Is Philanthropy Undemocratic?

when big philanthropists nakedly try to affect public policy, they are effectively acting as a plutocratic element in a democratic setting.

Big donors are fundamentally unaccountable, plutocratic powerful entities in a democratic setting.

I think the policies and the social norms that we have right now make philanthropy undemocratic. It’s not inherently undemocratic.

The story I tell about the founding of the Rockefeller Foundation involves people saying in the U.S. Congress that even if Rockefeller were a wise and beneficent man, the idea of a foundation as large as Rockefeller should be rejected because it’s repugnant to the whole idea of a democratic society.

If I give away $1,000 and I’m a millionaire and I’m taxed at the highest rate, let’s call it 40 percent, my $1,000 contribution cost me $600 and $400 is forgiven from my taxes.

And if you don’t itemize, that contribution costs you $1,000.

my own proposal is not to get rid of the tax incentives, but to change them from a tax deduction to a tax credit so that each citizen receives the same tax benefit for making a charitable contribution.