MovieChat Forums > Secret Millionaire (2008) Discussion > Does this show not bother anyone else?

Does this show not bother anyone else?


So these people give away $300,000 of their 60 million. Thats like the average person giving $250, except that its even harder for the average person to give because they have far less the get by on.
On top of this these people get tons of glory by doing this on television. Oh and all the free advertising for their chicken fast food chain.
It was so sad for me to watch such amazing selfless people thank filthy rich people for giving them money that is really just a drop in the bucket for them.
Not surprising that crap like this is on Fox.

Don't bother telling me not to watch it if I don't like it. I was curious once and will not be watching it again.

Just wanted to share this thought with you because I read other posts saying that they want to support this guys fast food joint....but think about it first. Is he really that selfless to go on TV, get free advertising (or 300,000 worth of it) and a whole lota glory on top of it all?


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[deleted]

These people didn't get rich through some magic wand...They got to be rich by being the best...If they want to help out local charities more power to them...They got rich on their own hard work and not through Union Mafia bastards...

All is better with comfortable eye wear...Urge to kill fading...

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No it doesn't bother me at all, I actually like the show, and see nothing wrong, or nervey, about it.



sig- "Not having an open mind is a good thing to lose."


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~I can sing better than Taylor Hicks!

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[deleted]

I haven't seen this show yet, I just came here to see what it was about, but from the looks of it, you're all a bunch of whiny bitches.

Some guy becomes a millionaire on his own and because he made it that high up, he's SUPPOSED TO give away all his money?

Does it look like anyone else is helping these people besides the rich guy? If I were in need and some rich dude just gave me cash without question, I wouldn't be flipping out looking all angry at him because he didn't give me enough. I take what I can get.

How much of an *beep* do you have to be to EXPECT someone to give you a lot of money just because he's rich?


Seems a lot of you forget what decency is whenever you feel it is appropriate to forget.

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It bothers me too. These people are "Millionaires" and they're only giving out a few thousand here and there. Give me a break. James gives the mother and son $10,000 even though she doesn't receive any money for her time and her son only takes a small salary enough to survive. Then he gives the basketball coach $50,000 for the team and an additional $25,000 for himself. Don't get me wrong, I would love it if someone gave ME that kind of money but they're on this show to make life easier for people. Dig deaper into those pockets people. This is a tax deduction. You can afford more. And awwwwww, you have to live in these apartments/rooms that creep you out for ONE WEEK. What about those people who have to live there all of the time? Others would be happy to be able to afford the car you "had" to drive. PS: sassychica - this show is on ABC not FOX, at least by us.

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I don't think you understand how much $10,000 can do for a small organization. The people who agreed to take part in this "documentary" weren't expecting anything out of it. Whatever they received was a blessing.

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I don't think anyone is complaining that they are giving their money away. The problem with the show is you have people in the worst neighborhoods ever. Not only poverty, but violence also runs rampant. When the guy walks in and says "by the way, I'm a multi millionaire here's a check for 10k.", it really seems like a slap in the face. 10k isn't going to go very far because it's going to be taxed. Secondly (and this point was made above and was BRILLIANT), the money will also throw these people off on whatever they earn through government support (if they do at all). In which case, the money is just a substitute for what they could have gotten elsewhere, it's not really additional income that will help. If they are going to give money away, then at least make it a decent amount that can actually do something. I don't know what that amount is, but when you have millions, 10k is what you are making in interest in at least a month.

This is why I have a problem with these shows. Some of the people they give money/homes/cars/appliances to aren't educated enough to know that taxes need to be paid on what they get. So they spend or don't save and by year's end, what should have been a good thing has created gigantic problems.

I'm all for helping people, but sometimes throwing money at them isn't going to have the effect you're looking for.

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First off 10k wasn't a slap in the face. Secondly donations to a 501-c3 are not taxed. Thirdly the money wasn't given to most of the people personally. The coach got some personal money. I don't know how the money affected him. Urban Faith Works that received the 10k does not accept any state or federal funds so it has no bearing on them.

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Any money given to a regular person is taxed if over 3k, correct? I'm talking about giving the money to individual people, not to the organizations or charities.

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Any gift over 5k is taxed. However Tony, who is retired from the Navy, would receive his military pension regardless. Also unemployment wouldn't be affected, because he is still unemployed. The only thing that it would affect would be food stamps or welfare. However someone on a military pension wouldn't qualify for welfare anyway.

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If they really wanted to show their generosity, then give 10% of your net worth. In most religions that's what they ask for.To quote the bible "10% is mine sayeth the lord". Why not give 10% to help out people. I give 10% of my income to charities. Not that my 10% is as much as there's. But there ya go. 10% will not affect your lifestyle in the least unless you make minimum wage. My 2 cents.

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You mean your 0,002$.

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I wouldn't say most religions. A lot of Christians have latched onto that 10% number despite the lacking of a sound biblical backing. Also most churches don't say give 10% of your worth, they say give 10% of you income. If you everyday gave 10% of your net worth you would give nothing. Also there is no way to know how much they give to their church/charities that aren't on the show. It is highly possible that they give 10% and this is their extra giving.

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He was unemployed. If $25k is all he made that year, he's not paying any income tax at all. His standard deductions and exemptions will see to that.

http://masterofsopranos.wordpress.com/the-sopranos-definitive-explanat ion-of-the-end/

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When I first heard of the idea, I thought it's a great concept - let those "out of touch" millionaires come down from their ivory towers into the REAL LIFE, and work hard, and see how people actually, really suffer, and perhaps they will change their imperialistic, corporatist attitudes and loosen their greed a bit, and start understanding that they are not any better than anyone else, and that in fact, those working people might be sometimes nobler than any of their millionaire friends.

Perhaps they would understand that it's not a good idea to pump a country full of immigrants from troublesome countries that have dangerous and hostile ideologies that says the host country's denizens are less worthy than they are, when they actually have to LIVE downstairs to a bunch of very noisy 'foreigners' from poor countries that have come just to abuse the way-too-generos welfare, and get tens of thousands, where regular people (in this scenario, the millionaires) only get a thousand a month or less, that they have to somehow get by on.

When the millionaires themselves have to suffer the REAL-LIFE consequences of their 'idealistic' or agenda-ridden decisions, when they are woken up at 03 am to laughter of the 'people that just don't care about others', that comes through the metallic radiators of the badly designed, cheap buildings that they are forced to live in, and then have to endure heel-stomping for the rest of the noisy night, watch the carpets being flung against ordinances so far beyond the railing that the view from the millionaires' balcony is now partially blocked, when their laundry is taken out during their laundry turn, and so on..

.. AND SO ON ..

I figured, this would be a hoot, to see those millionaires finally have to struggle the 'average human's difficult life', and to become perhaps wiser for it.

I don't even care about any donations or non-donations - no one has the right to someone else's money, so any donation is always something that should be appreciated. If someone gives you a silvery cigarette-holder, are you going to throw it in their face and demand a golden cigarette-holder?

But this show wasn't anything like I envisioned; instead of showing the millionaires STRUGGLING and LEARNING how hard it is, and what greedy morons they have been hoarding all that money at the EXPENSE of the hard-working, innocent, good people - these moronic millionaires are shown to be SOOO good.

This show is slapping the viewer in the face by showing that these millionaires are THE BEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. They really CARE SO MUCH, and they WORK SO HARD for others, and yet, they keep their happy disposition and attitudes, and are oh, so involved, and such great human beings, we should all be donating THEM money.

That's basically what this show is about; WHITEWASHING the dirtiest scum on the planet.

The man of one ugly pair was told to be: "Chairman and CEO of a medical group, and medical management company."

Does anyone see anything wrong with that?

The TRUTH is, he is:

"The decision-maker of a pharmaceutical drug and neurotoxin-corporation that seeks to control and dominate people while making them permanently sick and dependent on unnatural, synthetic chemical compounds that always cause side-effects, one of which is death".

The VERY least he could have told it's a DRUG-CORPORATION, not a 'medical group' or 'medical management company'. How do you 'manage medical' anyway? What the heck does that mean?

And we are supposed to cheer for these monsters? Just look at them, they even LOOK like monsters - the hag tries to of course cover it with make-up, but look at her! Can you really imagine spending sweet, romantic, candlelight dinners with that horror-beast, or sit under a tree watching the sunset with her? Let alone something more intimate.

(For the brave, curious or foolhardy enough to want to watch that episode, it's the season three, episode thirteen)

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I haven't seen all the episodes, but...

Money given to charities won't be taxed. Money given for personal medical or education expenses won't be taxed either. And kids can get up to $5800 tax free each.

http://masterofsopranos.wordpress.com/the-sopranos-definitive-explanat ion-of-the-end/

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No tax deductions for any of the personal gifts, only those to 501(c) registered non profits.

http://masterofsopranos.wordpress.com/the-sopranos-definitive-explanat ion-of-the-end/

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You know what matters a WHOLE lot more than the real motivations or "sacrifices" of some of the millionaires? ... The fact that TRULY selfless, deserving people are getting life-changing help. If every rich person went out and did this for three non profits, amazing things would happen. Their reasons for doing it are really secondary. What inspires me so much about the show is the amazing people, usually with very little themselves, giving everything to the charities that are their life's work!

In addition though, one of the millionaires doesn't even work or own a business. He sold it, which is how he got rich, so he was promoting nothing at all and still did it. So... sure, for some it's pure publicity, but we should judge on a case-by-case basis, imo.

http://masterofsopranos.wordpress.com/the-sopranos-definitive-explanat ion-of-the-end/

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I wish more people would do what they can to help others.

If you don't think they're doing enough, do more yourself. A lot of these people made their own wealth through their own efforts, and they're not compelled to give ANY of it away. Once you hand out tens or hundreds of thousands of your own dollars, then feel free to get all self-righteous about others who give less.

In the meantime, I'm grateful to anyone who helps others in any way they can.

The show is more about the people helping than it is about the millionaires anyway, and it gives many small charities and nonprofits a venue to share their efforts.

I wish more television programs would highlight the efforts of people who are quietly doing what they can to improve the lives of others.

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