Reid Hoffman, Bill Gates, Others Ante Up Another $30 Million To Change.org the World (fortune.com) 60
theodp writes: Fortune reports that LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is "leading a $30 million funding round in Change.org, a for-profit petition and fundraising website focused on social and political change." Joining Hoffman in this round, as well as an earlier $25 million round in 2014, is Bill Gates. Change.org, Hoffman explained in a Friday LinkedIn post, "helps enable a world where you don't need to hire a lobbyist to have real impact on the issues and policies that matter to you." He added, "In its decade of existence, Change.org petitions have resulted in more than 21,000 victories, i.e., instances in which a government agency, corporation, or other entity has changed a regulation or a policy in the face of a Change.org petition urging it to do so." Last year, Hoffman joined Gates and some of the biggest names in tech and corporate America who threw their weight behind a Change.org petition that tried to get Congress to fund K-12 Computer Science education. The Change.org petition fell short of its 150,000-signature goal despite claims of support from 90% of the parents of the nation's 58 million K-12 schoolchildren (based on a Google-funded survey of 1,685 parents), widespread press coverage (including a full-page ad in petition signer Jeff Bezos's Washington Post), lobbying efforts by the tech coalition that organized the petition (which counts LinkedIn and Microsoft among its members), and even some free PR from Change.org.
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Somehow, Slashdot readers will spin this as a reason to criticize Bill Gates.
Well that all depends on what Bill Gates is getting out of it... I'll applaud him when he gives without expecting anything in return.
It's always good for the tech industry to get more programmers applying. I think I agree with both of you - this seems to help the companies contributing, but I don't necessarily see anything wrong with the market wanting more workers that can do the job. I'd rather a kid study programming that complaining there's no coal jerbs any more.
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I'm confused by this. Everything Bill Gates does can of course be spun as a selfish tax dodge, but surely it's a good thing that he's given away $28Bn (so far) on education and health. I mean this is a guy who can buy himself a few countries if he wanted to, and instead he's working hard to try and make the world a better place for others. I just don't see what's this amazing selfish return he's getting that requires him to give away 28 BILLION dollars. It must be something pretty amazing ... Why should we
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I'm always suspicious when the people who fuck up the world the most turn "philanthropists". Its like a rapist bringing you flowers.
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Knowing these globalists, the flowers will contain chloroform, so they can rape you again.
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Well that all depends on what Bill Gates is getting out of it. A lot of his "philanthropic" endeavors are really just tax dodges which are intended to benefit himself more than who he's claiming to help.
This isn't a philanthropic effort or a tax dodge, from what I can see there it is investing in a funding round of a for-profit company.
Re: Somehow Slashdot readers will spin this (Score:2)
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I disagree. It's good PR and it's tax deductable. Win-win ... for Gates.
I don't think investing during a funding round of a for-profit company is a valid tax deduction.
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Yay! Online petitions! (Score:2)
The main problem with Change.org is that it's still easy to ignore online petitions like theirs.
They tout their "victories".
How many petitions fell by the wayside or were simply told "no"?
Re:Yay! Online petitions! (Score:4, Interesting)
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Why would it make it any more difficult?
"Three million violent economic migrants signed a Change.org petition to let a murdering rapist go."
"I don't visit Change.org, therefore, not even a single pico-fuck is given."
"But you're going to get a copy delivered to you to."
"This is what a trashcan is for. Single pico-fuck STILL ungiven."
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The main problem with Change.org is that it is for-profit and sells your details every time you sign a petition on their site.
Showboating hypocrisy (Score:3)
No K-12 Computer Cirriculuum Needed (Score:2)
We don't need more coders. We lack in the basics of reading, writing, speaking, civics, knowledge of history, science and math. Build a foundation first.
It's it just a PAC? (Score:2)
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Also, why is it Change.org if it's for profit? Aren't orgs suppose to be non-profits?
There are no such rules. I got a .org just because I could, not because I had to. Of course, now, I'm kicking my own ass over it.
Big Deal (Score:1)
Pocket change from Billionaires - oh how generous.
The best government (Score:2)
The best government money can buy!
Labeling their products as altruism (Score:2)
"helps enable a world where you don't need to hire a lobbyist"
Billionaires fund a lobby to "help the little guy" with issues that "matter". They are advertising their efforts as altruism, while in reality selling products, corruption and partisan politics.
Meanwhile, the average citizens are sending their money to the ACLU and the NRA to protect the guarantees in the Constitution's Bill of Rights.
Seems evil to me (Score:2)
>> a for-profit petition and fundraising website.
So what makes this any different from just another big megacorp buying off politicians to protect its own agenda?