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December 30, 2008

Give and Take: Should Donors Aid Victims of the Madoff Scam?

Should donors aid nonprofit victims of Ponzi schemes like the Madoff investment scandal? That is the topic of a new post in Give & Take, The Chronicle’s roundup of the best blog posts about the nonprofit world.

Plus:

• A new report’s criticism of how the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation fights diseases is being debated.

• Tips for new philanthropists.

Tuesday December 30, 2008 | Permalink

Comments

1. NO, donors shouldn’t aid the victims of Madoff’s ponzi scheme. I’m sure that the administration, either the current or the incoming one, will be glad to through a few billion to the cause. Why not? Everyone else is getting bailed out. It truly is a tragedy that so many people were hurt by what he has done. Someone should have been watching a little more closely.

   — John    Dec 30, 01:59 PM    #

2. Well, we’re all paying (as well we should) for the uniquely American mentality that “greed is good”. Not that greed is uniquely American but the near religious quality of the American greed.

   No matter what fancy words we use – “investments”, “portfolio”, “market”, “mutual fund”, etc. it’s all essentially an amoral, parasitic way to live.
   You hope to make money off of someone else’s talent and labor and products that are being speculated upon by wily market operators.

   And you DARE to complain or even raise the possibility of a bailout when you get suckered by one of these operators?

   This is one of those fundamental, unresolved contradictions of the American life which, if not addressed, will contribute to this country’s collapse.

   Just remember the former USSR – it too collapsed of its own contradictions (and no, Ronald Reagan had nothing to do with it.)

   — Sam    Jan 5, 03:23 PM    #

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