| minierne American billionaires not so greedy after all www.thegivingpledge.org PAUL G. ALLEN LAURA AND IGEN ARNOLD MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ELI AND EDYTHE BROAD WARREN BUFFETT im 2008. | made a ooeunitmant to graduaily give at! of my Bertudire 4athaway siock % philandyvopic undatons: | coulgnt De happier with that decision. Now. Bill and Matinda Gates end {are asking hundreds of rich Americans to pledge at isast 60% of their weaith © charity, 50 1 turn itis ting thas! MICHELE CHAN AND PATRICK SQON-SHIONG BARRY DILLER AND DIANE VON FURSTENRERO teitente my Intentions and explain he Hinking that ies dehing therm, First. my plecge: More man 99% of my wealth wil go In philuntropy curing my Hewme o- at death. Measured by VIEW PULL LETTER Trevor Doré i editor merican billionaires pledge majority of wealth to philanthropy. When I fist saw the headline I couldn’t believe my eyes. I continued to read the press release that described 40 of the wealthiest families and individuals in the Untied States committing to return the majority of their wealth, either during their lifetime or after their death, to charitable causes Pledge is about asking wealthy families to have important conversations about their wealth and how it will be used.” Even though those who pledge undoubtedly have money to spare, the minimum commitment is fifty percent. That’s no small amount of change. Moreover, Buffet emphasized the fact that many have made a commitment far greater than the minimum. All of the money is directed to the philanthropic and charitable causes chosen by the donor. You could argue that these billionaires are not making any “The Giving Pledge is an effort to invite the wealthiest individuals and families in American to commit to giving the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.” by taking the “Giving Pledge.” I needed to know more. I still couldn’t believe it. It’s so easy, and I’m guilty of it myself, to put all of the wealthiest people in America in some sort of greedy, elitist category. I sometimes even imagine them sitting behind a large desk in an overly elaborate office with their feet up, counting their money and practicing their golf put in their spare time. Reading the news release on the Giving Pledge definitely made me second- guess this perspective. American billionaires Warren Buffet along with Bill and Melinda Gates started the “Giving Pledge” project, the first of its kind. Although the foundation is just getting started, they have so far had a terrific response. According to Buffet, “the Giving 16 significant personal sacrifices by any means; however, their donations are being used to help enhance the health and well being of millions of others. It’s good to see those with the money and the power to make change taking the initiative. The contributors are scheduled to get together on an annual basis to discuss and share knowledge regarding the most effective ways to create change. Although the pledge is currently focused on wealthy Americans, there are plans to eventually go worldwide. Hopefully the pledge will have a truly global impact and lasting for generations to come. For more information and to check out a list of those who have taken the pledge and their letters of intention, go to www.thegivingpledge.org This is a serious contender for Year’s Stupidest Idea Good intentions give way to one of the most poorly executed ideas West Vancouver has witnessed in recent memory. Knowlton Thomas ast week on 22nd Street in L Vancouver, just outside of Ecole Pauline Johnson Elementary, a motorist ran over a young girl who was chasing her errant ball onto the road. She was run over a second time, a third time and a fourth time. In fact, she was on the road all week, with motorists driving over her hundreds of times. Who put her there? The police. Fortunately for everyone, the girl isn’t real. Well, she sort of is: seven- year-old Lauren Fisher was the model for this 3-dimensional, optical illusion that adorns the street used to access the elementary school. So why is there an optical illusion of a young girl on the road? It’s an initiative staged jointly by the West Vancouver Police and Preventable.ca, a website promoting public safety. The illusion is intended to give speeding or careless motorists a spook and have them slow down to appropriate school zone speeds, and recognize that the situation could be real. Commendable intentions, awful 230+ S5UTm 1B ~ DAYS 1 You’re probabi; not expecting a child to run into traffic. preventable ca execution. First, understand the mentality of a typical driver. If they actually believe the image is real, they will either swerve out of the way or slam on the brakes—the former of which becomes dangerous for everyone in the immediate area, and the latter of which may cause an accident between the driver and the vehicle behind them. Correct me if I’m wrong, but adding danger, not reducing it, is opposite the desired effect, no? Furthermore, I’m reminded of the tale The Boy Who Cried Wolf. If drivers get used to driving over this girl all week—possibly even finding it funny —then that’s only going to make the school zone more dangerous, because when a real girl appears, who’s to say she isn’t an optical illusion? This almost puts on a target on the child’s back (“Hey, it’s that illusion from the school, now with realistic movements! Chase it down!”). I support the idea behind the project, of course. Kids learn best at school without tire tread marks across their stomachs. But as far as implementation goes, it should be back to the drawing board for the West Van fuzz and Preventable.