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| Michael Bloomberg: committed to change |
Mike Bloomberg may no longer be mayor of New York City, but
his influence is only growing. Yesterday he threw his abundant political and
financial capital into one of his greatest concerns – gun violence in this country.
At 72, he is fueling a ground war to save lives, turning –
as conservative groups have done on all kinds of issues – to local and state initiatives,
rather than national ones, to promote his cause. Namely, background checks for
gun buyers.
“Thirty-one thousand Americans either get murdered or commit
suicide with illegal guns,” he said, in making his announcement.
Bloomberg donated $50 million to this cause, through a new
non-profit “Everytown for Gun Safety.”
That's more than double the $20 million that the pro-gun rights NRA
spent in the 2012 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive
Politics.
If money can buy elections, perhaps Bloomberg can make
inroads into one of the nation’s most contentious, costly, and catastrophic issues.
That's just a fraction of what Bloomberg is trying to do.
Check out mikebloomberg.com, and you can see that the
unretiring Mayor Mike is putting the muscle of his millions – actually billions
– behind issues deeply rooted in his past and psyche.
As he puts it in the section of his website labeled
“philanthropy”:
"Mike Bloomberg has always believed in the power of philanthropy to change people's lives for the better. His commitment to giving back -- as a way to improve lives and catalyze societal change -- grew out of the values he learned from his parents and from his experience as an Eagle Scout. Mike Bloomberg has pledged to give away the majority of his wealth to charitable causes he believes in."
How much is that? He’s worth about $31 billion, according to
Forbes. So far he’s given away about $3.25 billion.
Recently, in the annual letter of his foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies,
he focused on preventable problems. "We don't shy
away from controversy if we can make a difference."
In the global arena, the foundation is giving $10 million to
prevent drownings in Bangladesh, where 12,000 children a year die falling into
shallow pools, often unsupervised. The money will go to funding playpens for
80,000 children ages 1-4.
In January, the foundation made a five-year, $53 million grant
to improve fishing practices in Brazil, Chile and the Philippines, thereby
boosting the ocean’s health and promoting the supply of fish.
It’s giving $12 million to support medical clinics and midwives
in Tanzania to reduce maternal deaths –among the highest in the world – and the
resulting catastrophic implications for surviving children.
He’s also joining other foundations and companies funding an initiative of President Obama -- My Brother's Keeper, which supports young minority men.
Other areas targeted by Bloomberg:
--Eradicating
polio: $100 million through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, in partnership with the Gates Foundation.
--Reducing
carbon emissions with Sierra Club and C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, made up of the world's largest cities seeking ways to reduce global warming;
--
Countering obesity in Mexico, which has one of the highest rates in the world --through support of new junk food taxes in Mexico;
--Cutting tobacco use in low-and middle-income countries --$600 million since 2007, through
initiatives to raise taxes, increase warnings, and create smoke-free place;
--Promoting better educational practices, through
fellowships for educators and by supporting local candidates, for instance in Louisiana, who endorse reforms.
The efforts go on and on. (The mikebloomberg.com website is like a
Russian matryoshka doll, with layers upon layers of initiatives for each topic.)
Yay, Mayor Mike! Never, never retire.
A PS on polio: Last month, the World Health Organization declared polio finally eradicated in India, which had been a major reservoir of the disease. Back in 1999, in a series I edited, Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Huntly Collins reported on efforts to eradicate polio in India, a moment in time when we and the WHO thought the disease was about to vanish from the planet, though that goal has been thwarted in war-torn regions. Sadly, the fabulous photos by Peter Tobia are no longer on the Inquirer website, though you can see some here.
Huntly's series in words:
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