The things Dolly does seem to lend themselves to legacy, and what could a rich man/woman want more than their name immortalized in a social program that helps people.

Or is the claim not that one approach is more effective than other in terms of positive impact, but that the wealthy, for their own sake, would be better off founding their own organizations?

Lots of these orgs often seem like they exist to maintain the organization than benefit their cause.

Organizations and causes require people who work full time to help organize the charitable work. It is very difficult to find people to volunteer at this level and typically if you do, they are independently wealthy. Retired people can do more but typically they do not want to give that much time and have other things they want to do.

4 hrs a week which is a typical volunteer shift at our hospital does not lend itself to pulling all the details together.

Good people deserve to get paid to do good work. Just like in tech, you get what you pay for. And typically a nonprofit worker puts extra hours and time in as does their family members in support of the cause.

I often hear, well, if you don't pay them top salary you are not going to attract people from private enterprise. I don't think you want people whose main motivation to contribute is money.

It's probably easier to get that guy you know who is high-up at Kroger to get involved in your charity in a mutually-beneficial way.

Or maybe I'm just really really over the edge jaded and cynical. It's probably that.

Their website explains how you can become a partner for your area and the costs involved.

In some places it is government funded. The program in Baltimore City for example appears to be largely funded by Maryland State government via a yearly grant to a nonprofit.

https://imaginationlibrary.com/usa/

https://goccp.maryland.gov/the-governors-young-readers-progr...

I wonder why so many people want the wealthy to do more things to make the world a better place when the United States has a GDP of $23 trillion dollars.

Everyone wants to pay little taxes, have a cheap gallon of gas, and tax the rich to solve our problems, while kicking the can as far down the road as possible.

How many problems could have been solved with $32 trillion

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikepatton/2023/04/25/the-natio...

It's not clear to me what connection you are making between America's GDP and wanting the wealthy to do more. The wealthy capture the largest portion of the GDP, so America's high GDP would seem to support the idea that the wealthy can do more.

It seems like you are criticizing tax rates but then you talk about how much can be done with the money that makes up the national debt. Are you advocating more or less government spending? Are you advocating more or less taxes?

US consumer spending is 70% of GDP.

> How many problems could have been solved with $32 trillion

How many problems were solved with that $32 trillion?

To nitpick, the current US GDP estimate is $26.49 trillion. https://www.bea.gov/news/2023/gross-domestic-product-second-...

In general, I agree with your gist. Hagiographies turn me off, particularly in a republic of citizens (not Great Men).

These are age appropriate books being sent to families of all incomes to promote good education. Let people have nice things.

     ...I wish I wasn’t so much of a lurker to get the karma required to downvote you.

I didn’t know that they are exclusively right-wing oriented, but will keep an eye out.

You can also emails HN mods directly at [email protected] for specific unaddressed issues, including newly-created troll accounts. That's strongly encouraged over replying to trolls themselves:

<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35547193>

This is such a wonderful program and I am so grateful for it. I wish/hope it becomes global.

> Group 2 (Children born in 2022)

> Llama Llama Red Pajama

My taste in music is questionable (I still listen to Yaz and even Modern Talking occasionally, mixed with 80s disco, which I believe was the epitome of popular music) but I do like many Country songs: putting aside Dolly’s favorites like 9 to 5 (great lyrics and music if you haven’t listened to it), I also like many Kenny Rogers songs (guilty pleasure here is Scarlet Fever). Expanding, Folk and Bluegrass are also great.

Looking at Spotify their top songs have robust play numbers.

On a related note, in case the younger crowd here is interested: Animotion is also an interesting group, watching their Obsession clip on YouTube tells you what those times were about.

Sadly none of these groups were/are known in the US. One of my “if I were a rich man” projects is to open a nightclub that only plays 80s, including these synth gems.

The big issue may just be that I didn't grow up listening to Country.

The revenge message in Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" is definitely a saving grace, though. I don't change the station when that song comes on.

Unless it's something like Swing, I hate Jazz more than Country. Which is definitely an instrument and rhythm/melody issue.

“New” country music follows formulaic measures and beats, and doesn’t tend to experiment. If there is an ear worm section to a song, it’s made very obvious, and almost seem to invite people to “stim”.

I don’t like death metal because I find the vocal affectation silly and the range of instrumentation too narrow. I dislike country for exactly the same reasons.

There are genre-defying artists who transcend the category; Patsy Cline comes to mind.

But if someone’s going to sit down and write a song that conforms to all of a genre’s conventions, people who dislike those conventions probably won’t like it.

Bitter at first, but eventually you learn to appreciate the unique experience for what it is, and then you start drinking it all the time.

You start trying to tell others about your experience, but only other black coffee drinkers seem to understand, and you sound insane to people who have tried black coffee and hated the bitter taste.

It reminds me of that general small-town mentality where said small town is treated like the center of the universe by its denizens. I guess that's country music's core demographic, so perhaps it's just giving the people what they want, but I find said mentality obnoxious so I find music extolling it in a "serious" manner obnoxious.

Obviously this is more of an issue with modern country, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and others historically brought more artistry to the genre. I generally won't seek them out because that isn't what I find most enjoyable, but I can at least respect it and I'm not repulsed by it. I'd rather listen to WAP on a loop than most modern country music, at least it knows exactly what it is.

I also find sometimes that music in a genre is so bad/annoying that it wraps around to being listenable.

Maybe it's easier to see in movies where bad movies become enjoyable. (like "shoot-em up" where Clive Owen delivers a baby in the middle of a gunfight)

Not all country music is the same. I lean towards country from the 90s and before. Dolly is definitely my favorite. I enjoy the 90s pop country of Shania Twain and others around that time. Garth Brooks "Friends in Low places" is a fun song for Karaoke, so is Kenny Rogers's "The Gambler". There's a song by Jo Dee Messina called "Heads Carolina, Tails California" from the 90s that has been stuck in my head recently.

All this is to say, it's a big genre with many styles and artists, you might find a song or 2 you'll enjoy.

It's a big, big genre. And the lines between it, blues, and rock are often blurred.

Check out the Shaver talk and performance on the Norm Macdonald Show on Netflix for example.

That being said, there are always exceptions to the rule. If we were in a car together, you'd not see me protesting if you put on Johny Cash or Gordon Lightfoot (though they're arguably more early fusion styles). And I'll admit I enjoy the sound of the Eagles, which I grew up listening to in the car from my mom and their sound is heavily influenced by country style that I loathe.

I think your post is a real underhanded compliment. It's like saying I really hate football and it's players, but John Elway is an OK dude.

  The Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo
  John Prine - John Prine
  The Flying Burrito Brothers - The Gilded Palace of Sin
  Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings - Wanted! The Outlaws
  Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings - Waylon & Willie
  Buck Owens - 21 #1 Hits

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robber_baron_(industrialist)

I only recognized a three of them: J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie. Three more I recognized universities named after them: James Duke (Duke University), Andrew Mellon (Carnegie Mellon University), Cornelius Vanderbilt (Vanderbilt University).

To the degree that I have a positive opinion of Rockefeller and Carnegie, it's because of their philanthropy rather than their industrialism or politics.

I've a friend who's grandparents, in Vietnam, were quite ruthless and accumulated sizable wealth. Now, they sponsor Buddhist monks in an effort to avoid being reincarnated as cockroaches. I suspect analogous motivations for people like Rockefeller, Carnegie, or modern equivalents like Gates and Zuckerberg (even if simply a secular motivation to rehabilitate their poor reputations).

Parton just seems to be a genuinely kind human being.

If people in 2123 are still talking about early social media companies, I'll be shocked. Actually I'll be dead, but I would be shocked.

Zuckerberg and Facebook are interesting in the here and now, but they are not Edison/Bell/Ford-level interesting.

Unless either he, or his company, does something of lasting significance. Maybe through his charitable foundation (not the Newark school thing). Jury's still out on that one.

Relevant link (I think)

https://assets.nationbuilder.com/uwpnw/pages/2189/attachment...

imo more government aid programs and charities should be like that. give to anyone in need or who would otherwise benefit from the given thing

unfortunately I've seen way too many special carve-outs and "allowed" discrimination to happen. which just further fuels political grievances.

https://youtu.be/pKU5kqKypY4