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Ask HN: Why are billionaires not giving more money away?

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Re: Ask HN: Why are billionaires not giving more money away?

#11

Post by Mz »

horatiocain wrote: post #10
Mz wrote: post #7

Helping out where their money really can make big difference. First do no harm. We don't necessarily know what works. We have rich folks who are pro UBI and that ticks me off. I don't think it is a good solution. I think it just helps salve their guilt at helping to destroy jobs. I don't want their guilt salved. I want them to focus on redistributing work. We should view the trend towards automation as the Second Ind…

You were homeless for nearly 6 years and now you're posting on hackernews that you think UBI is a much worse solution than the "Second Industrial Revolution"? Honestly

That's a very classist remark. It implies that having been poor completely nullifies the value of my opinions.

I mentioned being homeless as shorthand for "I used to go to homeless services, so when I say that most of them suck, that is firsthand testimony." I have also had a college class on homelessness and public policy, I have six years of college, yadda.

Re: Ask HN: Why are billionaires not giving more money away?

#12

Post by foobarchu »

CodeKommissar wrote: post #6
Finnucane wrote: post #4

I'm going to guess that what the question is referring to is not random charitable donations, but large projects in the old Rockefeller/Carnegie mold. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have done this, but not too many others. Eli Broad has dedicated major funding for medical research. Peter Thiel seems to be determined to destroy society. I guess it depends on how much the feel themselves to be a part of society, and want…

> Peter Thiel seems to be determined to destroy society. Lmao, why do you say this? Besides being Pro-Trump (which is pretty bad), does he have an active role in any ventures that makes you think he wants to destroy society?

Not OP, but part of it is probably his (successful) attempt to shut down a journalism outlet that he had a personal beef with by bankrupting them with proxy lawsuits. Free press, no matter how much you may not like the stuff an outlet chooses to focus on, is an important part of free democracy, and when billionaires can essentially just lay siege over non-legal matters I consider it an active attempt to erode modern society.

Re: Ask HN: Why are billionaires not giving more money away?

#13

Post by superbrama »

horatiocain wrote: post #10
Mz wrote: post #7

Helping out where their money really can make big difference. First do no harm. We don't necessarily know what works. We have rich folks who are pro UBI and that ticks me off. I don't think it is a good solution. I think it just helps salve their guilt at helping to destroy jobs. I don't want their guilt salved. I want them to focus on redistributing work. We should view the trend towards automation as the Second Ind…

You were homeless for nearly 6 years and now you're posting on hackernews that you think UBI is a much worse solution than the "Second Industrial Revolution"? Honestly

This remark reeks of ignorance and classism.

Someone homeless for a long period of time is likely to have valid input on topics such as neo-socialism. Their views are arguably going to be more relevant than what you may be able to share (assuming you’ve never been homeless for any non trivial length of time nor spent a lot of time directly working with homeless folks).

Re: Ask HN: Why are billionaires not giving more money away?

#14

Post by CryptoPunk »

shubhamjain wrote: post #5

I wrote about this a while back [1]. Thinking that more charitable donations will create more upliftment is a false premise. Don't get me wrong, charities do serve a function. But most of the human suffering emanates from greedy politics, corruption, and dumb policies. Most of the world problems can't be solved with capital alone. Poor African countries, for instance, have received trillion dollars in aid, and yet be…

I haven't watched it yet, but Poverty Inc is a documentary that makes the case that aid does more harm than good:

https://www.povertyinc.org

Re: Ask HN: Why are billionaires not giving more money away?

#15

Post by oligopoly »

shubhamjain wrote: post #5

I wrote about this a while back [1]. Thinking that more charitable donations will create more upliftment is a false premise. Don't get me wrong, charities do serve a function. But most of the human suffering emanates from greedy politics, corruption, and dumb policies. Most of the world problems can't be solved with capital alone. Poor African countries, for instance, have received trillion dollars in aid, and yet be…

Often the aid does more harm than good and actually keeps the very people in position of power that are corrupt.

The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics[0] examines the very phenomenon.

[0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11612989-the-dictator-s-...

Re: Ask HN: Why are billionaires not giving more money away?

#16

Post by bodegajed »

Money won't be helpful. It will just go to corruption. The premise that if poor countries will just imitate the west, not be corrupt and be smart, then poverty will go away is ignorant thinking. And if this happens Europe and America will never have illegal immigrants again I hear that a lot sad to say. While I'm not poor but I grew up in a poor neighborhood. I could say that if these billionaires adopt more of my destitute childhood he gets a good education not only from academic but also from the parents it could be a life changing charity. Rather than throwing money on to corrupt organizations.

Re: Ask HN: Why are billionaires not giving more money away?

#17

Post by charlesdm »

Mz wrote: post #7

Helping out where their money really can make big difference. First do no harm. We don't necessarily know what works. We have rich folks who are pro UBI and that ticks me off. I don't think it is a good solution. I think it just helps salve their guilt at helping to destroy jobs. I don't want their guilt salved. I want them to focus on redistributing work. We should view the trend towards automation as the Second Ind…

> First do no harm. We don't necessarily know what works. We have rich folks who are pro UBI and that ticks me off. I don't think it is a good solution. I think it just helps salve their guilt at helping to destroy jobs.

Rich people don't destroy jobs, efficiency / innovation / increases in productivity destroy jobs. Society doesn't need jobs that are no longer required, and it makes no sense to pay people for things that can easily be done by a machine.

Now, that said, the problem you describe is real and it is an issue. But I don't know what a viable solution aside from a properly implemented UBI would be.

Re: Ask HN: Why are billionaires not giving more money away?

#18

Post by Mz »

charlesdm wrote: post #17
Mz wrote: post #7

Helping out where their money really can make big difference. First do no harm. We don't necessarily know what works. We have rich folks who are pro UBI and that ticks me off. I don't think it is a good solution. I think it just helps salve their guilt at helping to destroy jobs. I don't want their guilt salved. I want them to focus on redistributing work. We should view the trend towards automation as the Second Ind…

> First do no harm. We don't necessarily know what works. We have rich folks who are pro UBI and that ticks me off. I don't think it is a good solution. I think it just helps salve their guilt at helping to destroy jobs. Rich people don't destroy jobs, efficiency / innovation / increases in productivity destroy jobs. Society doesn't need jobs that are no longer required, and it makes no sense to pay people for things…

The first industrial revolution shortened work weeks, in part to redistribute work. People worked really long hours. That was the norm. With automation, unemployment levels rose while those with jobs continued to work inhumanely long hours. Then people pushed for the 40 hour work week.

I think we can again work to lighten the burden of work for the average worker without disenfranchising large numbers of people.

I used to write about that on my old blog, but I probably won't continue to write about it. Here is at least a partial list of those writings:

http://micheleincalifornia.blogspot.com/p/ir2.html

Re: Ask HN: Why are billionaires not giving more money away?

#20

Post by megadethz »

I would argue that allocating the capital wisely and creating jobs is more valuable than giving it away to charity. Being a billionaire opens up the floodgates to get people to listen to you and to have a meaningful impact on the world. I'd lose respect if Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates decided to stop investing their money in game changing ideas and just donated it.
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