# Big corporations may be evil & heartless but they stepped up to the plate for Katrina **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 3, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917 "2005-09-03T18:58:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/1 "2005-09-03T18:58:27Z")
From here [‘A Horrible Dream’ - The inside story of how the staff of one New Orleans-area hospital heroically saved their patients and themselves](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9179702/site/newsweek/) > [@](#): > > With basic supplies running low, a band of doctors, nurses and management staff drove to the local Wal-Mart, just one mile a way and asked for donations of food, underwear, bras, toiletries, diapers, formula, medicine and water. And then they went to a Lowes hardware store for supplies to cover the 50 windows that were blown out in the storm and start roof repairs. “Wal-Mart and Lowes have been our saviors,” says Steel. “Wal-Mart even gave us food to give to the less critical patients we had to discharge so they would have something to eat at the shelters.” and here [Private giving:](http://blog.simmins.org/katrina/ameraidamer.html#Private_giving) ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/2 "2005-09-04T01:52:29Z")
The big multinational I work for is pilloried in the press and live as a heartless theiving corporation. The company donated more than a million bucks the day after Katrina hit, and employees have donated substantially more. This happened fast. You can search on corporate donations and see a growing list ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Wing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/51bf81/32.png) [@Little\_Wing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Wing)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/3 "2005-09-04T02:30:07Z")
During one of the news broadcasts I watched, the CEO of Wal-Mart was interviewed and he stated the company had donated $17 million. A quick Google search seems to have confirmed it (though the amount given seems to vary from news source to news source) and that doesn’t even begin to cover what the Associates are contributing. Just another one of many “evil and heartless” corporations who are giving. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SmartAlex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlex)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/4 "2005-09-04T03:00:09Z")
Wow. Millions. Hmm… Hundreds or thousands of corporations make billions in profits. A handful are donating a million here a million there. :rolleyes: This is a multi-billion dollar emergency. I won’t be satisfied until one of these companies that makes billions of dollars in PROFIT donates $100,000,000. Even $100,000,000 is only a drop in the bucket, but it is significant and sure would help now, and it would be immensely useful for the shattered lives. **Come on Bill Gates!!! Step up!!!** You are supposed to be compassionate. Where are you now? Come on. Give half a percent of your fortune!!! That would be a staggering 250 million dollars! Half a percent! And what does he do with it? Yeah, he’s not evil. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/5 "2005-09-04T03:24:35Z")
> [@SmartAlex](#): > > Wow. Millions. Hmm… Hundreds or thousands of corporations make billions in profits. A handful are donating a million here a million there. > > :rolleyes: > > This is a multi-billion dollar emergency. I won’t be satisfied until one of these companies that makes billions of dollars in PROFIT donates $100,000,000. Even $100,000,000 is only a drop in the bucket, but it is significant and sure would help now, and it would be immensely useful for the shattered lives. > > **Come on Bill Gates!!! Step up!!!** You are supposed to be compassionate. Where are you now? Come on. Give half a percent of your fortune!!! That would be a staggering 250 million dollars! Half a percent! And what does he do with it? Yeah, he’s not evil. Whatever his other failings may be, in the last several years Bill Gates & his wife have routinely donated tens to hundreds of millions of dollars _annually_ for various good works, mostly medical 3rd world related IIRC. Beyond this corporations (vs individual giving like Gates contributions from his personal fortune) are somewhat more constrained by the limits of what their stockholders and directors will allow. The CEO of Walmart and his board may have some leeway with a few millions here and there, but if they gave away a substantial portion of their profits it could damage the stability of the corporation, and beyond that they would probably be sued by shareholders for malfeasance. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SmartAlex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlex)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/6 "2005-09-04T04:01:02Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Whatever his other failings may be, in the last several years Bill Gates & his wife have routinely donated tens to hundreds of millions of dollars _annually_ for various good works, mostly medical 3rd world related IIRC. Yeah, I know. That’s why I said, “You are supposed to be compassionate.” I’d like to see a cite that shows how much of his fortune he gives every year. I’m not at all impressed when he donates a measely .2% of his fortune. I mean, is he a Christian? If he is, then he is called to tithe 10%. And that’s the MINIMUM, but I would be impressed if he gave it. Has his lifetime contribution totalled 5 billion yet? I doubt it. And afaik he hasn’t donated a penny to the poor victims of Katrina. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/7 "2005-09-04T04:15:10Z")
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is endowed with nearly $29 billion. That’s nearly half of Bill Gates’ fortune as I recall. They distribute at least $1 billion every year. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/8 "2005-09-04T04:15:40Z")
> [@SmartAlex](#): > > Yeah, I know. That’s why I said, “You are supposed to be compassionate.” I’d like to see a cite that shows how much of his fortune he gives every year. I’m not at all impressed when he donates a measely .2% of his fortune. I mean, is he a Christian? If he is, then he is called to tithe 10%. And that’s the MINIMUM, but I would be impressed if he gave it. Has his lifetime contribution totalled 5 billion yet? I doubt it. > > And afaik he hasn’t donated a penny to the poor victims of Katrina. And for all you know he might have donated. He’s not obligated to announce it to you or anyone. You’re just doing rhetorical arm waving. As to the tithing issue, you believe that ethical Christians should be kicking 10% of their income to charity? ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/9 "2005-09-04T04:20:33Z")
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has [donated](http://www.gatesfoundation.org/default.htm) 1.5 million dollars to support the Red Cross’s efforts in hurricane relief. If Bill Gates is whipping out his checkbook and donating from his personal funds, he’s doing it quietly. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SmartAlex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlex)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/10 "2005-09-04T04:36:41Z")
> [@astro](#): > > As to the tithing issue, you believe that ethical Christians should be kicking 10% of their income to charity? Yep. They should give it to someone in need. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/11 "2005-09-04T04:45:44Z")
> [@SmartAlex](#): > > Yeah, I know. That’s why I said, “You are supposed to be compassionate.” I’d like to see a cite that shows how much of his fortune he gives every year. I’m not at all impressed when he donates a measely .2% of his fortune. I mean, is he a Christian? If he is, then he is called to tithe 10%. And that’s the MINIMUM, but I would be impressed if he gave it. Has his lifetime contribution totalled 5 billion yet? I doubt it. > > And afaik he hasn’t donated a penny to the poor victims of Katrina. Your meant to tithe 10% of your income, not 10% of your wealth. If the above claims of Bill donating about $1bn a year is correct, then he’s donating significantly above 10% of his income. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SmartAlex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlex)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/12 "2005-09-04T05:23:14Z")
> [@Fionn](#): > > The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has [donated](http://www.gatesfoundation.org/default.htm) 1.5 million dollars to support the Red Cross’s efforts in hurricane relief. If Bill Gates is whipping out his checkbook and donating from his personal funds, he’s doing it quietly. Woo hoo! Bill Gates’ foundation (which is not Bill Gates) is giving a WHOPPING 3/1000s of one percent of his fortune to the victims of the disaster. I’m am so underwhelmed. An endowment is an amount of money given **to be invested** to provide income for **continued** support of a charitable organization. Yeah, his $28.8 billion is impressive. But he gave it to the organization, not to the poor. It’s obviously doing good work, but it doesn’t do 28.8 billion of good work. I wonder why they aren’t listed in [www.give.org](http://www.give.org) or [www.charitynavigator.org](http://www.charitynavigator.org). If Bill Gates’ lifetime income is 50 billion, his lifetime tithe, no matter how many years it takes to give, should total 5 billion. He gave 28.8 billion to his own charitable organization. How much do they give though? AFAICT it’s below 10% of his 50 billion. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/13 "2005-09-04T05:31:03Z")
Why don’t you give 10%? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SmartAlex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlex)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/14 "2005-09-04T05:41:19Z")
You are assuming I don’t tithe 10%? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/15 "2005-09-04T05:53:49Z")
You are saying that rich people aren’t donating enough to meet your standards. If you have control over your checkbook, don’t they have control over theirs? And you’re assuming that Bill Gates’ entire fortune is liquid. I doubt seriously that that is the case. ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/16 "2005-09-04T05:59:32Z")
> [@SmartAlex](#): > > Woo hoo! Bill Gates’ foundation (which is not Bill Gates) is giving a WHOPPING 3/1000s of one percent of his fortune to the victims of the disaster. I’m am so underwhelmed. > > An endowment is an amount of money given **to be invested** to provide income for **continued** support of a charitable organization. Yeah, his $28.8 billion is impressive. But he gave it to the organization, not to the poor. It’s obviously doing good work, but it doesn’t do 28.8 billion of good work. I wonder why they aren’t listed in [www.give.org](http://www.give.org) or [www.charitynavigator.org](http://www.charitynavigator.org). I checked your links. [Give.org](http://Give.org) states its purpose as helping people in their charitable decisions, and charitynavigator appears to do the same. It doesn’t appear that the Foundation accepts donations. I’m sure someone with more nonprofit experience will be along to explain it, but my WAG is that evaluating organizations that don’t accept donations wouldn’t fall under their purview. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/17 "2005-09-04T07:04:29Z")
**SmartAlex** , [you are cordially invited](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=6542297). ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/18 "2005-09-04T07:14:16Z")
> [@SmartAlex](#): > > You are assuming I don’t tithe 10%? The premise of my question kinda of indicates that, yes. > [@](#): > > I mean, is he a Christian? If he is, then he is called to tithe 10%. Gods demands are a bit high eh? 10% of annual income would wipe a lot of Christian families out, after 25% or so of taxes. Are they going to hell or something if they don’t? What is this blasphemy? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/19 "2005-09-04T07:15:25Z")
Moving thread from IMHO to MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Nightingale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@Nightingale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightingale)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2005, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917/20 "2005-09-04T12:10:27Z")
The corporation I work for stands to lose megabucks in this disaster – they have (I think) seven hospitals in the NOLA area, 5 of which had to be evacuated. I found out at work Friday that they’ve set up a relief fund for employees who’ve suffered from the hurricane, and they are matching our donations **2 to 1**. Say what you will about big corporations, that’s a damn fine thing to do. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-corporations-may-be-evil-heartless-but-they-stepped-up-to-the-plate-for-katrina/319917.md?page=2)