That is not the name of Bono's organization, but perhaps it should be. The NYT devoted an article to the Irish rock star's complaints about “a particular crisis of credibility” among wealthy countries who have not carried though on their commitments to help poor countries. Such words are especially ironic coming from Bono. He became a Dutch citizen a few years back to take advantage of a provision in the Netherlands tax code that applies a very low tax rate to royalty income. It is good to see the NYT devoting attention to the important issue of helping the world's poor, but there are many individuals and organizations that are engaged in this task who both have more expertise than Bono and don't have the same issues of credibility. The space probably could have been better used presenting the views of Joe Stiglitz or Jeffrey Sachs or Doctors Without Borders, rather than a multi-millionaire rock star who apparently believes that others should pay the taxes for what he considers an important moral committment. NOTE: I stand corrected on Bono's change of citizenship. He established a Netherlands' based corporation that owns the rights to his music. This allows him to pay a much lower tax rate on royalties. However, he remains an Irish citizen (thanks Steve). Whether this tax evasion scheme makes him ineffective as an anti-poverty pitchman is an empirical matter. Clearly Bono had been very effective. Whether he will be in the future remains to be seen. Note that the article is about his complaints that rich countries aren't carrying through on their commitments. I am not sure that he is helping to increase the probability that they will.
--Dean Baker
