I Hate "charities" That Are A Scam
Some years ago, it became apparent that most major charites supposedly collecting money to cure catastrophic diseases had never, over the many decades of their existence, contributed in any way to finding cures for the diseases. Their business models just did not work like that. The [i]New York Times[/i] published a long article about this a few years ago. I wish I could remember the title and date.
One example: Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. Lewis, like most other people, believed they were working for a cure. The motto was: "Finding a Cure for Muscular Dystrophy." But after a Supreme Court ruling, they had to change their motto to: "Making life better for people with muscular dystrophy." They decided Lewis was too old to remember to recite the new motto instead of the old, and since the annual telethon is broadcast live, they didn't feel they could take the risk and wind up with lawsuits draining any more of their funds....so they fired Jerry Lewis. Lewis did not understand the idea that they were not looking for a cure and never had looked for a cure during the many years he hosted the telethon.
Few of the major illness charities or organizations are actually making any attempt to find a cure. If you send them money, they will use some of it to attempt to improve life for those with the disease. But no cure will happen. Everything is set up to [i]treat[/i] the disease (more drugs, surgery) and to [i]accommodate[/i] the disease or condition (more wheelchairs, better catheters, more laws that facillitate handicap access). Nothing goes toward finding a cure. And, in fact, the biggest contributors to these charities (drug companies, medical/surgical equipment manufacturers) have a strong financial incentive not to find cures for these catastrophic diseases because they are profiting from them.
One example: Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. Lewis, like most other people, believed they were working for a cure. The motto was: "Finding a Cure for Muscular Dystrophy." But after a Supreme Court ruling, they had to change their motto to: "Making life better for people with muscular dystrophy." They decided Lewis was too old to remember to recite the new motto instead of the old, and since the annual telethon is broadcast live, they didn't feel they could take the risk and wind up with lawsuits draining any more of their funds....so they fired Jerry Lewis. Lewis did not understand the idea that they were not looking for a cure and never had looked for a cure during the many years he hosted the telethon.
Few of the major illness charities or organizations are actually making any attempt to find a cure. If you send them money, they will use some of it to attempt to improve life for those with the disease. But no cure will happen. Everything is set up to [i]treat[/i] the disease (more drugs, surgery) and to [i]accommodate[/i] the disease or condition (more wheelchairs, better catheters, more laws that facillitate handicap access). Nothing goes toward finding a cure. And, in fact, the biggest contributors to these charities (drug companies, medical/surgical equipment manufacturers) have a strong financial incentive not to find cures for these catastrophic diseases because they are profiting from them.
70-79, F
