"All lives have equal value"
I hope one day all governments across the world operate with this principle.
Gates foundation is doing some amazing work. Looking forward to their contribution in the coming years.
Warren Buffett’s Best Investment
81–90 of 212 posts
Re: Warren Buffett’s Best Investment
#82Nice On the opposite number side, I hope they can help to find ways to reduce the population growth. It is unsustainable, especially in Africa and Arabic countries. (Pity one cannot just implement a China-like one child policy:))
You didn't read the link, did you.
I say that because one of its topics is promoting contraception.
Or perhaps you did read the link, and decided to pretend that it hadn't talked about contraception.
Re: Warren Buffett’s Best Investment
#83You know, we get a fair number of commenters here at HN who are cynical about the world, who say everyone with any power is corrupt, things are getting worse, and there is nothing you can do about it.
Whenever someone like that shows up, perhaps we can refer them to this letter.
Re: Warren Buffett’s Best Investment
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are a lot of Catholics on the conservative side of things, and contraception has been verboten to Catholics since the early days ("sex is for making babies, not fun" is the company line)
This is quite false. Catholics split the democrat/republican vote ~50/50. They voted for Gore, Bush, Obama, and Trump with small margins. [1] They care about this question, but not very much. Evangelicals, on the other hand overwhelmingly vote republican. Catholics, in general, are the most liberal religious denomination in the US. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/09/how-the-fait...
'Most liberal religious denomination' is a great measure. It's somewhere up there with the 'least nepotistic monarchy'.
Re: Warren Buffett’s Best Investment
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder how much of this particular philanthropy is just giving back money that those countries spent? I.e. Microsoft licences, or balance of trade with the donor countries? A kind of benevolent taxation?
I'd be more fearful of corruption in those countries. This is where so much foreign aid falls apart, it's siezed by the government, distributed to their favored constituents, and never makes it to the people who really need it.
See: United States.
Re: Warren Buffett’s Best Investment
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why would I ever want Zuckerberg as president? Why would I want any of these intelligent, but unqualified people as president? Trump has about the same qualifications. Look at that so far.
(I'm not trying to be partisan here even though it might appear to be) I don't think it is possible for anyone to have the kind of broad and deep qualifications to be POTUS at any age, much less thirty five. This is one job which effectively requires on the job training and (I imagine) lots of delegating. Sorry if this sounds partisan. It isn't my intention. I'm not saying this as anything in defense of or in opposit…
> This is one job which effectively requires on the job training and (I imagine) lots of delegating.
Do you mean that it should require that? It certainly didn't last year. I lack your 'fair and balanced' approach.
Re: Warren Buffett’s Best Investment
#87I find Gates' lack of focus on environmental issues disheartening. I know he does invest in clean energy and feels strongly about climate change, but this doesn't really do anything to prevent deforestation NOW. I know that bringing people out of poverty may have a side-effect of improving some environmental parameters, but it also makes whole swathes of people start demanding more meat, more palm oil, more cars, mor…
I am so tired of the "yeah that's nice but what about X" posts on the internet. This foundation focuses on making life better for poor children and that's a worthwhile thing to focus on.
If you actually read the full text of the post you'd see that they're simultaneously reducing the infant mortality rate while increasing access to family-planning education and contraceptives... these are all things that actually tend to REDUCE population growth in developing nations.
So the one argument you came here to have isn't even true... and even if it was you're suggesting that we'd be better off if more poor children died, which is just some shitty roundabout eugenics.
Maybe spend your time advocating on environmental issues instead of shitposting about it.
Re: Warren Buffett’s Best Investment
#88It's hard not to be impressed by what the Gates Foundation is doing. I don't think they get the full recognition they deserve sometimes, maybe because much of their work is abroad in the poorest countries in the world. Hard to fathom the number of people out there in the world thankful and who owe their lives to the foundation choosing to help their community or their cause. With that said and not to diminish the goo…
Instead of corporate or national concerns, his view is global. This is the perspective of the king of the world - or god.
Like Rockefeller, everyone loves him (now).
Lots of people work for his vision, perhaps more than as MS ceo.
No taxes.
For the richest man in the world, it's possibly the only step up.
Re: Warren Buffett’s Best Investment
#89I wish Bill or Warren would have run for presidency as an "outsider" instead of Trump. I guess our only hope will be their successor Mark (Zuckerberg)
While I applaud Bill Gates for his philanthropic work, I would be extremely doubtful of him if he decided to run for public office. His behavior during Microsoft antitrust trial wasn't exactly awe inspiring.
Re: Warren Buffett’s Best Investment
#90I wish Bill or Warren would have run for presidency as an "outsider" instead of Trump. I guess our only hope will be their successor Mark (Zuckerberg)
I can't help but shudder at the thought of the dystopian future that leads to a Zuckerberg presidency.
think of all the denied pluralities-to-be; those poor, slighted real estate tycoons. It's not hard to argue we're already in that simulation - first it starts with FB trialling their electioneering-algo with Trump as a proof-of-concept. Then once they work out all the kinks, initiate stage 2, reusing the mechanism!