It looks like Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet are getting what they hoped for.

For those that don’t know, Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet have started a movement.  It’s called the “Giving Pledge”.  Basically it’s a call for billionaires to commit to giving away half of their wealth to what ever philanthropic effort they choose sometime during or after their life.  Today the first 40 who were invited to their exclusive planning dinners announced that they will sign the pledge.

So what does this mean for the rest of us?

Most likely it’ll mean that George Soros will continue funding liberal and socialist movements, Bill and Melinda will continue vaccinating children across the world, scholarships will be created, whales will be saved, and trees will be planted.  Mostly good things right? Right.

So what does that mean for me and you? Not too much.  We’re still stuck in this horrible economy.

So I had an idea.  Something that I think most, if not all, of the billionaires who have made the pledge would probably support.  I would like to see them start some sort of funding trust for American small businesses and startups under which the businesses could receive grants or loans that could help them grow their business.  We’re talking about the funds for a restaurant owner to open a second location, for a heating and air conditioning business to buy a couple more vans, for a small startup to hire a patent attorney.   The small business would have to meet certain requirements so that you wouldn’t have a bunch of free loaders exploiting it but I think that would do the most good for the world economy.

Thoughts?

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