In a world where basic necessities are commodified or made into partisan political feuds, Elon Musk stands as a prime example of how to look like you're making a change with your overwhelming amount of wealth. Let's applaud Musk for stepping up and doing what no other billionaire would—providing clean water to Flint's water fountains.
In fact, let's take a moment and commend each American billionaire out there, all 540 of them, for the kind and generous work they do with the disgusting amount of wealth they've hoarded.
Specifically, a big thanks to Jeff Bezos for raising his workers minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Another thank you to Bill Gates for his efforts in the global elimination of polio.
And finally, thank you to Mark Zuckerberg for his charitable donations toward funding prison reform.
Such efforts and progressive funding should not go unnoticed. In fact it should be profusely thanked, either for using a minute percentage of their wealth for enlightened causes or for just doing something, anything, with the money they have that they'll never be able to do away with.
It is a bit unfathomable, how much money is held in the hands of so few. In fact, studies completed by economists Emmanuel Saez, Thomas Piketty, and Gabriel Zucman, indicate that the amount of growth in income has accumulated for the ultra-rich, and fallen flat for the middle class.
To put it more simply than that: We now have proof in numbers that only the rich are getting richer.
These billionaires benefit from the lag in the middle-class economy. What about us? College students, minimum wage working adults, teachers of America, those without a home—ultimately, a more common population of the U.S.—what about us? We fall behind. The system, as said so often already, is not built to work for us.
Charity and donating are great initiatives, but will never be enough. Such strides, besides acting as a marketing ploy to cover up years of exploitation, don't make up for the complacency showcased by the billionaires of the U.S., allowing our broken system to work for them whilst picking and choosing philanthropic efforts they'll support. Providing necessities like water, attempting to fix faulty systems of oppression or even the health of our people, should not be tasks left in the hands of billionaires. But they are. Yet, so little are these billionaires doing, in comparison to the wealth that will last them and their families for generations to come.
When it comes to discussing billionaires and their 'altruism,' it is important to note: this is not a discussion about obligation or what should be considered ethical, and this is definitely not a discussion for people who still think 'if I work hard and make millions, I wouldn't give it to anyone else, I'm not obligated, why should they be?' This discussion is so far beyond the idea of right and wrong, if you're still contemplating morality, you haven't learned enough about the world or what it means to be human. When half of the entire world's wealth is hoarded in the hands of 1% of its population, and you're still questioning whether rich people have to do good things with their money, read something else. You're not ready for this conversation yet.
Although many billionaires are known for their philanthropy, investigating further will find accounts of harmful and unethical working conditions. Elon Musk, for example, makes unheard-of promises about the advancement of his automotive and energy company, Tesla. At the forefront of technological growth for the considered genius, are "factory workers [who] feel that they have become collateral damage" in the process. Former Tesla employees account that injuries have gone unattended for the sake of efficiency, and overall neglect of safety and even decent working conditions.
Elon Musk may feel like a savior when discussing donating to Flint, MI four years after the water crisis began. Yet, he fails at offering his own employees a pleasant working environment. Elon Musk is a billionaire, the demands of his employees should consider the fact. As a billionaire, sleeping on the ground in his office as an act of solidarity with his employees is not only stupid, but misses the point entirely. Instead of using a portion of his wealth to accommodate for the best working conditions—not safe, not decent—the absolute best, he acknowledges the injurious conditions, and offers himself up to a 'similar' pain (as if).
His initiatives for the crisis in Flint are great, not for him, but for the people in Flint. That is what matters here—the people. They should matter when it comes to Tesla, too.
Jeff Bezos is yet another example of a tone-deaf billionaire whose strides fall embarrassingly flat when it comes to his employees. Amazon, known for its horrible working conditions, has combatted by announcing that Bezos is raising the minimum wage for his employees to a whopping $15/hr. Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, and perhaps the most stingy as well. Although Bezos claims to be happy with his factories current working conditions, not all employees are understanding why.
As the richest man in the world, with one of the fastest growing companies ever, the irrevocable changes made in the retail industry can only sustain itself through its employees. Can Bezos maintain any hope for the future of his company, when so many agree that he "has become the richest man in the world off the backs of people so desperate for work that [they] tolerate the abuse?"
He can't.
Now more than ever before, we must demand what is necessary for the safety and health of all workers. Jeff Bezos may hope Amazon lasts forever, but we must implore him and every other corporation to recognize what matters most—the people, not the company.
Although Musk and Bezos are just two of many faux philanthropists, they are at the forefront and guillotine of such movements. Zuckerberg, Gates, and many like them get away with capitalizing off the disadvantages of others and will continue to do so.
The idea that so much wealth continues to accumulate into the hands of few is reason enough to demand CEOs and corporate monks to withdraw from their greed and reevaluate their priorities. Allowing such systems to grossly benefit their wallets, while feigning ignorance of the consequences they don't have to deal with, cannot be overlooked in the name of charity.
There is a reason large corporations fund progressiveness outside of their own scope of business—it makes for great marketing and requires minimum interference with their own corrupt practices. There is a reason why all 540 of American billionaires haven't already come together in hopes to save the world.
Their goal is not to save the world, it is to make money. No amount of donations will be enough to exempt their cruelties; we cannot forget that amidst their philanthropic efforts. Nevertheless, thank you, to every billionaire who has made a difference in the lives of others. Thank you, to every billionaire who has donated millions to absolve their own guilt.
Thank you.
