Essay On Negative Reaction To Charity

The recent proposal by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to convince billionaires to give up half of their wealth was well received in the USA but received a cold reaction from the German super rich. Gates and Buffet’s proposal resulted in forty of the world most affluent individuals agreeing to donate half of their wealth to charity after their death. Some of Germany’s wealthiest, however, viewed the move with skepticism and explained the move to be too flashy. Most of the German billionaires who had an adverse reaction to the proposal explained that they had previously given to charity during their lifetime, and did not see the need of donating half of their assets. An interview with one of these billionaires revealed some of the arguments against the proposal to give to charity. The interview responses adopt a classical orientation approach; therefore, employs ethos, logos, and pathos appeals.
One of the arguments against the donation proposal was that it was a way to escape paying taxes. In the USA, giving donations ton well-recognized organizations may result in a tax deduction. Since most of the individuals who agreed to the Buffet and Gate’s proposal are from the USA, the move may be a way of avoiding taxes. By providing this argument, the German billionaires appeal to ethos. The move to avoid paying taxes by offering contributions to charity is entirely unethical. Another instance of a call to ethics involves the explanation that the billionaires aim to transfer power from the government into their hands. Donating half of their assets may result in billionaires deciding on what is good and what is bad, which may be unethical.
The interview responses also appealed to the readers’ logic. Appeal to logos involved an explanation of the distinction between state and society in the USA. This separation of the society and the state has resulted in donations being a part of everyday American life. This argument explains that there will be no significant difference if the wealthy donate, as it is a regular occurrence in the USA. The argument further gives a logical option to the issue of donating by proposing that the American billionaires give the money to underprivileged communities, rather than donating to organizations. Giving the money to small communities would ensure that the community can fulfill their public obligations; therefore, benefit to the state too.
The argument also appeals to the readers’ emotions in several aspects. The interview appeal to pathos involves explaining that the decision to donate to charity was a way of indulging in personal hobbies. The interview respondent tries to argue that although the donations are part of a common good; their primary aim is to fulfill personal desires; therefore, the main reason for the negative reception from the German billionaires. Another instance of an appeal to emotion occurs in the explanation that the donations may be a way of giving the rich the power to decide what happens to the poor. The donations may be viewed as a way to gain more power as the billionaires will have the authority to determine what is good and what is wrong.
The interview aims at explaining the various reasons towards the German billionaires’ reaction to the proposal to donate half of their assets to charity. The discussion explains the reasons from a logical, ethical and emotional perspective. Appling these three elements results in a better understanding of the reason behind the German super-rich’s decision.