bigbrothersrule

Dude, I seriously wish I had started doing this in college. All you need to give is your time. When a kid grows up without getting the right amount of attention, they blame themselves and feel worthless. You're showing through your actions that they are person worth spending time with.

The activities that Ben and I do are a combination of pre-planned activities organized by BBBS (Fishing, STEM Day, Holiday Party), and things that he and I come up with. BBBS works hard to establish relationships with other popular attractions in the area. We get free sports and theater tickets, buy-one-get-one-free meals at restaurants, even free membership at the YMCA.

It's interesting that you ask whether the activities have changed over time. I guess I never thought about it, but yes. When Ben was 7 at the beginning of the match, he was satisfied with going to the park or reading superhero books at the library. Those definitely wouldn't fly anymore. BBBS also has what they call a "Not So Little" program for teenage Littles focused on volunteering and college prep.

The training that I received was only three hours, and I'd describe it as half orientation and half legal compliance. As a result of the rush, they really oversold one concept and undersold another concept.

They oversold the impact that you as the Big would personally have on your Little. That's not to say that I feel I haven't had an impact, but the real benefit to the program is the extra pairs of eyes that Littles have trained on them. Instead of just a single parent (in my case she's raising three kids and working full time), who may not be able to devote enough attention, the Little gains both a Big and a Program Specialist, who is a licensed social worker. This "triangle" is independently watching for trouble signs with the Little. Whenever something interesting comes up with one point on the triangle, we all share with each other. This creates a support/safety net that would otherwise be lacking. That's why I think that BBBS really has demonstrable positive results for underprivileged kids.

They undersold what's in it for me as a Big. You might think that this is standard volunteer work, and you get that normal warm fuzzy feeling that comes from making a difference. But this is very different from scooping mashed potatoes at a soup kitchen or cleaning cages at an animal shelter (both of which I have done and highly recommend as well). You are in a long-term relationship with one particular human being, with whom you share a ton in common. There's only one other kid I know who had Ben's unique set of strengths, quirks and anxiety as a kid, and it was me when I was a kid. I can genuinely say that we're friends, and I can offer him a great deal of help with what's to come in his life, because I've lived it. Regardless of how long our formal BBBS-sponsored match, I get the sense that we'll always stay connected in some way.

OK, but as long as billionaires like yourself never sell your shares, you'll never realize any capital gains. So the tax rate would never affect you either way. And when you die, your kids will inherit the shares, which also doesn't count as income, and they'll get a one-time increase in the cost basis, lowering any potential capital gains they will ever realize.

In the meantime, you get to take out loans against the value of your portfolio, which isn't income, pay off those loans with new loans, and you get to deduct any interest you pay along on the way against income taxes that you'll probably never even incur. You do get how most of us will never have access to this, right?

What are you interested in doing next, and how can we help?

One of the cruelest conceits of fundamentalism is if you’re unhappy you must be doing it wrong. Just be more, harder, devouter (is that a word?).