Re: Hand In Hand
The mimimm donation Hand In Hand is asking for on their web site is $25. The average US Net worth for 45-54 year olds is around 84k. Apple is worth $850 Billion.
$25 is .03 percent of the average US Family net worth. $5 Million is .001 percent of Apple’s net worth and they are the ones that get all the praise.
Tom Forrest
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Re: Hand In Hand
$5 million with a cash reserve of 250 BILLION!!!! What a joke
Tag Gross
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Re: Hand In Hand
On every NFL broadcast this weekend they were asking the consumer to give money to help the victims of Irma and Harvey. This coming from a group that is building new stadiums every year at costs north of $2B.
Mike Gimlett
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Re: Hand In Hand
I was just about to send to my thoughts on the “Hand in Hand” Egofest when i saw your column this morning. The concept of Oprah Winfrey and Beyonce asking poor working people for money is incredulous. The event last night was the ultimate in hypocrisy. The “.001%” who have made 99% of money earned in the last decade want us to let us know how “compassionate and caring” they are.
Sorry - got to call “Bullshit” on this one. If they wanted to do something - they should step up and start writing checks. So they raised $40 million - they could have gotten a group of 400 of their friends together and each wrote a check for $100,000 and none of them would have even noticed their bank account having been touched. They might have to give up one trip on their G4 to Greece.
Now I don’t mind it if an artist wants to put on a concert to raise money for charity and waive their performance fees to give the fans a great live concert experience. But taking part in a tacky PBS “beg-a-thon” to get our money is pretty hypocritical.
Your column was right on with the corporate hypocrisy as well. As of May 2017, Apple is sitting on $256 Billion (with a “B”) and they offer so compassionately to write a check for $5 million. Verizon nets somewhere north of $15 Billion a year and offers $2.5 million.
As usual Bob, you are right “on the Money”. Keep calling it like is!
Thomas Earl
P.S. "Hallelujah" has now become the "Freebird" cliche of telethons...enough already...
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Re: Hand In Hand
$5M?
Apple has $150B in cash.
Most of it overseas.
They should be donating $5B, not $5M.
How about an employer match.
Donate $X from your overseas stash and bring $2X home tax-free.
Thanks for standing up for common sense.
Best,
C Darryl Mattison
Utica NY
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Re: Hand In Hand
On the money Bob!!!! Add sports owners to the list, making donations of OUR money while charging $100 to park to attend one of THEIR events for which you've already paid hundreds to attend while they gather in the platitudes for their generosity. I'm sure you saw Jerry Jones when the Cowboys participated in a telethon for Houston being ogled by the cameras while he made sure Dez Bryant pronounce the " 1 million dollars" he was donating. Please.
Jim K
Re: Hand In Hand
Thanks for this important note, you are spot on – it’s the arrogance of the rich to think they are better at deciding where to spend their money. To give peanut donations in front of a global audience instead of paying taxes.
U2 and the Stones run shell companies here in Amsterdam where I live, while people pay up to 52% income tax. Did you notice how quiet Apple went in the Charlottesville aftermath? Tim Cook cuddles with Trump to get a tax break for their $200Bn bank accounts in the Caribbean.
But this is how capitalism works – keep the masses happy with entertainment and new phones while the 1% gut the government. There’s no real interest in shutting down the tax havens, not in Europe, not in the UK and definitely not in the US.
Apple tax break: www.marketwatch.com/story/tim-cook-tax-break-for-apple-is-whats-good-for-america-2017-06-15
U2 shell company in the Netherlands: nltimes.nl/2017/06/12/rolling-stones-u2-management-deny-tax-evasion-via-dutch-shell-companies
Fiede Schillmoeller
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