CIA paid journamists and media companies to
        produce CIA propaganda as journalistic facts and investigations, as i recall the CIA agent concerned said that reporters were cheaper than hookers.
        Of course there is also Henry Kissingers speech to the Trilateral comission, where he explicitly thanked the owners of some of the U.S’s largest newspapers for activly ensuring that the truth was NOT revealed (they were members of the TC)
        and that now, nothing could stop their project.
        I recall he lauded the future where the world would be run by bankers as the only sensible option.

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  • #
    Will

    South Park managed to well describe the large charities and they way that they worked.
    Find a copy online of the post by the Geldorf band member who visited ?Somalia to see how the “saved children” managed a decade or so later.

    Giving aid directly to an actual needy person is a virtue.
    Giving money to a fat cat bureaucracy posing as a charity is not.

    Giving aid to someone who will just throw it away on gambling, alcohol or drugs is insane.
    But that person knows that they will still pay him or her every fortnight so why should such care?

    The welfare state was created to help the aged who paid their taxes, the unfortunate and the needy and is literally the greatest creation of western civilization.
    However, it was never meant to be an indefinite prop to the lazy and the dishonest as it is now.

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    • #
      Wet Mountains

      I differ somewhat! Welfare was created by government to addict persons to the handouts. Once addicted, they vote in their own best interest…more handouts. Whereas, old time religious charities had some requirement for help, i.e.., work, off drugs, etc.: a change in behavior. I no longer give to charities, but I do help those I come across in need.

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      • #
        OldOzzie

        Wife tried to give 4 bags of quality kids clothes to Local Charities – Smith Family, Salvo’s, St Vincent’s

        Response the Poor don’t want second hand clothing

        Shades of Sound of Music

        Captain von Trapp:
        It’s the dress. You’ll have to put on another one before you meet the children.

        Maria:
        But I don’t have another one. When we entered the abbey our worldly clothes were given to the poor.

        Captain von Trapp:
        What about this one?

        Maria:

        The poor didn’t want this one.

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        • #

          Really?

          Every charity I know in Canberra takes good condition second hand clothes and I happily buy it from them too. One issue for the smaller ones (albeit not those you listed) is that post-lockdown they are being offered mountains of clothes so are in a hiatus for accepting at the moment.

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          • #
            Wet Mountains

            Going into a fast-food restaurant a young man asked me for money because he was hungry. I ordered two of everything and gave him one when I exited. He took it and when I looked bad saw him drop it in the trash. Another time I hired a day laborer on a job. That evening I ask if he was hungry (as he was sleeping on the job site in his old truck) Said he was. I drove a total of 20 miles to get him a dinner and bring it to him. Next day when I paid him (cash) for his work, he pulled a roll of bills out of his pocket that would have literally choked a horse. He was hungry because he was too greedy or lazy to drive into town. I don’t do that anymore.

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        • #
          Lawrie

          My local Vinnies has an excellent store of used clothes to which my wife contributes very many. They are grateful. The Samaritans down the street looks like an original David Jones.

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      • #
        Will

        You have that wrong!
        The welfare state was one of the few decent socialist concepts. But successive Marxist (yes, I distinguish between the two as sensible and limited socialism is IMO beneficial to mankind but Marxism is never satisfied with that and wants blatant communism) governments all over the west found that it was a vote snagger
        and manipulated it. The flood of “refugees”(sic!) is the result.

        The working class were treated like garbage by both the middle and the upper classes all over the west pre-WW2 and the welfare state gave them an acknowledgement that they actually mattered to the country having died like flies in defending it.

        Do note that such for the aged and the actual needy amongst us (and I have met many of both in Oz and elsewhere who were genuine), welfare is a lifesaver but wanting to stay on such (unless aged) defines a parasite. I have many good RL stories in that area.

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        • #
          Kalm Keith

          I suspect that Wet Mountains would agree that there are those in the community who have earned or deserve government charity.

          The issue is the abuse by politicians of charity in buying votes from spongers.

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          • #
            Wet Mountains

            Keith, I see nothing in the US Constitution regarding “government charity.” In fact, I read where the founders warned against government giving out money. Benjamin Franklin — ‘When the people find that they can vote themselves money that will herald the end of the republic.’ I never cease to be amazed at the wisdom of the founders. They were wise because they understood the dark side human nature.

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    • #
      RickWill

      To save others the time of looking for details on Geldof and Band-Aid. This is one of the stories on Ethiopia and Band-Aid I found:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ARtqS9eoo8
      Actually 30 years on-

      The unintended, but really quite obvious, consequences of giving people handouts. They just become reliant on the handouts and they breed more dependent on handouts.

      A ban-aid does not fix cancer.

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  • #
    Fran

    Didn’t Henry VIII have a solution to this kind of problem?

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  • #
    Broadie

    Charles Ortel has done the leg work and exposed the so called ‘Not for Profits’ & Charities.

    The Australian taxpayer has been chipping in

    His videos with Jason Goodman cop a bit of a hammering from the censors. The ‘Monkey with a Computer’ aka John Cullen believes Jason is about to go the way of the dinosaurs for the information he is presenting under the monika of ‘Crowd Source the Truth’ or csthetruth with the assistance of Charles Ortel.

    40

  • #

    As the article goes on to comment,N.G.Os..
    Worse that the “private charities”,which should be treated exactly as every “Do-Gooder” taxed into oblivion at the local level..
    Non Government Agencies 100% funded by tax payer dollars are an even greater evil.
    Rules for thee none for me.
    These are the ways our parasitic overload use to rob us blind,selling the pretence of helping the public..
    Perfectly true,if the “public” consists of only government employees.
    Under the rules of government,a genuine government agency is bound by many rules,regulations and political oversight..
    So the bureaucratic solution is to grant the taxpayers money,to a “private charity”,who can impose the desired policy,while answering to no one..
    Yet for all that they are 100% supported by the taxpayers money,they are accountable to none.
    And they all pay their “staff” very well and the cross flow of parasites is endless.
    If you have noticed,these are the places political operatives are stored when their party is out of power.
    And from these sheltered pools of thieves,the real governance flows..
    Does not matter who we elect,the policies continue .
    While there remain pools of public wealth,the eaters will congregate to feast.

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  • #
    PeterS

    The distinction between charities and scams has always been nebulous at the best of times. It’s worse today with the use of high tech. Of course there are still many legitimate charities that ought to be supported. In other words, it’s not that much unlike to a response to different topic I made on another thread; no one on this earth is perfect. I can find fault in anyone, including myself. I will read and analyse points of view, opinions and evidence from anyone regardless of their background provided it’s true. Adapted from the Scriptures; let one who is without error among us cast the first stone and obliterate everything another person says. After all, aren’t we all for free speech? Are we all for genuine charities?

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    • #
      Kalm Keith

      Peter, that may have been relevant sixty years ago but currently our Governments are the largest charitable organizations in Australia.

      Charities may have been relevant when the only unemployment benefit was a weekly busfare allocation to get you to job interviews, but current government handouts are extraordinary and render charities redundant.

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      • #
        PeterS

        You got it backwards. I was blunt and direct with my earlier comment where I stated much of taxation is theft but is sanctioned by government decree so they get away with it. They waste so much of it it’s not funny.

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        • #
          Kalm Keith

          What’s the definition of “Waste”?

          01

          • #
            Bruce

            Do you think we are getting our money’s worth?

            Have we got our monies worth since Federation?

            Since Statehood?

            Ever?

            Demanding money with threats or actual violence?

            Normal people go to jail for such behaviour. Mutual, agreed obligations clearly means something quite different to pollie muppets and public serpents.

            Governments are very good at minutely detailing how much of YOUR money has been spent on various “worthwhile and essential” things. However, when it comes to precisely (and accurately) detailing the magnitude of the benefits, they seem to be a LOT less “forthcoming” . Any thoughts on this matter?

            Try NOT paying taxes, excise, fees, rates, etc.

            Disappear into the bush and live off the land? If you owe the ATO money, good luck with that ploy.

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            • #
              Kalm Keith

              I agree with Peter’s last comment, but for the term waste.

              Perhaps a rewrite;

              “They “redistribute” so much of it it’s not funny.”

              The word redistribute is a cover for terms like theft and corruption.

              10

      • #
        peter jones

        Sorry Keith but we are talking about VAST sums of money here, truly vast, nothing Australia donates even comes close to the economic and politial power of the worlds most powerful capitalists.
        As an example i offer you the frank reason expressed by our treasures as to WHY Scott Morrison was COMPELLED to go to
        COP 26, that is international bankers have stupendous power, as do some of the most powerful industrialists and if you do not do what THEY want they are capable of engaging in economic warfare against you and collapsing your economy.
        I suggest you read a book called I Was an Economic Hit Man, which gives some insight into how the system works at the lower levels.

        10

  • #
    el+gordo

    ‘We need 1980s-in-the-Soviet-Union-tier cynicism.’

    Totally agree, we have been too easy going. The whole MSM is on the same plate, which gives us a glimpse of totalitarianism. As the old Soviets said of Pravda, ‘you have to read between the lines to know what is going on’.

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    • #
      PeterS

      Exactly. The problem though is the masses are still too easily fooled and deluded into accepting officialdom. As usual eventually the masses wake up and stop taking any more of the nonsense but not until they feel a lot of pain to kick start their brains into a proper thinking cycle. We might not be too far from that point given the recent protests here and abroad.

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  • #
    Forrest Gardener

    Yet another example of big being the enemy of good.

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  • #
    John+R+Smith

    If an industry is created to aid the downtrodden, that industry becomes dependent on a continuous supply of downtrodden.

    That’s why we have so many new ‘variants’ of the downtrodden these days.

    It ends when everyone is trodden down.

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    • #
      PeterS

      That includes our taxation system. Nothing new really. IMHO much of taxation is theft but is sanctioned by government decree so they get away with it.

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      • #
        Dave in the States

        The irony is that people’s votes are bought with their own money. Post the 2020 election in America people votes are cancelled with their own money.

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    • #
      Deano

      Charities also provide a cloak of respectability for activists whose beliefs never get wide acceptance when presented up front. They need a disguise. So they target organisations that are 1. Popular, 2. Respected, 3. Apolitical (initially) and successful BUT naive about political activist’s tactics.
      Such an organisation innocently allow just one activist in who poses as a ‘People and Culture’ specialist to, you know, modernize the organisation in line with a recommendation from a management consultancy’s report (don’t get me started on management consultants!!). Soon they need an assistant and they know just the person needed. So management take their advice and employ a second activist posing as just another eager employee. Soon the activists advise they need a racial equality officer, a team of in-house mental health professionals, an Inclusion and Diversity Officer, and on and on. As with the fading light of a sunset, it’s impossible to say exactly the moment it occurs but the moment comes when it’s obvious they’ve taken control. And remember, these people have massive power over everyone else. Contravening any of their new ‘Workplace Harmony’ rules gets you instant dismissal.
      Mission accomplished, yet the public still believe they’re donating to some medical research fund.

      20

  • #

    Just follow the Green Climate Fund which funnels money to all kinds of ‘non profits’ many of which have dark money behind them as well and whose main functions are to lobby decision makers in favor of ‘green’ solutions.

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  • #
    Graeme No.3

    David Craig (pseudonym) wrote The Great Charity Scandal about (mainly) the UK Charity Industry. He concentrated on the ‘overheads’ – money for the top bosses, advertising and fund raising costs, all increased by multiplication of charities ‘doing the same work’.
    Needless to say the amount that reached the supposed target wasn’t a big proportion.

    Any resemblence to Government agencies is all in my mind.

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  • #
    David Maddison

    Unfortunately the following article is paywalled for me as I have reached my limit of free reads but you may be able to see it:

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-lefts-idea-of-generosity-11549228822

    The Left’s Idea of Generosity

    Progressives across the West are eager to spend other people’s money on moral vanity projects.

    By Bobby Jindal
    Feb. 3, 2019 4:20 pm ET

    Studies consistently show that Republicans give more than Democrats to private charities. But as any liberal will happily tell you, that doesn’t capture the whole picture. The left, they say, is far more generous than the right. It’s just that they don’t express their concern for the disadvantaged via charitable giving. Rather, they raise taxes and spread the wealth via big government.

    There’s only one problem: The disadvantaged don’t always want that kind of help. For proof, consider the recent “yellow vest” protests in…

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    • #
      OldOzzie

      Yet liberal elites in America and Europe seem shocked by the growing backlash against their environmental, immigration and trade policies. They only see the upsides of globalization, with more-efficient supply chains, a rising middle class across many formerly impoverished nations, and a larger market for their advanced products and services. They ignore the tangible and near-term dislocations suffered by families and entire communities. Politicians should ensure that international trade isn’t a zero-sum game that disproportionately burdens the very working people they claim to champion.

      Unfortunately, American liberals are too busy congratulating themselves for society’s increasingly rapid cultural progress—while bemoaning the work still to be done—to do the real work of helping poor and working people rise. It is almost inconceivable to them how backward and oppressive the West was just a few years ago. The thought of it consumes them, propelling them to spend their energies defending those who burn the flag, kneel during the national anthem, protest against the police, and engage in other unpopular expressions in the name of liberty and tolerance.

      They ignore the tangible and near-term dislocations suffered by families and entire communities.

      PS Firefox Browser – click top right 3 horizontal dashes – click add on and themes – click extensions – in Find more add-ons search – Bypass Paywalls – would also recommend AdBlocker Ultimate

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    • #
      James Murphy

      You can add the site to an archiving service, and also prevent the original host from getting mouse clicks and ad revenue they probably dont deserve.
      here’s the same article:
      https://archive.ph/tvxcG
      The downside is, its not clear to recipients where the hyperlink goes.

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  • #
    OldOzzie

    As you look at the insane reaction to the Rittenhouse verdict, it’s important to understand why we’re here and what kind of people we’ve dealing with.

    The Sky is Green Theory:

    Which brings us to the Sky is Green theory. It sounds crazy, but The System could wake up tomorrow and convince half this country that the sky is green.

    News program after news program would have “experts” on to discuss the newly green sky. Professors would teach about it. Our entertainers would all have a video up on Instagram about it in short order.

    Our brain dead athletes would repeat it. Nike would be running commercials showing a green sky by the end of the week. Every Hollywood movie would have a green sky.

    And the shaming would begin. Oh the shaming. Anyone talking about a blue sky would be treated like some deranged conspiracy theorist. Families would divide over it. Facebook would ban you for discussing “blue skies”.

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  • #
    Alistair Crooks

    Completely off-topic and all the demonstrations around Australia notwithstanding – Does anyone here think that it is too big a coincidence that Google has just announced that it is going to set up big time in Australia? It seems to me that Australian politicians are demonstrating the least resistance to a Fascist Vax mandate take-over and the general population the least resistance to lockdown measures. For example, I think Dan will probably get re-elected in a landslide in Victoria.
    I’m thinking that Google has singled out Australian as the best place to push forward with its Technocracy drive and the best place to use as a test bed for its products. Too much resistance in the USA?

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      John+R+Smith

      There was that Darwin guy, I think his term for coincidence was ‘random selection’.

      So just consider it part of Oz’s evolution.
      You know, like all the poisonous snakes and bugs.
      We are also hoping to send you Bruce Springsteen.

      (I’ve always wondered, is selection random?
      But I would never question settled Science, because I have faith in Science.)

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  • #
    Saighdear

    THese are really sobering thoughts: how to have nipped it in the bud? dog-eat-dog – the trouble with a little learning being a dangerous thing. and now we are woke ( THEY are woke ) and fights will start over silly issues.

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  • #
    Rupert Ashford

    Touching on a very concerning nerve here, Jo. You can throw organizations like Amnesty International, WWF, and just about anything related to the UN in here. And the competition for the dough is immense among these groups as well. I got suckered into buying a book written by some bleeding heart lefty girl a few years ago that spent her whole book bagging some of the global charities and UN help organizations for refugees which all made sense until we got to the last chapter where she basically said “don’t give your money to these scumbags, rather give it to me and I’ll do it right”, much like the “socialism has not been implemented correctly yet, allow us to show you how it should be done” brigade…

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    • #
      another ian

      Sounds like another example following that famous book called

      “How to do it and not get it” written by “One who did it, got it and can’t ret rid of it”

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  • #
    Neville

    Thanks for this info Jo and I’m not surprised at some of the money involved or the lefty direction of the money trail over the years.
    Certainly not many moves to go from Conservative or mainstream to far left over the years.

    BTW, Steve McIntyre is STILL looking at the Climategate HACK and seems to have found the obvious access was ( perhaps) through Prof Keith Briffa’s online account.

    Here’s a recent post from Steve and he’s certainly a warrior and a tiger for data and evidence. Here’s his conclusion in a recent post.

    https://climateaudit.org/2021/11/01/a-theory-of-the-hack/#comments
    Conclusion

    The Climategate hack did not involve malware: no X-Agent, X-Tunnel, Fancy Bear or Cosy Bear. Nor did it involve spearphishing emails or any of the paraphernalia that usually define “hacking”.

    “The first avatar of Mr FOIA in the CRU network was almost certainly via password access to Keith Briffa’s online account (through proxy servers). I’ve received a first-hand statement that Briffa’s password was exposed and available to the public in the period immediately prior to the “hack”. Signing on to Briffa’s account with this password via a proxy server did not require CIA or KGB level skills. Once in, according to the Mother Jones cybersecurity expert, the rest was “not rocket science”. The encrypted passwords were more or less in plain view and decryption of the sys admin password could be accomplished in a few hours or couple of days using open source software.

    Nothing in the hacking technique or timeline points to Russian intel services or US fossil fuel corporations. I don’t know the identity of the Climategate hacker nor do I even have a guess. What we do know is what we knew more or less since the beginning: that Mr FOIA was a reader of Climate Audit, Watts Up, Real Climate and other climate blogs; that he was careful both in his use of proxy servers; and, that, unlike Guccifer 2, he had no interest in leaving a massive social media trail.”
    “By Stephen McIntyre
    | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (35)

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    Kalm Keith

    The Australian Mouth and Foot Painters Association was a worthy sounding charity that nominally seemed to help people with disabilities.

    I donated small amounts until an assessment of Charities was made public. It was obvious that charities examined were not very efficient in getting donations to the nominal beneficiaries.

    In every charity “audited” it was shown that operating expenses were draining at least three quarters of money collected and in most cases not even 25% was reaching the target.

    It was obvious that the Tax free status of Charities had led to a systemic abuse of the charity arrangements but the other matter of the setting up of legal structures that were nominal charities to avoid taxes on the transfer of wealth is the last straw; in fact, it’s more like a giant log.

    Given the huge government social security payments made to those in need it may be time to restructure arrangements for so called Charities.

    Then we will all be more equal in meeting our tax obligations to society.

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      Rupert Ashford

      All of these “charities” run with heavy overheads and a big bunch of hangers-on that draw salaries and commissions from the charity. 25% actually seem fairly good to me compared to many other stories I’ve heard…

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      Brenda Spence

      I heard only 10% got there so I’ve stopped giving them money.

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    “Charity is a cold grey loveless thing. If a rich man wants to help the poor, he should pay his taxes gladly, not dole out money at a whim.” – Clement Attlee

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      Kalm Keith

      Interesting.

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        Broadie

        Yes.

        Very interesting that GA should quote a Fabian Lawyer and ‘Lord’ who taught at the London School of Economics.

        Even more interesting that GA would not question.

        Charity is a cold grey loveless thing.

        I do a lot of charity at all levels having just helped a young family whose bread winner was nearly killed by a four day delay in attending to a necrotic appendix. The delay occurred in a hospital ICU overrun by adverse reactions to something. Appendicitis used to treated as an urgent condition in what was the then essentially charity funded hospital system that existed before another great Fabian, William Hayden AC handed the reins to the the tax payer funded bureaucracy to distribute care more precisely and efficiently.

        Personally, I find Charity a warm and loving thing.

        Charity may be delivered in a more compassionate fashion when generated and dispensed at a community level from the pockets and resources of those who can afford it. Some sneer at the rich, though recent history has shown there is none more instantly wealthy as a Socialist who scores a government contract or top bureaucratic appointment. You tend not to see these people at the charity sausage sizzle unlike the ‘rich’ business people who made their money running more earthy industries.

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          I didn’t question or support it. I put it forward as an idea. Charity is a third order solution to an established problem.

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            R.B.

            I hate the “discuss” comments. You obviously want to promote it if you bring it up, unless explicitly dissing it.

            Charity is good because you can help in overseeing how its used. Just don’t be lazy. Your time is much better than the equivalent in money donated to fancy charity.

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          And just to add… I agree with your view of the concept of charity. The word has more depth than “giving money to a charity”.

          Attlee (cold grey) and the OP (industrial complex) were both critiquing charity (charities and throwing money at a problem for someone else to do the dirty work) as being detached from humanity.

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      Tel

      The politician supported by taxpayers figures he should have that money available for vote buying … I guess that makes sense.

      And the priest says everyone should give to the church.

      And the guy in the street holding out a cup wants your coins in there.

      In other news, water is still wet, just like it always was.

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    SimonB

    This is further exacerbated by the dotcom billionaires. Young, recently (last decade) indoctrinated at Woke U, no life experience, all idealism and billions to play with.
    Think Zuckerberg, Dorsey, Cannon-Brooks.
    Sitting in judgement on a society which gave them unimaginable overnight wealth and a skewed utopian belief that Marxism is the ‘answer’, via build back better, nett zero emissions, cancel culture and free speech determined by their algorithms.
    That is where the new ‘lobbying charities’ are. They truly believe they are right, which makes them truly dangerous when useful idiots are attracted to fists full of investment cash in the guise of charitable donations to assist future generations!

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    Nor their wives.

    Great to know that the female and homosexual billionaires are acting ethically.

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      Will

      Once you have that billion in free cash your race, colour, religion, ideology, sex, sexual preference, fame or infamy, all no longer matter as you are now “one of them” and the unknown doors all open.

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    shannon

    O/T….Have just been reading re stats from the UK Office for National Statistics Coronavirus (Covid 19) for schools.
    ie 1 out of 9 Primary aged and 1 out of 8 Secondary aged school children, had antibodies from prior infection !
    Does anyone know HOW they test for antibodies in the UK….given that I have read that “we” cannot test for them in Oz.(Usually done by blood testing for other diseases) Is the real reason ..No test available or our Govn Health …doesn’t want to ???

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    Ronin

    The Red Cross’s actions during the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami did it for me and charities, back then there was an urgent need for potable water in the aftermath of the tsunami, a bloke in Brisbane who manufactured a container based self powered desal unit, he offered an employee or two to man it and train locals in it’s operation, Red Cross was contacted and their response was’ No, we can’t help, it would cost us money to ship it there and find transport to where it was needed, just send cash, we find it more convenient’. FFS

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    IainC

    (From an Australian author several decades ago). O’Sullivan’s First Law: “All organizations that are not actually right-wing will over time become left-wing.”
    If this is a First Law, I would like to propose a few others.
    Second Law. “All organizations that are centre-left will over time become implicitly, and complicitly, Marxist in character.”
    Third Law. “Any organisation, campaign or regime that is explicitly anti-West, regardless of whether it is far-left, ultra-conservative, racist or fascistic, will be supported by the far-left.”
    Fourth Law. “All entities in Law 3, seemingly of the opposite political beliefs to the far-left, will have a term of opprobrium invented on their behalf, to be used against political opponents in the west, in order to allow overt far-left support.”
    Fifth Law. “All western institutions will become increasing anti-western over time.”
    Sixth Law. “All centre-leftist organisations who express some sort of support for a far-left campaign will be set increasingly difficult and absurd hurdles to overcome, until inevitable failure allows a far-left takeover and the Second Law to come to pass”.

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    Betty Luks

    Jo, an overall picture of world events was published in 1966 by Professor Carroll Quigley who claimed he had access to papers of the ‘insiders’ and went on to study them. He wrote about them in “Tragedy and Hope: A history of the world in our time”.

    He agreed with what they were about but didn’t agree with their secrecy. Your readers can judge for themselves; I believe the book could be read online.

    Try: https://ia802507.us.archive.org/0/items/TragedyAndHope_501/CarrollQuigley-TragedyAndHope.pdf

    I find John Smoke’s description of the billionaire’s ‘driving purpose’ rather hard to accept. I would need to have more information on just how he became a billionaire in this day and age. I also doubt that he was ‘apolitical’, he must have had ‘friends in the right places’ – certainly access to ‘financial credit’.

    It is only in the last two/three hundred years that this industrialised/technical civilisation has taken such ‘a great leap forward’, and, with the development from cottage industries to large factories and mass production, the need for bank ‘credit’ (read debt) came into such play.

    CREATION OF ‘CREDIT’
    Ages ago a former bank employee explained ‘credit’ creation to me as I found the concept hard to grasp. How could certain banks create ‘money’ out of thin air? Yes, I realise it is more complex these days.

    The following is the bank employee’s explanation:
    “In the ‘olden days’ when I was a relative junior in the banking system, I could clearly see how the ‘money trick’ works.

    “We had what was called the Cash Credit ledger.
    All handwritten of course, where, when an advance was made (loan) we debited that account in the name of the borrower with say $10,000 – this was a debit balance, i.e., the loan.

    “An entry was then made in the ‘Credit Ledger ‘ of $10,000 and the borrower then could go on a spending spree. In other words, we created the money for he or she to spend and in doing so ‘boost the economy’.

    “In the bank’s books our advances or loans, increased by $10,000 and our deposits increased by $10,000 (or gradually decreased as money was spent, or if that money was deposited either at that bank or others, or increased if credited to other accounts).

    “These days it is done with electronic ‘blips’ – but still recorded ”.

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    R.B.

    I noticed that nearly all the advertising for the NFL on 7 mate about 5 years ago were charities and industry super. There are some who are self employed or shift workers who might be interested in donating or changing super, but far from well spent advertising. Most potential live viewers would be at work on a Monday morning.

    Any idea why charities need to prop up the NFL in Australia?

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    Environment Skeptic

    Thought this might be a good venue to ask if anyone out there knows a funding expert with connections to the financial industry who might fund the effort to create a fully Australian native vaccine.

    Recent testing using Acaena show incredible spike binding domain promise.

    Acaena novae-zelandiae

    https://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/PlantDirectory/Herbs-Groundcovers/Acaena-novae-zelandiae

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    […] The Charity Industrial Complex […]

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    […] The Charity Industrial Complex […]

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    Peter C

    I gave this one a 9 out of 10..
    Not because of the content but because to whole problem is difficult to explain in one short post.

    I hope that Jo will re-post on this subject again and again,

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    Raving

    Think of the children! A great example which demonstrates a particular aspect of what is both right and wrong about charities

    What happened behind the scenes of our WE Charity investigation

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    Neville

    O/T but should be discussed.
    The theory of the Chinese covid lab leak in Wuhan just got a lot stronger.
    Good to see Matt Ridley is still on the trail and more messy stuff from the WHO as well.

    https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-covid-lab-leak-theory-just-got-even-stronger

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    Graeme No.3

    About 200 years ago it was said that the eldest son of the landed gentry would join a calvary regiment for some service before retiring to run the family estate. The next son, if he had any initiative would join the navy.
    If the next eldest son had the ability to add simple sums he would be given a post in the East India Co. and might return as a (rich) Nabob
    The fool of the family would be sent into the Church.
    ——————————————

    Today, the eldest son goes into ‘renewables’. demanding funding from the Government.
    The next eldest son with the ability to add simple sums joins a merchant bank.
    The next son joins a Climate Charity group, demanding funding from the Government
    and the fool of the family goes into politics.

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