*By Conor White* Americans [gave more than $410 billion](https://givingusa.org/giving-usa-2018-americans-gave-410-02-billion-to-charity-in-2017-crossing-the-400-billion-mark-for-the-first-time/) to charity last year. Many may see that as a positive trait, but author Anand Giridharadas thinks such altruism can often do more harm than good. "I started this book trying to understand how is it that we live in this age of tremendous generosity and a system that reliably shuts most people out of the 'American Dream'," Giridharadas said Thursday in an interview on Cheddar. In his new book, "Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World," Giridharadas points to the Koch brothers, [the Sackler](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/13/meet-the-sacklers-the-family-feuding-over-blame-for-the-opioid-crisis) family, and Goldman Sachs, among other examples, as entities that are praised for their giving but may actually cause real damage to Americans. "The reality is, this 'changing the world' thing gives you a moral glow and allows you to get away with power grabbing that we would never allow some chemical company to get away with," said Giridharadas, formerly a reporter for the New York Times. He said the same theory applies to some very prominent American visionaries. "Mark Zuckerberg's not going to change the world, Elon Musk is not going to change the world," Giridharadas said. "These people say they're changing the world to grab wealth and power." While tech mogul Zuckerberg has [promised](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/02/technology/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-charity.html) to give away most of his wealth, Giridharadas noted that he's also the same person responsible for building a monopoly, putting newspapers out of business, and potentially allowing foreign actors to interfere in U.S. elections. "We need to change where we go to change the world," Giridharadas said. In Giridharadas's view, America can solve some of its many problems by strengthening federal programs and reforming systems that already exist. "We don't create one little charter school, we actually make sure we fund all public schools in America adequately and equally," he explained. "We don't allow some people to get health care and others not, we actually give people health care based on their being a human being." "We need not an age of little initiatives and projects and giving back, we need an age of reform." "Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World" was [released](http://www.anand.ly/) on Tuesday. For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/why-philanthropy-is-bad-for-democracy).

Share:
More In Business
Michigan Judge Sentences Walmart Shoplifters to Wash Parking Lot Cars
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
State Department Halts Plan to buy $400M of Armored Tesla Vehicles
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
Goodyear Blimp at 100: ‘Floating Piece of Americana’ Still Thriving
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
Is U.S. Restaurants’ Breakfast Boom Contributing to High Egg Prices?
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
Load More