Gengulphus wrote:the Guardian article the OP linked to is really about tax policy.
Secondly, on what the question in the OP is about: the only answer I can give is that it's confused. For instance, a discussion about Bill Gates's setting up of the Gates Foundation is about an act of philanthropy and would be at home on a board called Philanthropy, but it's not a haves vs have-nots discussion. There is a related haves vs have-nots discussion to be had about whether society should permit individuals to build up the sort of personal fortunes needed to fund that sort of act of philanthropy, but that question about how large society should allow individuals' fortunes to become has little if anything to do with philanthropy: the same question exists regardless of whether the individual chooses to spend the fortune on setting up a charitable foundation; on ultra-luxurious mansions, yachts, private jets, etc, to live a life of luxury; on a magnificent tomb in the hope of being remembered forever; on ultra-expensive adventures like space exploration; or doubtless a number of other possibilities.
Yes, I think the idea of a place to discuss philanthropy, charity and generosity isn't a terrible idea. The problem is that the OP positioned it as a place to discuss "haves versus have nots", which is more a desire to discuss what many call wealth inequality, and whether that is a problem.
That is an overtly political topic, and we already have a place to discuss such things. That is easy to prove since there is currently a topic discussing exactly that, here:
viewtopic.php?f=99&t=28775The OP did contribute to that topic and so presumably found it OK.
So to me the real question is this. If there is a philanthropy topic that would be interesting and popular to discuss, which does not fit on either the Current Events board or the Taxes board, then were should it go? And if the answer is nowhere AND there is sufficient interest in it, then we need a new board. Otherwise we do not.
If instead the desired discussions are political in nature then to me what the OP really seeks is to sub-divide the Current Events board into separate subjects, of which wealth inequality is one, and presumably there could be others such as Middle East, American politics, Global Warming and so on. Personally I do not see the point of that, but rather we should keep all the hot air and politics in one place where it can be managed more easily.