Live data from Hacker News

Gates Makes Largest Donation Since 2000 with $4.6B Pledge

bloomberg.com

141–150 of 301 posts

Re: Gates Makes Largest Donation Since 2000 with $4.6B Pledge

#141

eradication of Malaria (1000 deaths daily, much more suffering and cost to society). If great efforts are made to eradicate diseases in an area that has historically been subjected to various diseases such that the local population has adopted the reproduction strategy of having large amounts of offspring to counter premature deaths, but upon eradication/reduction of said diseases there is significant delay in the ab…

You are talking about children dying... And you are also making the assumption that only Europe can contribute to innovation, and Africans can only be a burden on their neighbors and will never become contributors. I would agree that if the solving of a crisis like Malaria results in population growth, we need to plan on success and also focus on supporting infrastructure for those people. But I think you are saying…

I don't know if that was an intentional flattery tactic to get me to read your most more closely, but it worked, thanks, regardless.

I'm surprised if the post read as "more children dying is the obvious optimal path," that wasn't my intent.

I'm meaning to draw attention to the fact that if we are going to have outside interventions into societies that have drastic effects on those societies, then the outside interventions should include plans for all foreseeable(and vigilance in watching for unforeseeable) drastic effects they incur, be they in population structure, political structure, etc.

In this case birth control education seems a prudent corollary plan to disease eradication. But it's more of a thorny problem than just saying here read this book, take this class, take this pill, if these reproduction strategies are expressions of deeply ingrained genetic tendencies.

Certainly birth rate in the western world has declined, but there are lots of differences in the western world and Africa. Not least of which westerners never had outside interventions into their culture and environment of this nature.

Re: Gates Makes Largest Donation Since 2000 with $4.6B Pledge

#142

Although there are many cynics, it's quite remarkable the impact on the world donations can have. Here's what their foundation has actually been doing with the money: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Who-We-Are/Resources-and-Med... I wouldn't be surprised if private donations will eventually be responsible for the eradication of Malaria (1000 deaths daily, much more suffering and cost to society). If you're in tech yo…

Yet many want to 'solve' the problem of the 0.1% being so wealthy and as a result let the government do most of the charity work instead. I think this would be a huge mistake. The mega wealthy donate a larger percent of their income than any other income group (which makes complete sense). We would be losing a ton of donation money.

Yes this is a tangent. But I think its an important point to make. On top of that, even if it were true that most of the 0.1% are very wasteful spenders, there are some who's donations are irreplaceable with government charity. Irradiating the worlds malaria is an example of this. Getting rid of the wealth in the 0.1% would be a huge loss for important donations.

Re: Gates Makes Largest Donation Since 2000 with $4.6B Pledge

#143
post #134

"Think of the children". What a sad way to begin a rebuttal. Quite unfitting of HN. Speaking of empathy, can we have some for the European countries currently being invaded?

I would like to join ahakki in pointing out that I do not need your empathy.

How original.

Re: Gates Makes Largest Donation Since 2000 with $4.6B Pledge

#144

eradication of Malaria (1000 deaths daily, much more suffering and cost to society). If great efforts are made to eradicate diseases in an area that has historically been subjected to various diseases such that the local population has adopted the reproduction strategy of having large amounts of offspring to counter premature deaths, but upon eradication/reduction of said diseases there is significant delay in the ab…

Certainly, it is important to make efforts to be cognizant of negative ripple effects arising from even the most altruistic of endeavors, but it is also necessary to actually make decisions. The Horizon Effect[1] is unavoidable in situations like you are describing, but the most we can do is act conscientiously and avoid paralysis due to the inherent uncertainty that arises from our actions. I know this isn't the exact point you were raising, but reading in between your comment lies what I suspect is a hyper awareness of consequence, and I wanted to share my thoughts on that.

In response to the specific fear you mention, while this may be possible, I would consider it more important to successfully eliminate Malaria than to not do so for fear of the negative repercussions you raise. I think it is both more uncertain and more unlikely for those negative consequences to materialize in such a way that leaves humanity and leaders unable to respond adequately.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizon_effect

(edited for typos)

Re: Gates Makes Largest Donation Since 2000 with $4.6B Pledge

#145

Although there are many cynics, it's quite remarkable the impact on the world donations can have. Here's what their foundation has actually been doing with the money: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Who-We-Are/Resources-and-Med... I wouldn't be surprised if private donations will eventually be responsible for the eradication of Malaria (1000 deaths daily, much more suffering and cost to society). If you're in tech yo…

Yet many want to 'solve' the problem of the 0.1% being so wealthy and as a result let the government do most of the charity work instead. I think this would be a huge mistake. The mega wealthy donate a larger percent of their income than any other income group (which makes complete sense). We would be losing a ton of donation money. Yes this is a tangent. But I think its an important point to make. On top of that, ev…

I don't want to 'take it back.' But, I feel donations should not be tax deductible. Why should I subsidize anything someone feels is worth donating for?

Re: Gates Makes Largest Donation Since 2000 with $4.6B Pledge

#146

eradication of Malaria (1000 deaths daily, much more suffering and cost to society). If great efforts are made to eradicate diseases in an area that has historically been subjected to various diseases such that the local population has adopted the reproduction strategy of having large amounts of offspring to counter premature deaths, but upon eradication/reduction of said diseases there is significant delay in the ab…

"How dare these children live and cause me mild economic discomfort."

Re: Gates Makes Largest Donation Since 2000 with $4.6B Pledge

#147
post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet many want to 'solve' the problem of the 0.1% being so wealthy and as a result let the government do most of the charity work instead. I think this would be a huge mistake. The mega wealthy donate a larger percent of their income than any other income group (which makes complete sense). We would be losing a ton of donation money. Yes this is a tangent. But I think its an important point to make. On top of that, ev…

I don't want to 'take it back.' But, I feel donations should not be tax deductible. Why should I subsidize anything someone feels is worth donating for?

Well, only certain kinds of donations are tax deductible. You can donate $10,000 to me right now but you're not getting a penny back from the IRS if you do.

The bar to become a charity could be a lot higher but it's not exactly a rubber stamp.

Re: Gates Makes Largest Donation Since 2000 with $4.6B Pledge

#148
post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet many want to 'solve' the problem of the 0.1% being so wealthy and as a result let the government do most of the charity work instead. I think this would be a huge mistake. The mega wealthy donate a larger percent of their income than any other income group (which makes complete sense). We would be losing a ton of donation money. Yes this is a tangent. But I think its an important point to make. On top of that, ev…

I don't want to 'take it back.' But, I feel donations should not be tax deductible. Why should I subsidize anything someone feels is worth donating for?

I edited my comment. By take back I did not mean the current wealth from of the current generation of wealthy. But take-back over generations using very large marginal tax rates. E.g. 'solve' the problem of the 0.1% being so rich.

Re: Gates Makes Largest Donation Since 2000 with $4.6B Pledge

#149
post #133
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Capitalism as in the private accumulation of large sums of capital.

if you give away your large sums of capital, then it isn't the accumulation of large sums of capital anymore, and therefore isn't capitalism.

Charity is very much a part of capitalism, if you want it to be. That's sort of the point. The choice of being able to keep your money or donate v. the requirement to give away most/all of what you earn to the state.

Re: Gates Makes Largest Donation Since 2000 with $4.6B Pledge

#150

A different view on Gates' charity work: [1] Some highlights: "The first question concerns accountability... The Foundation is the main player in several global health partnerships and one of the single largest donors to the WHO. This gives it considerable leverage in shaping health policy priorities and intellectual norms..." "‘Depending on what side of bed Gates gets out of in the morning,’ he remarks, ‘it can shif…

Are you serious? This is almost too goofy to merit a response.

Yes, when a billionaire gives away billions of dollars he's not accountable to anybody else. Why the heck would he be? If he were, then he wouldn't have donated it in the first place but would have just "invested it" in a company he created and controlled.

There's no way to spin this where donating to a charity is more evil than what all the other .1%s do, hoard it.

Post reply on HN