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August 10, 2010; Source: Spiegel | This interesting interview with Peter Kramer, a German billionaire who objects to the Buffet/Gates challenge, puts forward an alternative and somewhat unflattering view of that effort, claiming that it runs counter to the democratically legitimate state. NPQ has raised this issue in previous Newswires—some have voiced concern that the infusion of massive amounts of money into government systems may result in undue influence being exerted by those with enormous wealth. Says Kramer, “It is all just a bad transfer of power from the state to billionaires. So it’s not the state that determines what is good for the people, but rather the rich want to decide. That’s a development that I find really bad. What legitimacy do these people have to decide where massive sums of money will flow?”—Ruth McCambridge