Bill & Melinda Gates: A Pair Of ‘Impatient Optimists’, Talking to Charlie Gibson
EmailABC's Richard Sergay reports from Washington: Bill and Melinda Gates are on a new mission here in Washington today: hoping to connect the dots between US aid aimed at helping solve global health issues and the frustration many Americans feel that the aid has little or no impact. So the Gates, who run one of the most important and largest philanthropic foundations in the nation, www.gatesfoundation.org are launching a new campaign today called “The Living Proof Project” www.livingproofproject.org In fact, their message: “Why we are Impatient Optimists” is aimed directly at showing actual evidence of how US investments (public and private) make a difference in these communities: and saving young mothers and their children, and empowering lives by building a better health infrastructure. The reach of the Gates Foundation cannot be underestimated. Since its inception in 1994, the Foundation has committed more than $11.8 billion; in 2008 alone, it paid out $1.8 billion in grants. And to help fight exactly what? A myriad of complex issues that have devastated many poor communities around the globe: malaria, HIV/Aids, polio to name just a few. It was clear in an interview Charlie Gibson did with Bill and Melinda Gates today that despite the odds they remain fully committed to helping solve some of these most intractable health issues; but they added the Foundation cannot do it alone. So they are in Washington, in some ways, just to say a simple “Thank you” to all who have given, including the US Government, whose efforts the Gates’ insist must be stepped up. Tune into Charlie’s interview tonight on World News.
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What a difference between this couple and Mr. and Mrs. Bernie Madoff!
The Gates do not just complain about the world and how terrible everything is.
They are willing and able to help by putting up their own money and time.
We might not be the Gates, but we all can do something positive – in our community – our place of worship – even in our own family or neighborhood.
Posted by: ddg | October 27, 2009, 7:28 pm 7:28 pm
To DDG there is a difference in degree between Gates and Madoff. Gates made his fortune by cheating the creator of DOS and by working at the edge of anti trust laws. Sometime being found guilty sometimes escaping. In Europe the courts have treated MICROSOFT worse than in the U.S. Most Americans would be happier if MICROSOFT extracted less monopoly profits than the current situation where MICROSOFT extracts big profits and Gates then gives billions to the rest of the world. Gates has also been involved in lobbying to be able to import technical workers- even as MICROSOFT lays off technical workers in the U.S. The old generations of monopolist (Rockerfeller, Vanderbilt Mellon etc) at least spent their wealth in America and eventually paid back to the communities where they extracted their profits.
Posted by: merchantilist | November 3, 2009, 11:30 pm 11:30 pm
every body puts efforts based on fundamentals written by some one hundreds of years back, others make use of these fundamentals to derive some more results does not mean it was copy work. Just as you use numbers 1,2,3…which has been the credit of some one else. what will you say to this?
Similarly, some of people make use of the small efforts of others, compiled to commercial use for the rest of world, see in the larger interest of the world, how easy things are now,ignore the short comings but learn to admire & see the vast achievements in totality. Greed & lust is in every human being, Gates are of the same race the degree may vary in every indivdual in lust and greed.
This is my independent view point if you feel hurt , please excuse me. Neither I am working for Gates nor I am beneficiary from his work.
Posted by: RATTAN SACHDEV | November 15, 2009, 11:08 am 11:08 am