Sunday, May 11, 2008

Pissing money down the drain

Mr. Zilber may have good intentions, but his gift will do nothing.
Milwaukee philanthropist Joseph Zilber will announce Monday that he is committing $50 million over the next 10 years to improve life in low-income neighborhoods in the city.

The goal, according to a draft of remarks to be made by Zilber, is "to revitalize Milwaukee's neighborhoods and reconnect all of her citizens to social and economic opportunity."

Zilber's text says though rates of poverty, crime and other problems are much too high in Milwaukee, "I believe the current reality presents a far more interesting and hopeful story. In fact, Milwaukee may have the best chance in decades to engineer a new future for itself and its citizens."

The Zilber Neighborhood Initiative, as the effort will be called, will work with local organizations to support specific efforts to improve the quality of life in up to 10 neighborhoods.

You cannot 'gift' people to better lives. This will be just another one of the dozens of entitlements that these citizens have come to 'deserve.' The $50 to $200 million that will be in his pool are a pittance when compared to the entitlements that government sends to Milwaukee's inner city every year.

2 comments:

Dad29 said...

Joe Zilber has decided to dispose of a good chunk of money for what HE thinks is the right cause.

That makes him a good man. Maybe he's misguided, but that doesn't detract from his motive, nor his generosity.

Headless Blogger said...

He is rewarding anti-social behavior with his generosity. The same thing that government has been doing for 50 years.

How about trying something new? Try rewarding kids that graduate and stay out of trouble.