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AMA: Bill Gates

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Re: AMA: Bill Gates

#31

Post by qpery »

kilo_bravo_3 wrote: post #28
kome wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in other words, war is dangerous and he pays too little tax. i think too they are platitudes.

What is an example of a response to a question that wouldn't be a platitude? Big-G tells me that "platitude" means: a remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful. He was asked: What do you think the greatest threat to humanity is at this moment? And responded: There are some things that aren't likely but we should worry about - nuclear bombs a…

I don't know if they are platitudes but they just sound like some generic PR drivel. Take from that what you will.

Re: AMA: Bill Gates

#32

Post by pwthornton »

briandear wrote: post #26
creato wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I skimmed the AMA for a few minutes, and saw him say that: - He thought nuclear weapons, bioterrorism, and climate change were the biggest threats to humanity. - He thought paying $10B in capital gains taxes was not enough and he should have paid more. Maybe those are platitudes but it's real enough for me.

It is a platitude when someone like Gates says they want more taxes because, the Treasury has a means for anyone to send a check for whatever amount they want. If he wants to write a $2b check to the treasury, he could do that today. What he is really saying is that other people should be required to pay more taxes — or alternatively, it’s just an empty platitude to endear himself with leftist anti-rich intellectuals…

Because micro solutions to macro problems never work.

Gates could pay his entire net worth into the treasury and it does not fix a fundamentally broken system.

Gates is commenting on how the ultra rich like him make most of their money from capital gains, which are not taxed at normal income tax rates. If capital gains were simply taxed like income taxes, it would be a huge blow against income inequality this country is facing.

Because capital gains are taxed differently, the ultra rich will continue to have their compensation geared towards stock, and away from income.

Gates is looking to change an unfair system. He alone can't do that.

It is not hypocritical for Gates to ask for macro solutions to macro problems.

Re: AMA: Bill Gates

#33

Post by keithwhor »

marricks wrote: post #24

I feel like every other month Gates guest edits the Verge or has an interview there. Or I see his annual letter all over LinkedIn, or an AMA... He gets so much exposure I imagine because he’s a “good billionaire trying to fix the world.” I guess it’s the most we can hope for these days from our growing class of ultra wealthy, but I really don’t think that means they should get the right to shout their opinions at us…

This is the strangest get off my lawn comment I’ve read on HN. The internet doesn’t belong to you, and what spreads around generally operates around a free market of ideas and opinions.

It turns out a lot of people are interested in the thoughts of a prolific philanthropist and founding father of the modern software industry. He’s not “deserving” of anything, there’s just an n >> 0 market demand for, well, his ideas and opinions.

Re: AMA: Bill Gates

#34

Post by reaperducer »

aglavine wrote: post #27
marricks wrote: post #24

I feel like every other month Gates guest edits the Verge or has an interview there. Or I see his annual letter all over LinkedIn, or an AMA... He gets so much exposure I imagine because he’s a “good billionaire trying to fix the world.” I guess it’s the most we can hope for these days from our growing class of ultra wealthy, but I really don’t think that means they should get the right to shout their opinions at us…

You'll be surprised how many people ignore Gates Foundation's deep involvement on ending Polio

It's at least as any as the number of people who ignore the way George W. Bush is hailed as a hero for his work stemming the tide of AIDS in Africa.

https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/04/george-w-bushs...

Re: AMA: Bill Gates

#35

Post by walrus01 »

aglavine wrote: post #27
marricks wrote: post #24

I feel like every other month Gates guest edits the Verge or has an interview there. Or I see his annual letter all over LinkedIn, or an AMA... He gets so much exposure I imagine because he’s a “good billionaire trying to fix the world.” I guess it’s the most we can hope for these days from our growing class of ultra wealthy, but I really don’t think that means they should get the right to shout their opinions at us…

You'll be surprised how many people ignore Gates Foundation's deep involvement on ending Polio

The problem with ending polio is primarily with religious fundamentalists in Pakistan, who spread rumors that all western-funded vaccination programs are a secret plot by the CIA to sterilize people, or some similar nonsense.

https://ourworldindata.org/polio

Re: AMA: Bill Gates

#36

Post by marricks »

aglavine wrote: post #27
marricks wrote: post #24

I feel like every other month Gates guest edits the Verge or has an interview there. Or I see his annual letter all over LinkedIn, or an AMA... He gets so much exposure I imagine because he’s a “good billionaire trying to fix the world.” I guess it’s the most we can hope for these days from our growing class of ultra wealthy, but I really don’t think that means they should get the right to shout their opinions at us…

You'll be surprised how many people ignore Gates Foundation's deep involvement on ending Polio

As a complete novice on the subject all I know (and have heard) was the Gates Foundation was involved in ending Polio and it was Bill’s pet project.

I’m sure other people were involved but I have no clue who because the media loves focusing on one face for an effort because it’s easier than representing the diverse group required to tackle such an issue.

Re: AMA: Bill Gates

#37

Post by metabagel »

briandear wrote: post #26
creato wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I skimmed the AMA for a few minutes, and saw him say that: - He thought nuclear weapons, bioterrorism, and climate change were the biggest threats to humanity. - He thought paying $10B in capital gains taxes was not enough and he should have paid more. Maybe those are platitudes but it's real enough for me.

It is a platitude when someone like Gates says they want more taxes because, the Treasury has a means for anyone to send a check for whatever amount they want. If he wants to write a $2b check to the treasury, he could do that today. What he is really saying is that other people should be required to pay more taxes — or alternatively, it’s just an empty platitude to endear himself with leftist anti-rich intellectuals…

You might think he's being disingenuous, but that's still not a platitude.

https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=platitude

Re: AMA: Bill Gates

#38

Post by what_ever »

pastor_elm wrote: post #11
i_cant_speel wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What non-answers are you referring to? Most of the ones I read were responded with what the askers were wanting to know. They might get repetitive, but that's because people ask the same questions all the time.

He didn't really answer the billionaire happiness question.

He seems to have answered this one - https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/aunv58/im_bill_gates_...

Doesn't feel like a non-answer as well.

Re: AMA: Bill Gates

#39

Post by Barrin92 »

keithwhor wrote: post #33
marricks wrote: post #24

I feel like every other month Gates guest edits the Verge or has an interview there. Or I see his annual letter all over LinkedIn, or an AMA... He gets so much exposure I imagine because he’s a “good billionaire trying to fix the world.” I guess it’s the most we can hope for these days from our growing class of ultra wealthy, but I really don’t think that means they should get the right to shout their opinions at us…

This is the strangest get off my lawn comment I’ve read on HN. The internet doesn’t belong to you, and what spreads around generally operates around a free market of ideas and opinions. It turns out a lot of people are interested in the thoughts of a prolific philanthropist and founding father of the modern software industry. He’s not “deserving” of anything, there’s just an n >> 0 market demand for, well, his ideas…

>operates around a free market of ideas and opinions.

this is not really much of a market, free or otherwise. Public philanthropy, which is highly managed and personalised has more to do with gilded age ventures than with markets.

And you are starting to see this lack of distribution and local management when you look at some of the larger missteps in philanthropy, for example Zuckerbergs 100 million Newark school project.

Right from the start experts and local leaders were arguing that it wasn't going to be effective, but billionaire philanthropy crowds out local decision-making in favour of often emotional decisions of single individuals.

If you want a market don't have celebrities distribute money in activist fashion, but redistribute it and move it to more institutions and individuals.Billionaires with committees and boards and agendas resemble the proverbial soviet planner with a clipoard more than they do ... actual markets.

Re: AMA: Bill Gates

#40

Post by cooperadymas »

marricks wrote: post #24

I feel like every other month Gates guest edits the Verge or has an interview there. Or I see his annual letter all over LinkedIn, or an AMA... He gets so much exposure I imagine because he’s a “good billionaire trying to fix the world.” I guess it’s the most we can hope for these days from our growing class of ultra wealthy, but I really don’t think that means they should get the right to shout their opinions at us…

I'm baffled by this comment in so, so many ways.

Everybody has the "right to shout their opinions at us from every corner of the web." That's one of the incredible things about the web.

And of course being a successful, well-liked billionaire buys you privilege and a greater audience!

Why is any of this considered shouting? It's certainly not being shoved down your throat. You're not being harassed by a constant barrage of "Bill Gates" ads on every site you visit, or spam emails promoting his AMA. What made you take it as an affront?

Who would you rather fill the Internet with content than a billionaire who is trying to fix the world?

Should Gates just stop producing content now that he's a billionaire simply because it might annoy a few people?

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