.@JeffBezos just announced his long-awaited philanthropic plan.
Two quick observations, and more thoughts later.https://twitter.com/JeffBezos/status/1040253796293795842 …
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So on the issues of homelessness and education that he targets, it is terrific to scale up these good programs. But imagine if his kind of resources could go after the root causes of those problems — in our zoning laws, our unequal public school funding, our tax system.
The second observation is that @JeffBezos is rich enough to dazzle the world by becoming a traitor to his class in the way he gives back.
He doesn’t need to solve problems in the symptom-treating, win-win way.
He can afford to go for the jugular of the systems that harm people.
And what better issue to start on than really helping to think about his own backyard and the future of work and workers. What will it mean to protect workers in these new times? What new regulations do we need for the Prime/gig/automated economy?
There is a palliative approach to this problem of precarious, squeezed employment. But there is also potential for real change. The reinvention of unions. A new wave of labor reforms like the ones that brought us the 8-hour workday and job safety, etc.
Givers often ask what they can do. But imagine if @JeffBezos set an example of asking what is rarely asked:
What am I already doing? How am I involved in the problems? What could I do to solve them for all, at the root, even if that means my world, not just the world, changing?
He can start by fixing working conditions in his empire, but he won't, because he only appears to give a damn when it suits his purposes. Give workers a raise and stop turning your own employees into chum to make your shark tank workplace more "competitive." Then we can talk.
He could simply double the salary of his hourly workforce. The amount of money that would enter local communities municipal funds and local businesses would be a seismic change for local economies. The disparity in school funding would minimize. Just a thought?
Hear, hear.
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