1 Million? Seriously?

[MSGBallerz]

I can't believe the Chinese only gave 1/100th of what the American government gave and that's NOT including what ordinary folks like us, the NBA, Dalembert, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Madonna and other famous people are giving.

[Heat3]

China donated 1 million as well.

The NBA donation doesn't look too bad now, does it?

China has donated $4.5 million worth of humanitarian aid, not including the $1 million that China's Red Cross Society has pledged and whatever else business owners/citizens have donated that we don't know about.

They were also one of the first ones to have search/rescue teams on the ground, I believe.

That doesn't compare to what we've given, but it isn't as bad as some of you are making it sound either. The people in China are very poor compared to us, and I doubt the Haiti disaster is getting as much publicity on government run television as it is here.

I don't think anyone is asking much from the average chinese citizen. It's more the government that is being critiqued. They have a HUGE reserves. We're talking well over $2 TRILLION, the largest in the world. $1 M is not even a drop in the bucket. Maybe they feel the $100M we're giving is actually theirs considering we borrow their money to pay for it lol....

[maxwellcu]

The OP has a point. Including a house and all the basic necessities, you don't need more than 1 million dollars to live. So one has to ask, what the heck do they(the athletes) need the rest of the money for?

There are so many things wrong with this statement I'm not really sure where to begin...

First of all, you don't have a great grasp of how much money $1 million actually is. I guarantee you that virtually every NBA player's primary residence cost more - in many cases, substantially more - than $1 million.

Secondly, the notion that the wealthy should give away everything they have to charity simply because they have more than most of us is naive and foolish to the extreme.

How much have you donated? It really is not your place to tell other people how they should spend their money. Americans have precisely zero obligation to donate money to Haiti. It is very easy to judge people for their actions from a distance. Fact is, if every celebrity or athlete or successful business gave millions to every cause that comes their way, every one would be broke.

For better or for worse, we live in a capitalist society.

I haven't really brushed on the extremely dubious track record of "humanitarian" organizations in regards to actually dispersing all of the donations they receive in an efficient or even ethical manner. So if the NBA doesn't feel like they need to donate more than the million they already have to "administrative costs", I don't feel too terrible about it.

In reality, what makes a much bigger impact than people or institutions throwing money on top of a big pile when maybe 30% of it, in a BEST CASE SCENARIO, will actually find its way to the people in need, is for medical professionals and supplies to be taken to them directly. And that is a lot more about volunteers than it is about throwing money at a problem. Very poor countries like Haiti tend to have terribly incompetent and corrupt governments, which only stands to compound the problem.

I'm getting a little long-winded here, so I'll stop, but there is quite a bit more at play here than suggesting that the solution is for people to simply shovel money at the problem and that if they don't give all of their money to Haiti they are terrible people. Seriously, get a clue before you comment...

[rsavaj]

The OP has a point. Including a house and all the basic necessities, you don't need more than 1 million dollars to live. So one has to ask, what the heck do they(the athletes) need the rest of the money for?

There are so many things wrong with this statement I'm not really sure where to begin...

First of all, you don't have a great grasp of how much money $1 million actually is. I guarantee you that virtually every NBA player's primary residence cost more - in many cases, substantially more - than $1 million.

Secondly, the notion that the wealthy should give away everything they have to charity simply because they have more than most of us is naive and foolish to the extreme.

How much have you donated? It really is not your place to tell other people how they should spend their money. Americans have precisely zero obligation to donate money to Haiti. It is very easy to judge people for their actions from a distance. Fact is, if every celebrity or athlete or successful business gave millions to every cause that comes their way, every one would be broke.

For better or for worse, we live in a capitalist society.

I haven't really brushed on the extremely dubious track record of "humanitarian" organizations in regards to actually dispersing all of the donations they receive in an efficient or even ethical manner. So if the NBA doesn't feel like they need to donate more than the million they already have to "administrative costs", I don't feel too terrible about it.

Nobody's saying the wealthy should give "EVERYTHING". Nobody "NEEDS" multimillion dollar houses. That's the whole point. Those who earn in excess and live in excess should also give the most. Simple humanitarianism/altruism. Nobody's "obligated" to give anything; you do it because you care for your fellow human beings.

[maxwellcu]

Welcome to capitalism. Judging people or institutions and their character based on their monetary contributions in scenarios like this is foolish.

The NBA and a healthy percentage of NBA players participate in plenty of charitable activities, in my opinion. More is always better but I don't think it is fair to say that the league isn't generally charitable and to call them cheap because you don't think they gave enough money in this particular circumstance.

[Point forward]

The real question here is,

Did you donate?

Nothing else matter if u criticize

[Promezclan]

What are the profits of the NBA organization itself? (not the owners of the teams)

[eslr]

The OP has a point. Including a house and all the basic necessities, you don't need more than 1 million dollars to live. So one has to ask, what the heck do they(the athletes) need the rest of the money for?

I haven't really brushed on the extremely dubious track record of "humanitarian" organizations in regards to actually dispersing all of the donations they receive in an efficient or even ethical manner. So if the NBA doesn't feel like they need to donate more than the million they already have to "administrative costs", I don't feel too terrible about it.

In reality, what makes a much bigger impact than people or institutions throwing money on top of a big pile when maybe 30% of it, in a BEST CASE SCENARIO, will actually find its way to the people in need, is for medical professionals and supplies to be taken to them directly. And that is a lot more about volunteers than it is about throwing money at a problem. Very poor countries like Haiti tend to have terribly incompetent and corrupt governments, which only stands to compound the problem.

I'm getting a little long-winded here, so I'll stop, but there is quite a bit more at play here than suggesting that the solution is for people to simply shovel money at the problem and that if they don't give all of their money to Haiti they are terrible people. Seriously, get a clue before you comment...

To be fair, you have every right to question development aid. But we are talking about emergency relief, and the Red Cross (IFRC) has a pretty damn impeccable record. Its not fair to lump the IFRC in the same category as corrupt development institutions.

[eslr]

What are the profits of the NBA organization itself? (not the owners of the teams)

The owners are the shareholders of the NBA, so its one in the same. Nobody knows the answer to that questions though.......Forbes tried to make their best estimates, but its really a shot in the dark.

[bigbreakfast]

lol @ the China hate. Nevermind the contributions that Chinese citizens have made through venues that we don't know about and the money China herself has donated outright, we were one of the first to send aid workers and supplies in from half way across the world, army and volunteers.

Do you remember the 08 earthquakes in China killed over 50-60 thousand people and left millions homeless? What did you do to help? Did you even hear about it besides a brief mention on the news? I'm not comparing disasters and rescue and donation efforts, but realize that China isn't 600 something miles from Haiti like the US is.

To criticize how much someone or some country donates is pointless and just shows you how some people prefer to view a good thing negatively.

[Rallyks]

There's a stigma attached to ANYTHING related to China. That's just how it is here in the west.

[Mykhyn]

Are you joking? Ok this instance it might not be that big but when combined with everything else they donate money to and it starts to hurt.

They are under NO obligation to even give a penny yet you act like their million is nothing.

You can't expect someone to give money to everything that would benefit from it. If they did they wouldn't continue to have money.

Most of you guys are pure talk.

[eslr]

Do you remember the 08 earthquakes in China killed over 50-60 thousand people and left millions homeless? What did you do to help? Did you even hear about it besides a brief mention on the news?

American Red Cross gave $10 mill alone, over half of the request from the IFRC. And they didnt throw a parade while doing it.

[Mykhyn]

The OP has a point. Including a house and all the basic necessities, you don't need more than 1 million dollars to live. So one has to ask, what the heck do they(the athletes) need the rest of the money for?

Thats for YOUR lifestyle. The NBA players work hard for the best part of their life to get the money they need to survive for the REST of their life. How many nba players die at 40? How many work past 40?

Think about it from their prospective, not yours.

[eslr]

The OP has a point. Including a house and all the basic necessities, you don't need more than 1 million dollars to live. So one has to ask, what the heck do they(the athletes) need the rest of the money for?

Thats for YOUR lifestyle. The NBA players work hard for the best part of their life to get the money they need to survive for the REST of their life. How many nba players die at 40? How many work past 40?

Think about it from their prospective, not yours.

Lolz Really? I don't think NBA players would even take your side on this.

[Mykhyn]

The OP has a point. Including a house and all the basic necessities, you don't need more than 1 million dollars to live. So one has to ask, what the heck do they(the athletes) need the rest of the money for?

Thats for YOUR lifestyle. The NBA players work hard for the best part of their life to get the money they need to survive for the REST of their life. How many nba players die at 40? How many work past 40?

Think about it from their prospective, not yours.

Lolz Really? I don't think NBA players would even take your side on this.

That just shows your ignorance.

Normal people don't like giving away what they work for because the masses think its "right". Once they put in the work to make the money it becomes their decision, until then they should shut their mouths.

[turtlesnjoi]

How old are some of you? The complete lack of knowledge and understanding about economics from some people in this thread is scary if it's coming from adults.

[Manocad]

Nobody's saying the wealthy should give "EVERYTHING". Nobody "NEEDS" multimillion dollar houses. That's the whole point. Those who earn in excess and live in excess should also give the most. Simple humanitarianism/altruism. Nobody's "obligated" to give anything; you do it because you care for your fellow human beings.

At the risk of sounding callous, how do you demonstrate the NBA's 'need' to care about (and assist with) the misfortunes of others?

[DelaneyRudd]

The liquidity of capital is highly variable.

[Mykhyn]

Nobody's saying the wealthy should give "EVERYTHING". Nobody "NEEDS" multimillion dollar houses. That's the whole point. Those who earn in excess and live in excess should also give the most. Simple humanitarianism/altruism. Nobody's "obligated" to give anything; you do it because you care for your fellow human beings.

Ok, once you put in the time an effort to make some money then you can talk.

You REALLY need to look at things from their prospective. I would bet even the worst nba player has worked harder to get there than you have for anything in your life.