That's a good article. And I have to admit it made me curious. So I went and spent some time trying to find out who Bloomberg really is. We all know that he is the Mayor of New York and has made rather controversial decisions about certain things over the years. What I didn't know is that he refuses to accept any more than $1.00 in compensation for his services as Mayor. In addition he doesn't live in the Mayor's mansion, instead choosing to live in his own home. He has also been known to use the New York city subway system to commute from his home to city hall.
His up bringing and early family life are unremarkable. As far as I can tell his family was sucessful and he lived a comfortable life. There is no evidence that his family was wealthy or that he was born with a silver spoon in his ass. He is now extremely wealthy, well educated and a very sucessful businessman. His net worth is said to be 22 billion dollars. Through his philanthropy he gives away hundreds of million of dollars every year to various organizations, his generosity is well known. Here is a comment made by him that I think explains his views on money and how it should be used. There is just too much information available about him for me to be able to evaluate it all. I am sure that with enough digging a person could turn up some very negative facts about Bloomberg,but that's not my goal.
Bloomberg reports giving $254 million in 2009 to almost 1,400 nonprofit organizations, saying, "I am a big believer in giving it all away and have always said that the best financial planning ends with bouncing the check to the undertaker.
This post shows Bloomberg in a pretty positive light for the most part. Is Bloomberg a bully? I don't think so. He is however a very wealthy man, and as such he has lived a very privledged life that average Americans are unable to relate to. He gives a lot of money to hospitals, research organizations and generally promotes peoples health and well being. I think he is very serious about these causes that he contributes too and as a result I think he has made some questionable decisions based on his desire to see people healthy. I truly believe he has a real concern. He is however a very powerful and wealthy man as well as the Mayor of New York. He is accustomed to doing pretty much whatever he wants and does not take no for an answer, and because he is a very powerful person he thinks that he should be able to control peoples lives and make decisions for them. What he is actually doing is robbing people of their freedom to make choices as they see fit. And by doing so he is abusing his power and the authority given to him by the people as the mayor of New York.
I think that he believes that what he is doing is right and that he only wants people to be healthy and by restricting such things as soda, trans fat, cigarettes or anything else he thinks is harmful, he can make people's lives better. He probably sees this as a great contribution to the health and well being of the population. This is the way he sees it. And as I have already stated I see this behavior as misguided and an abuse of power. Is he a bully? I don't think he matches the definition of a bully. However he is extremely egotistical, arrogant, and manipulative. He has a steadfast belief that he is always right and that nobody else has the right or the authority to challenge his decisions, and so far he has been right.
Quite honestly I can see him as a dictator rather than a bully.. Yielding virtually unlimited power. Ruling over people and controlling every aspect their lives and never being challenged or told NO! you can't do that. Sadly that is pretty much what we are seeing right now.
