Yes, philanthropy is problematic for all the reasons state above (lack of public oversight over what should be public funds, the hand-out issue, the investment issue, etc).

What is ignored by this article and people's comments is the hidden purpose of philanthropy (I say hidden because most people don't see this). That is, charity's purpose is to give a human face to unfettered capitalism. The problem, in fact, is in government and not in either philanthropy or the business world. Businesses are doing just what their purpose is: make money. Foundations are doing what their purpose is: do what rich people with a bad conscience want them to.

The only way to solve the issue is to give people the ability to decide on their own development (either through government or some kind of alternative structure.

Finally, although I definitely agree that sustain dependency. The solution is not to 'teach a man (or woman) to fish'. Not only is that paternalistic, but it contributes to the belief that the free-market is inherently good and only need a little tweaking here and there. Rather, I'd like to think of the work I do with my nonprofit as: 'creating democratic spaces that enable peer-to-peer learning so that communities - who obviously have been fishing for thousands of years - can not only teach one another how to fish but also figure out the really pressing problem: why have they forgotten how to fish in the first place?'