Community Chat

[golding76]

A most welcome gift.  Can only imagine the relief for some graduates and parents.

[2blonde]

I'm just shocked at all the negative responses to this man's generous gift.

It seems that some people are determined to find negativity in everything.

[BirkiLady]

@Ruby Laine  When giving large sums to help others, one seldoms wants a lot of publicity. To write an autobiography is highly unlikely. People who give of themselves and their wealth usually keep a low profile. Why pat oneself on the back?

[PamfromCT]

I applaud Mr. Smith’s act of generosity.  There are some with vast fortunes who donate to make our world and our country a better place.  And there are others with vast fortunes who hold every dollar with a tight fist.  I do remember, so many years ago, a priest at my church speaking of a blunt fact.  He said he has never seen a hearse followed by a U-Haul full of money.

The days are long gone when kids can work their way through college to avoid debt.  The tuition, room and board, at our state school here in CT is $30,000 per year.  That is a state school!  We are living in an era when it is said a significant amount of people have very little in savings.  I suppose some would say “it’s their fault.”  

There are some who aren’t aware of how many are “the working poor.”  There are times when I think the only sin is being poor, at least to some people.  Very contrary to the values DH, and I were brought up with, and the values we passed onto our children.   

Am I perfect?  Absolutely not.  But do I believe getting a good education, through college or learning a good trade, is the best investment for young people and our country?  

Absolutely yes.

And justification for doing it publicly?  Maybe Mr. Smith would like to inspire others with great wealth to consider doing something likewise.  Just me here.

[Ruby Laine]

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@BirkiLady wrote:

@Ruby Laine  When giving large sums to help others, one seldoms wants a lot of publicity. To write an autobiography is highly unlikely. People who give of themselves and their wealth usually keep a low profile. Why pat oneself on the back?

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Many famous people have written autobiographies about their lives without listing their charitable contributions or patting themselves on the back. Two of my favorites are autobiographies by Eleanor Roosevelt and Golda Meir. 

In fact, I can’t remember reading an autobiography like that. I like reading about the author’s beginnings, beliefs, and what led him or her down the chosen path. 

[Marp]

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@Ruby Laine wrote:

What a ripple effect this could have for many years to come.

Someone with this much money knows where it can do the most good. Although I don’t have any facts to back up my opinion, I would think he gives to many charitable organizations of different types and needs. 

People with low income can receive federal grants for college. These grants are free monies and do not have to be repaid. Students just need proof of their income level. Students above this income level have to pay for college. Most take out loans and have jobs while in school.  

Regardless of the charity or individuals we choose to help, there’s always a chance of someone not being “deserving,” but that’s not what I’m thinking about when I donate. 

I wish Robert Smith would write an autobiography. I bet that would be fascinating reading!

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@Ruby Laine, you are correct in your thinking. 

Smith had already pledged $1 million to Morehouse in January to create the Robert Frederick Smith Scholars Program and an additional $500,000 to design an outdoor study area for students.

Along with his gifts to Morehouse, in 2016, Smith pledged $50 million to his alma mater Cornell University toward the school's college of engineering.

Smith is also the only African American to sign the Giving Pledge, an initiative created by billionaires Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett aimed at urging the world's billionaires to donate their wealth toward charitable causes.

[Cakers3]

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@Isobel Archer wrote:

First of all, it's his money so whatever he does is his choice.  No problem there.

My only comment is that all these kids managed to complete college and now have the opportunity for good jobs with which to repay the loans.

It's great for them that they now do not have to, but they are still extremenly advantaged over the kids who never got to college in the first place because they were already in debt, had family obligations, or otherwise couldn't qualify/take on the extreme college debt down the road.  I guess I'd give the latter kids priority in helping.

But again, he did a good thing and more power to him.

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@Isobel Archer   A college degree will not afford opportunity for jobs to all these graduates, or graduates from any college.

That is the issue with students drowining in debt; jobs are not guaranteed.  Even if all these students managed to obtain employment, we don't know all the degrees conferred.  Some may not be able to find employment in their chosen fields.

There will always be those who didn't make it to college; whether we consider that unfair or not is up for debate.

[Cakers3]

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@kitcat51 wrote:

I do plenty to give back & I'm sure you do too. Look it's his money & he can do as he pleases with it BUT...what about the grads that are paying & the future grads that will pay? What he did was self indulgent, the grads did nothing to deserve their debt being paid off, they won the lotto without buying a ticket...his gift should have been to the college. Understand there are many who want all college debt to be forgiven & from now on all college is free...well free is expense & someone has to pay...guess who?  No I'm not happy for them because those who are paying feel like suckers & those who will pay think where's my free ride. Have money use common sense, don't hand it away to cause envy & resentment. @Cakers3 

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@kitcat51   Your resentment comes through loud and clear and I feel sorry for you.

I don't resent anybody receiving help; my 2 graduate degrees were paid for strictly by me; both loans.  I can tell you right now I don't feel like a sucker, I don't feel I missed out on a free ride, and I'm certainly not envious.

You are.

  It is very clear and I still suspect your disdain is based not on his generosity but on another issue regarding these young men.

There is nothing "unfair" or lacking common sense here; you assume every other person who has paid off a loan or is still facing student loan debt is resentful.

Unless you have personally spoken to every person, you don't know a thing.

By your reasoning, a person who cannot work shouldn't receive help with food, housing, health care, utilities, etc.  After all, it might cause resentment among those who can hold their own.

This is an act by a private citizen.  It is not YOUR tax $$, places absolutely no burden on you, and your "concern" about others is not genuine.

[suzyQ3]

I think it would behoove those who criticize this gift to do some research on how school loan debts are strangling so many people.

From the article in today's LAT about this gesture, one student did the math. He will be paying half his salary for many years in order to pay off his debt.

In the weeks before graduating from Morehouse on Sunday, 22-year-old finance major Aaron Mitchom drew up a spreadsheet to calculate how long it would take him to pay back his $200,000 in student loans — 25 years at half his monthly salary, per his calculations.

In an instant, that number vanished.

Mitchom, sitting in the crowd, wept.

“I can delete that spreadsheet,” he said in an interview after the commencement. “I don’t have to live off of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I was shocked. My heart dropped. We all cried. In the moment it was like a burden had been taken off.”

His mother, Tina Mitchom, was also shocked. Eight family members, including Mitchom’s 76-year-old grandmother, took turns over four years co-signing on the loans that got him across the finish line.

“It takes a village,” she said. “It now means he can start paying it forward and start closing this gap a lot sooner, giving back to the college and thinking about a succession plan” for his younger siblings.

Morehouse College President David A. Thomas said the gift would have a profound effect on the students’ futures.

“Many of my students are interested in going into teaching, for example, but leave with an amount of student debt that makes that untenable,” Thomas said in an interview. “In some ways, it was a liberation gift for these young men that just opened up their choices.”

[suzyQ3]

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@Cakers3 wrote:

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@kitcat51 wrote:

I do plenty to give back & I'm sure you do too. Look it's his money & he can do as he pleases with it BUT...what about the grads that are paying & the future grads that will pay? What he did was self indulgent, the grads did nothing to deserve their debt being paid off, they won the lotto without buying a ticket...his gift should have been to the college. Understand there are many who want all college debt to be forgiven & from now on all college is free...well free is expense & someone has to pay...guess who?  No I'm not happy for them because those who are paying feel like suckers & those who will pay think where's my free ride. Have money use common sense, don't hand it away to cause envy & resentment. @Cakers3 

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@kitcat51   Your resentment comes through loud and clear and I feel sorry for you.

I don't resent anybody receiving help; my 2 graduate degrees were paid for strictly by me; both loans.  I can tell you right now I don't feel like a sucker, I don't feel I missed out on a free ride, and I'm certainly not envious.

You are.

  It is very clear and I still suspect your disdain is based not on his generosity but on another issue regarding these young men.

There is nothing "unfair" or lacking common sense here; you assume every other person who has paid off a loan or is still facing student loan debt is resentful.

Unless you have personally spoken to every person, you don't know a thing.

By your reasoning, a person who cannot work shouldn't receive help with food, housing, health care, utilities, etc.  After all, it might cause resentment among those who can hold their own.

This is an act by a private citizen.  It is not YOUR tax $$, places absolutely no burden on you, and your "concern" about others is not genuine.

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@Cakers3, sometimes an emotional-based repy is just what is needed. Even better that it be articulate. Bravo!