Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm gonna go with "what is a white South African?" for $200 on this one, Alex.
Takes one to know one.
you got me :)
A letter to our daughter
371–380 of 555 posts
Re: A letter to our daughter
#372Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I've had the opportunity to rub shoulders with a few billionaires over the past few weeks, and it's remarkable how differently they think about money than the people who don't have it. Yah, I don't necessarily disagree with their mindset. I've crossed a lot of spectrums, including chilling and rubbing shoulders with the rich to scraping by. I definitely do agree with a lot of the lofty 'moon shots' and some of thes…
> Zuck, from advertising and selling 'your' data IMO that's a really narrow-minded read of what Facebook is. >1B people log into products he founded every day. He lets advertisers target you using data you've provided, as you sit on the platform he helped build, but I'm not convinced that makes him an evil dude.
My problem is him collecting data on people who aren't even using the service. They collect data on any site with a Facebook button. I don't even use the service and he has my data. I'm not getting any value from his product, so what right does he have to my data?
Re: A letter to our daughter
#373Earlier quoted context omitted.
One of the organizations the Koch brothers fund is FIRE, which is dedicated to free speech on college campuses. It's really hard to find fault in that. I really hate the Manichean judgment common in modern public discourse. Everyone is either a saint or a devil, depending on which side you're on.
It's really hard to find fault in that. Not that hard. Social justice advocates increasingly view support of free speech as equivalent to defense of racism/sexism/homophobia/etc.
Yeah, some offshoots of social justice have metastized into fascism. Who gets to decide what censorship will take place in the name of this justice?
Re: A letter to our daughter
#374In the end, the only thing anyone has to give is their time.
How many billions of hours are spent daily on Facebook? His fortune is won on the backs of those poor fools.
It ain't gonna happen, but shutting down Facebook now would be a greater philanthropic act. (Yea and obviously OtherFacebook would come online.)
Re: A letter to our daughter
#375Something's always bugged me about relying on philanthropy as a source of funding the public good, as opposed to the public funding the public good through taxation and the democratic process: In the former case, the public doesn't really have much of a say about where the help goes. We must rely on the judgment (and personal values) of a few rich people and hope they pick charities that maximize the benefit. Would t…
I have more faith in the judgement of the system that elects billionaires than the system that elects our government. Billionaires will spend their money in more efficient and productive ways than our government spends tax dollars. You may disagree with a rich individual's vision of the future, but he will be vastly more likely to effect his vision than our elected officials.
Perhaps billionaires will spend their money more efficiently.
But they'll spend less of it on the public good.
The government may be less efficient (also, citation needed there, as I don't buy that at face value), but even if it is it has access to WAY more funds.
Sure, we have some nice billionaires like Zuckerberg and Gates who give their money away, but if you required all the billionaires to give up some money, you'd have a much larger pool to work with. So efficiency isn't the only part of this argument. There is also volume.
Re: A letter to our daughter
#376Earlier quoted context omitted.
As my mum used to say "It's easy to shit when your butt is full". How hard is it, really, to give away 99% when you're still left with enough to comfortably sustain 5+ lifetimes? Bill Gates said it well here: http://imgur.com/gallery/YDuoHdr That said, I hope that if I ever get into a position like that, I too will be able to look beyond my personal greed and desire to increase the high score.
"I hope that if I ever get into a position like that, I too will be able to look beyond my personal greed and desire to increase the high score." Are you an American? Well sir, your butt is full and you're keeping it all to yourself. Stolen metaphors aside, you're in the 1% of the world and you can actually make a difference. "How hard is it?" You tell me.
> Are you an American? Well sir, your butt is full and you're keeping it all to yourself.
Quite a few Americans live payday to payday. Some work many part time jobs to make ends meet. Do they in absolute dollar terms make more than someone in Africa? Yeah they do. Does it help them if they still can't pay rent? Is that supposed to make them feel better that they make more dollars per month than someone in Burkina Faso?
What do you suggest that they somehow go live in Africa, and commute to US, then share the extra wealth for the betterment of mankind.
> "How hard is it?" You tell me.
Pretty darn hard.
Here is some sauce, because someone will ask for it anyway:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/census-data-half-of-us-poor-or-l...
Re: A letter to our daughter
#377Earlier quoted context omitted.
David Koch, worth 44,200 million dollars, is donating literally millions?!? How generous of him to give away approximately 0.002% of his fortune here and there. Please be serious. This comparison is laughable, the ≈ $300M listed on his foundation is literally 0.7% of his net worth.
..and who the hell are you to determine where someone donates their money??
GP wasn't determining where someone donates their money. GP was pointing out that putting the Koch brothers in that comparison is ridiculous given their net worth.
Re: A letter to our daughter
#378It is unfortunate that we cannot accept the kindness and generosity from those who have been blessed with wealth and whom wishes to share it with others. Rather we ridicule them and surmise that they have some hidden agenda behind their desire to share.
Re: A letter to our daughter
#379Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't know about the Saudi princes however the Koch Brothers have given away millions of dollars (and I am sure there also give away money anonymously as well). http://www.kochfamilyfoundations.org/foundationsdhk.asp Also rest assured that Facebook also "evades taxes" in the same way that the Koch brothers do, that is by taking advantage of the US Tax Code in a legal way. And none of us have any idea what the Koch Br…
David Koch, worth 44,200 million dollars, is donating literally millions?!? How generous of him to give away approximately 0.002% of his fortune here and there. Please be serious. This comparison is laughable, the ≈ $300M listed on his foundation is literally 0.7% of his net worth.
If your eminence would please bless us with the knowledge of the correct and appropriate percentage of net worth to donate to charity, we would be eternally grateful.
Re: A letter to our daughter
#380Earlier quoted context omitted.
Whether or not the letter is narcissistic, one has to admire their initiative. It is not, unfortunately, the obvious thing to do, and they deserve to be applauded for that. Whatever personal faults the man has, I'd argue this kind of philanthropy more than makes up for it.
That's fair, but if you notice a great deal of the letter is simply telling the child about the great achievements and dreams of the parents - if there's one thing I've learned the hard way, it's that dreams are easy to put into words and fuckin' hell on wheels to make reality. Philanthropy is a good social construct, for sure. I guess maybe I just have some inherent bias against preaching from atop the mountain of w…
Enough to be the next in line for the Nobel Peace Prize.
A worthy successor to president Obama there.