Davey D: Some Thoughts on Lebron James Opening Up His School

It’s great hearing the news about NBA star Lebron James opening a school and doing some great things, giving back to the community with his millions.. There is nothing to fault him on.. He should be applauded along with numerous other athletes and entertainers who have stepped up and used their platform and money to try and make a difference in our communities..We should honor these folks, uplift them and encourage more to follow suit..

With that being said, we should never lose sight, that what Lebron and others are doing is filling a big economic void in our community that has been intentionally created by the rich and powerful. There is an economic injustice that exists that needs to be corrected..

We should never lose sight of the fact that the owners of these sports teams and other power brokers make BILLIONS to the millions Lebron and other athletes are laying out.. One NBA owner, Steve Ballmer of the LA Clippers is worth 34 BILLION dollars.. How has he helped the LA community? Who is he sending to college for free?

We should raise similar questions about Lebron’s former team owner Dan Gilbert who is worth close 6 billion. We know he’s making a killing ‘redeveloping’ (gentrifying Detroit and Cleveland..) How has his billions helped our communities? How is he matching Lebron’s efforts? Did he put some money toward this school or the scholarships?

Richard DeVos owner of the Orlando Magic who is husband to Education secretary Betsy Devos is worth about 5-6 billion What are they doing to help the community other than shutting down and privatizing public education? How are they helping us and should we expect them to step up to the plate the way we insisted that Michael Jordan and others should?

In short, we should be asking who are these Billionaires Helping especially when many are getting incredible tax breaks and other economic perks to build new arenas and keep an NBA team around? We should not only ask ‘Who are these guys helping, but we should also ask what policies are these NBA owners pushing that result in dire economic situations that require a guy like Lebron to step in..

While we applaud Lebron and other athletes for doing this heavy lifting to send kids to school or other charitable works, we should be asking why aren’t our tax dollars doing that? We pay good money in taxes that should be opening schools and providing opportunities for those in need..

We should be asking why aren’t our tax dollars being used to make college free for everyone? The UC (University California) system and Cal State college system used to be free here in California..With companies like Apple and Google worth trillions sitting in our backyard, why are students facing a lifetime worth of debt just to go to school?

The sad reality is Lebron is making millions to spend millions to send kids to schools that charge more than most will make and save in a lifetime…

Banks make trillions in student loans..Colleges make hundreds of millions in fees.. The average graduate after taxes and loan repayment is lucky if he/she brings home enough to pay rent much less raise a family..

Yes Lebron has stepped up, but lets not lose sight that with the passage of this recent tax bill it will be extremely difficult for ordinary folks to write off charitable donations to education and other organizations and activities that are surely needed in our community. I think one would have to itemize and donate something like 12k to start writing things off..

While Lebron gives his hard earned millions to the community, we should not lose sight that some of those BILLIONAIRE owner fought for and lobbied for the tax bill that will decimate so many of our communities..

So again lets applaud Lebron and instead of comparing him to Michael Jordan or some other athlete and debating who gave back the most to the community, lets compare Lebron to some of these NBA owners and raise critical questions of how they are using the money they make off us..

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