OWNERSHIP SOCIETY NEWS

[Hannah Bell]

Bill Gates is back on top of the Billionaire Boys Club* this year, with $54 billion in personal wealth. Then there's $30b more (tax free) in his foundation to use for investments in things like BP Oil as well as in school "reform."

According to Forbes, other big school reform players in the BBC include:

Warren Buffet, Bill's $30b partner in the Gates Fund, #2;
N.Y. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, #10;
the Walton's, #4,7,8,9, 98, 136 ;
ultra, ultra conservative, Philip Anschutz, who bankrolled Waiting for Superman, #34;
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who just bailed out Newark's school system and strengthened mayor control over the city's schools, #35;
Eli Broad, whose training academy fellows run most big city school systems, #44;
George Lucas, #98;
Oprah Winfrey (sign the petition to get Ravitch on her show), #130;
Michael Milken, #170; and
Meg Whitman, California charter school player and candidate for governor, #332,

I know there are other BBC members who are local school reform players, voucher advocates, union busters, and charter cheerleaders, like DFER's Ravenel Boykin Curry IV (I just like saying his name) and Whitney Tilson. Sorry if I overlooked any of you. But you didn't quite make the Forbes 400 list. Better luck next year.

I also wanted to mention the Koch brothers (no pun intended), who share the #5 position. They aren't players in public school reform. In fact they hate the very idea of public anything. But they do bankroll the Tea Party.

* Yes, I know there are a few women on the list and one African-American. But c'mon. It's still a white, male club. Oh, and yes, this is just the U.S. version of the Boys Club. In fact, Gates still trails Mexican tycoon, Carlos Slim in the international race to the top.

http://michaelklonsky.blogspot.com/2010/09/ownership-society-news.html


that sure is a lot of billionaires funding right-wing school deform.

how anyone can believe they're doing it "for the children" is beyond me.

[ipaint]

1. K+R for a list of the top parasitic enemies of democracy

and workers nationwide.

They will stomp out anything public or worker empowering in favor of their ego driven, profit making ventures and most people still look to them as benevolent gods.

Disgusting.

[MH1]

4. You do realize that some of them speak out in favor of progressive economic policies, right?

Buffet, certainly. Gates also, I think. (I know Gates Sr. has.)

I also know that education in this country is in SERIOUS need of reform. These guys may be pushing misguided policies, but at least in some cases maybe it is just honestly misguided.

How do I know our education sucks? Beyond statistics, I see it all around me.

Convince the Buffet and Gates of the world of a better way to approach reform. (Yeah you can forget Anshutz and the Koch brothers, I think you are completely right about them.)

[ipaint]

6. Look a little closer.

Their "philanthropic" foundations and PR serve only themselves and their own little world view. No one elected them, no one named them experts in anything except vulture capitalism. They certainly have no clue as to how important a public school system is as a necessary part of a strong democracy.

All they see is dollar signs and all they are capable of is theft and hoarding. Their oh so generous tax exempt giving of a small fraction of their stolen wealth buys them oodles of propaganda and with it folks who believe the crap they spew.

This is textbook right wing policy, starve the public system for decades and move in for the "for profit" kill. It can't get any more plain or clear. I've watched it my whole life in every aspect of government that empowers workers and the poor.

It's anti democratic and immoral.

Their is nothing democratic or empowering in letting a bunch of billionaire tax dodgers decide what children will learn and how they will learn it. It's pathetic that these decisions are now made so far up the food chain among a dozen or so greedy parasitic individuals who have declared themselves the god's of education. The very same successful educational system they destroyed starting with their phony results of a study conducted during reagan's term continuing relentlessly to today's attack on our public school system which includes first and foremost an attack on children then teachers and unions.

Buffett and gates can go back to their polluting, tax dodging, vulture capitalist businesses and "foundations". And then folks need to read up on the eugenics movement in this country for an idea of just how benevolent and giving these elite hoarders can be when they conduct one of their pet social engineering experiments.

[Hannah Bell]

10. +100

[ixion]

2. Ah, yes, the good 'ol boy pwnership society...

You see how quickly they can kill a meme if they want to?

Conversely, they continue to keep the memes like the so-called 'wars' on 'terror' and 'drugs' very much alive and well-funded.

[TBF]

3. Owners of Capitalistic Society ...

how anyone can think a society that spawns so many billionaires (and at the same time so many homeless) is just, is beyond me.

[Panaconda]

5. K&R

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

7. feeling more like a pwnership society on my end!

[leftstreet]

8. The new Robber Barons make their $$ in strange ways

How on earth does Facebook generate enough money to produce a billionaire?

Not to mention a tv entertainer...

and eBay ferchrissakes?

All that personal wealth, and not one railroad tie was placed, not one steel mill employed thousands, and nary a lumber yard was buzzing.

Very strange

K&R

[Starry Messenger]

9. k & r