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Gates Makes Largest Donation Since 2000 with $4.6B Pledge

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

#191

Post by TTPrograms »

grandalf wrote: post #189

I have a lot more respect for someone like Elon Musk who invests his money back into new ideas than someone who simply gives most of it away to charity. Malaria, low literacy rates, etc., are the byproducts of failed political systems and corruption. Musk's impact on electric vehicle technology will drain a great deal of despotism from the middle east as dependence on oil wanes, far more effectively than any philanth…

Bill Gates is also applying his money where he thinks it will have the most impact - their foundation often invests in new technologies and startups whose products will have the greatest impact per dollar. If Gates and Musk are both working to maximize impact their difference is who they focus on. Gates primarily focuses on the most impoverished on the planet, while Musk focuses on the first world (and indirectly the most impoverished due to the effects on climate change).

Saying that the Gates Foundation does not reinvest into new ideas that maximize impact does a great disservice to what is one of most effective and effectiveness-oriented philanthropic organizations on the planet.

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

#192

Post by JumpCrisscross »

randyrand wrote: post #142
braydenm wrote: post #68

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…

There's a difference between someone who went from upper middle class to billionaire, like Gates, and someone who inherited most of their wealth, like other people. I don't think lumping them together into a monolithic N% is productive for purposes of discussing policy.

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

#193

Post by grandalf »

TTPrograms wrote: post #191
grandalf wrote: post #189

I have a lot more respect for someone like Elon Musk who invests his money back into new ideas than someone who simply gives most of it away to charity. Malaria, low literacy rates, etc., are the byproducts of failed political systems and corruption. Musk's impact on electric vehicle technology will drain a great deal of despotism from the middle east as dependence on oil wanes, far more effectively than any philanth…

Bill Gates is also applying his money where he thinks it will have the most impact - their foundation often invests in new technologies and startups whose products will have the greatest impact per dollar. If Gates and Musk are both working to maximize impact their difference is who they focus on. Gates primarily focuses on the most impoverished on the planet, while Musk focuses on the first world (and indirectly the…

Impact in terms of what? Alleviating suffering or helping to fix the institutions whose brokenness has let the problems fester?

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

#194

Post by ZirconCode »

grandalf wrote: post #189

I have a lot more respect for someone like Elon Musk who invests his money back into new ideas than someone who simply gives most of it away to charity. Malaria, low literacy rates, etc., are the byproducts of failed political systems and corruption. Musk's impact on electric vehicle technology will drain a great deal of despotism from the middle east as dependence on oil wanes, far more effectively than any philanth…

Gates doesn't simply give his money to charity.

I would argue that in terms of doing good, investing money in concrete and well founded technology causes a larger impact. We can already eradicate diseases, we can already end world hunger. We can make so many miracles come true, what good is it to create further miracles if only the very few ever get to have them?

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

#195

Post by bluthru »

burkaman wrote: post #190
canoebuilder wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You raise some worthy questions, particularly, Is there no room for population expansion in Africa? with which I would be happy to engage, but without knowing that we are operating on the same baseline level of reality, I'm hesitant to do so. Why would people start leaving Africa, and why would it be a problem if they did? Are you completely unaware of events that have been transpiring in Europe the past couple years…

But I don't think it makes sense to compare population expansion to a refugee crisis. People leaving Africa right now are being forced out by war and violence, most of them aren't choosing to leave. In your hypothetical, I assume people are leaving for economic and social reasons, normal motivations for voluntary immigration. I don't think the refugee crisis will continue forever, and I don't think malaria eradicatio…

>People leaving Africa right now are being forced out by war and violence, most of them aren't choosing to leave.

That was probably true in the past, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore:

"The UN has said that seven in 10 people crossing the Mediterranean from Libya are economic migrants and the rest are 'people in need of protection' like refugees and asylum-seekers."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4661866/amp/UN-says-...

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/12FDB/production...

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

#196

Post by TTPrograms »

grandalf wrote: post #193
TTPrograms wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bill Gates is also applying his money where he thinks it will have the most impact - their foundation often invests in new technologies and startups whose products will have the greatest impact per dollar. If Gates and Musk are both working to maximize impact their difference is who they focus on. Gates primarily focuses on the most impoverished on the planet, while Musk focuses on the first world (and indirectly the…

Impact in terms of what? Alleviating suffering or helping to fix the institutions whose brokenness has let the problems fester?

Alleviating suffering over the long term, which includes fixing institutions when it's appropriate.

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

#197

Post by canoebuilder »

burkaman wrote: post #190
canoebuilder wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You raise some worthy questions, particularly, Is there no room for population expansion in Africa? with which I would be happy to engage, but without knowing that we are operating on the same baseline level of reality, I'm hesitant to do so. Why would people start leaving Africa, and why would it be a problem if they did? Are you completely unaware of events that have been transpiring in Europe the past couple years…

But I don't think it makes sense to compare population expansion to a refugee crisis. People leaving Africa right now are being forced out by war and violence, most of them aren't choosing to leave. In your hypothetical, I assume people are leaving for economic and social reasons, normal motivations for voluntary immigration. I don't think the refugee crisis will continue forever, and I don't think malaria eradicatio…

People leaving Africa right now are being forced out by war and violence, most of them aren't choosing to leave.

As respectfully as possible, this is completely wrong.

https://www.google.com/search?q=migrant+crisis+economic

I phrased this a little wrong, the source of the current refugee crisis is mostly not Africa, but my point is that the societal disruption you're referring to is not caused by voluntary immigration.

Not even the majority of unauthorized border crossers into Europe are from Syria. Once again with all due respect, these are very definitely voluntary actions on the part of the border crossers.

Check out this article from 2 years ago, even then it wasn't primarily Syrians.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/07/closing...

The migrants come from a vast swath of Africa and the Middle East, spanning not only war-torn Syria (in the first four months of 2015, Syrians accounted for just 30 percent of those crossing the sea) but also Nigeria and the Gambia and Eritrea and Somalia and Mali.

The migrants who embark upon this journey are typically represented as terrorized and impoverished—as people driven (to quote Amnesty International) “to risk their lives in treacherous sea crossings in a desperate attempt to reach safety in Europe.” The demographic and economic facts complicate that story. When populations flee war or famine, they generally flee together: the elderly and the infants, women as well as men. The current migrants, however, are overwhelmingly working-age males. All of them have paid a substantial price to make the trip: it can cost upwards of $2,000 to board a smuggler’s boat, to say nothing of hundreds or even thousands of dollars to travel from home to the embarkation point in the first place. Very few of the migrants from Libya are actually Libyan nationals.

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

#198

Post by JustAnotherPat »

braydenm wrote: post #68

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…

Malaria will be eradicated by CRISPR if anything. It's almost a waste to try and fully eliminate it any other way.

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

#199

Post by jdavis703 »

seattle_spring wrote: post #72
Alupis wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Feeney is known for his frugality, living in a rented apartment Seems like renting isn't that frugal in the long-term though... it's unlikely cheaper long-term than owning a condo or small home, ie. you're either paying your own mortgage or someone else's mortgage + rental profits.

San Francisco has insane rent control. He's probably paying something like $300/mo if he's been there for decades.

They also have insane tax control. If you've been in your house for decades you pay a far lower tax rate than your neighbors. There are too many people without skin in the housing market game, we should get rid of both Proposition 13 and rent control and let everyone feel the pain of what happens when you don't build enough houses.

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

#200

Post by tankerdude »

Retric wrote: post #171
randyrand wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Confiscating wealth is counter productive. But, so is a large group with unearned wealth where nobody they know actually earned anything. IMO, the balance point is setting things up so the default is wealth is not maintained across several generations (3+), even though it can be passed down 1 or 2 generations and can be maintained with care past that point. PS: I say this with many wealthy friends and family. It's su…

The sad part is that that's what is happening in the world today. The rich, when they fund their money correctly, stay rich due to tax policy, gray areas, and loopholes. (Insurance polices as one example for the ultra rich.)

If we don't tax people when they pass away, the money goes straight to their kids, and then a permanent upper class forms and we know what happened to France...

The US has been about meritocracy, and not an aristocracy. But people want to change that, to the detriment of the country, IMO.

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