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Why I’m Going to India

thegatesnotes.com

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Re: Why I’m Going to India

#51

Post by jlgreco »

cinquemb wrote: post #43
dwc wrote: post #28

What's up with HN lately? It seems like being contrary to contrarian is the new thing these days. Bill Gates is someone I admired at first, because he built something huge from humble beginnings. Then I reviled him for the damage I saw him cause to the industry. Then I admired him again for the global effect he managed. He is a single person trying to do the best he knows how for humanity at large. If anyone thinks r…

I wonder if people would be as vocal if he decided to buy a private island… Buy a private island, few care and those who might, will most likely fawn in amazement. Decide to take an interest in helping human beings you might not identify/associate with, welcome to the "The White-Savior Industrial Complex"[0]. [0]: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the...

If he bought a private island instead of doing the charity stuff, then I imagine people would be less vocal just because he would be in the news far less often. Were he to do both, I doubt people would be less vocal. I mean, the guy has got plenty of yachts right? I don't see why an island would be much different.

Dean Kamen bought an island. Few know, even fewer care, and I would say that even fewer fawn in amazement. And he acts outlandish with it! People would care even less about more dull island owners.

Re: Why I’m Going to India

#52

Post by mturmon »

MartinCron wrote: post #19
sharkweek wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It took me a while to understand this thinking but deep down I end up agreeing -- this "billionaire with a heart of gold" is far too familiar to the old thought of "I hope the king is just." We far too often end up with billionaires using their money to fund an art museum or ballet for rich people in the name of charity ( http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_... ). Living in Seattle, I have sev…

We far too often end up with billionaires using their money to fund an art museum or ballet for billionaires in the name of charity You seem to imply that there's something wrong with funding art museums or ballet... The world needs beauty in it, and if people choose to support the arts in a way from which we all benefit, that's great.

Whether art or disease prevention, applying resources over time in a serious and committed way is probably going to be a big help. The BMGF seems to be doing just that.

It's not just about the money. It's about applying it thoughtfully over a period of time.

Re: Why I’m Going to India

#53

Post by mynameishere »

MartinCron wrote: post #19
sharkweek wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It took me a while to understand this thinking but deep down I end up agreeing -- this "billionaire with a heart of gold" is far too familiar to the old thought of "I hope the king is just." We far too often end up with billionaires using their money to fund an art museum or ballet for rich people in the name of charity ( http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_... ). Living in Seattle, I have sev…

We far too often end up with billionaires using their money to fund an art museum or ballet for billionaires in the name of charity You seem to imply that there's something wrong with funding art museums or ballet... The world needs beauty in it, and if people choose to support the arts in a way from which we all benefit, that's great.

The world needs beauty

Platitudes don't make for a very good argument. How about this: "What if all the aristocrats who sponsored Mozart had pissed it away so that people in Bombay had cleaner latrines?" Exactly. Total waste.

Re: Why I’m Going to India

#54

Post by adamdavis »

[deleted] wrote: post #49
dwc wrote: post #28

What's up with HN lately? It seems like being contrary to contrarian is the new thing these days. Bill Gates is someone I admired at first, because he built something huge from humble beginnings. Then I reviled him for the damage I saw him cause to the industry. Then I admired him again for the global effect he managed. He is a single person trying to do the best he knows how for humanity at large. If anyone thinks r…

[deleted]

Have you considered that perhaps he spent his career as ruthless business man as a means to an end? It's hard to make any serious change when you're at the bottom of the totem pole, or even halfway up for that matter.

Re: Why I’m Going to India

#55

Post by dwc »

[deleted] wrote: post #49
dwc wrote: post #28

What's up with HN lately? It seems like being contrary to contrarian is the new thing these days. Bill Gates is someone I admired at first, because he built something huge from humble beginnings. Then I reviled him for the damage I saw him cause to the industry. Then I admired him again for the global effect he managed. He is a single person trying to do the best he knows how for humanity at large. If anyone thinks r…

[deleted]

I don't personally know Gates, and I doubt I ever will. If all I have to go by are his deeds (and that's the case), then he's done a lot of good. He could have bought himself huge truckloads of goodwill, much easier than some of the things he's chosen to focus on.

Re: Why I’m Going to India

#56

Post by natrius »

MartinCron wrote: post #33
sharkweek wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely agree that we need beauty -- I love the concept of funding the arts, but there have to be priorities and we should not rely on the rich to make decisions like this in the name of charity. I quoted it lower in the thread, but I LOVE the poem by Gil Scott-Heron "Whitey on the moon" -- "A rat done bit my sister Nell, with Whitey on the moon"

A civilized society doesn't rely on the generosity of philanthropists in order to take care of the most vulnerable among us. We all pay taxes to keep the rats off sister Nell. How anyone (including the super-wealthy) choose to prioritize how they spend and give away their money, it absolutely is their choice. I personally think Bill Gates has done a better job than almost anyone.

"A civilized society doesn't rely on the generosity of philanthropists in order to take care of the most vulnerable among us."

I don't understand this sort of logic. One of the hallmarks of civilization is people doing the right thing even when they aren't forced to. People marvel at the fact that you can lose your wallet in Japan and get it back without anything missing. Yet you're saying that using force to provide for the needy is somehow more civilized than people doing it voluntarily?

In a civilized society, we'd be able to solve our social problems without forcing people to do it. I'm not sure how we get there, but that's the society I'd rather live in.

Re: Why I’m Going to India

#57

Post by dmethvin »

marcosscriven wrote: post #2

While what he's doing is obviously good, I am uneasy with the whole idea that one man accumulates so much wealth in the first place, and then decides as an unelected individual what's best for a country. Having said that, I'm not sure i have a particularly good answer to this conundrum.

As if elected officials have the best interests of the poor in mind? I suppose they do, but only to the extent that they need those votes. Whether the goal of the Gates Foundation is simply to redeem the image of Microsoft's founder or not, it's doing great things for the downtrodden of the world. Perhaps that's what people like Nobel and Carnegie had in mind as well, cleaning up their PR image. But that's the cynic's view.

If you listen to Bill Gates speak, he honestly sounds like someone who believes what he is saying and backs it up with money. As a rich man he certainly has other options. He can give a hearty "fuck you" or even a dismissive "I don't care" to the world and take his money to do whatever he wants. You know, like Larry Ellison or dozens of other people who've made their fortunes off the public.

Re: Why I’m Going to India

#58

Post by Retric »

dwc wrote: post #28

What's up with HN lately? It seems like being contrary to contrarian is the new thing these days. Bill Gates is someone I admired at first, because he built something huge from humble beginnings. Then I reviled him for the damage I saw him cause to the industry. Then I admired him again for the global effect he managed. He is a single person trying to do the best he knows how for humanity at large. If anyone thinks r…

He had a large enough trust fund to never need to work a day in his life, so I don't see where you get humble beginnings.

Re: Why I’m Going to India

#59

Post by dram »

chris_mahan wrote: post #6

Uh, there's plenty of poor people in America. There are kids at my son's elementary school who don't have enough food. In Los Angeles. In California.

He's given $60 million to the the College-Ready Promise coalition in Los Angeles that serves thousands of inner-city kids and has given $1.37B to the United Negro College Fund.

Re: Why I’m Going to India

#60

Post by [deleted] »

curiousDog wrote: post #11

Mr.Gates is obviously doing this with good intentions, I'm not sure how much this is going to actually help India though. Having lived in both places, I think India and Africa pretty much have the same deep-rooted culture/religion problem of ignorance, corruption and generally not giving a shit about others. Throwing tons of aid at them isn't going to solve anything. This sort of culture has been accumulated over cen…

[deleted]
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