Fake Charities: Why Doesn’t Darth Vader Have One?

Executive Summary

  • What is The Real Purpose of Charities
  • The Problem with Bono
  • Political Fronts

Introduction

For years we heard from various sources how important charity was. However, after working for completely corrupt organizations like KPMG that also lauded charity and even had days where they would dedicate employee days to charitable events, we began to have our suspicions. Later in life, we began to notice that almost all the charities seem to have been started by people with two primary characteristics; sleazy, and rich. Then Bill Gates began his charitable organization, and the trend became apparent to us. In fact, if one looks around from Bill Frisk (he goes to Africa and donates his time) to Michael Milken (ex-bond trader and convicted felon) it seems as if the primary purpose of setting up a charity is to deflect criticism and provide positive PR for that individual.

This is why, if Darth Vader were a real person today, he would most likely create a charity to refurbish his image. He would coordinate with a public relations firm to get the most PR benefit from his charity, and as we have seen with Bill Gates, some articles would be written about what a fantastic person he is, even though the actual work his charity does is unexamined and quite counterproductive by the way.

What is The Real Purpose of Charities

Charities seem to have several purposes. Here are a few of the major ones:

  • To wash clean the image of a person who cheated and was essentially evil as they accumulated their capital base
  • Serving as a front for a political agenda
  • To directly enrich the people running the charity
  • A way to swage any guilt. (we know several extremely lazy people who like to talk about how good they are because they have given approximately $3,500 to charity over their lifetimes)
  • The desire to show off to friends and increase one’s status
  • A place for the wealthy to hang out and network (charities provide some social venues)
  • To help a worthy cause

Unfortunately, while there are good charities, there are also a huge number of posers, and unless charities are better regulated, and many begin to lose their tax-exempt status and charity status, they are going to, or already have infected the reputation of the good charities with the bad. It should be understood that just because someone applies for a charity status and stays their organization is a charity, does not make it a charity.

These are some of the higher administration cost charities. Clearly, these charities are primarily about benefiting the administrators.

The Benefits of Fake Charity

The reason that charities can be seen as so transparent is by looking at the people who start them. Mostly they are people who have stolen their money in one way or another. Many times they do this by simply underpaying employees and taking more of the money for themselves. Instead of having a “charity” on the side while stealing from people in your day job. Why not, if you are so charitable, simple behave ethically and in a more equitable fashion in your day job? The reason is that it’s more effective to act completely unethically, and then take a small percentage of what you have stolen and either begin your charity or start the charity circuit. One of the great coups is to get yourself photographed with Bono. Bono may have good

The reason is that it’s generally more effective to act completely unethically, and then take a small percentage of what you have stolen and either begin your own charity or start the charity circuit. One of the great coups is to get yourself photographed with Bono. Bono may have good intentions but he will seem to align with any person, no matter what they previous transgressions, if he can get some money from them.

<br ” />Did Bono take a bet on how many sleazes he could get himself photographed with. As you can see Bono is doing quite well. How many can you count in these pictures?

George Bush is in one of these pictures. Is there anything that Bush can do, any charity to make up for the colossal way he reduced the quality of life around the world for billions? I don’t think so.

If Vader were a real person could we expect this advertisement at some point?

The Problem with Bono

Bono is making a Faustian bargain in order to get money. However, he is legitimizing sleazes who have caused great damage worldwide by being photographed with them. This feeds into the already strong concept that it is ok to behave terribly in one’s professional life, but give to charity and everything will be washed away.

Political Fronts

All of the following are straight up fronts and have little if anything to do with charity. A very large number of charities are created for no other reason that to take advantage of the charity’s tax-exempt status. It’s a more cost effective way to push your agenda, and because it is a “charity” fewer people see you coming. Here are some examples:

  • Milken Institute
  • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Exxon Charitable Trust
  • Archer Daniels Midland Foundation
  • ARCO Foundation
  • Boeing-McDonnell Foundation
  • Chrysler Corporation Fund
  • Dean Witter Foundation
  • Exxon Educational Foundation
  • Ford Motor Company Fund
  • General Motors Foundation
  • J.P. Morgan Charitable Trust
  • Merrill Lynch & Company Foundation
  • Procter & Gamble Fund
  • Rockwell International Corporation Trust
  • Transamerica Foundation

The Milken Institute is primarily about promoting certain businesses that Milken has invested in and basically just creates investing reports. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a way to wash clean Bill’s image, and to bring destructive agricultural processes to poor countries and Bill is cooperating with seed and pesticide companies like Monstanto to do this. If there is anything that could seem more ridiculous than the name “Bill Gates” and “charity” in the same sentence it is the name “Monstanto” along with “charity.”

The other companies on the list are all contributors to the Hoover Institute. However, the Hoover Institute is simply a political front for concentrated power and serve only a propaganda function. It’s less expensive to run PR arms as non-taxable entities, so that is what they do.

Conclusion

Regulation is necessary for charities. A lot of charities are not in fact charities and are dirtying the name of charities generally. Secondly, with any charity the underlying reason for its existence needs to be carefully examined.

References

On Bill Gates fraudulent charity

https://www.harpers.org/archive/2009/06/0082533