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Bill and Melinda Gates 2016 Annual Letter

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Re: Bill and Melinda Gates 2016 Annual Letter

#51

Post by scubaguy »

Mikeb85 wrote: post #47

> A cheap, clean source of energy would change everything. Like nuclear fission? Or how about solar? Anyhow, while I think the intentions are good, my experience in 3rd world countries has me convinced that all the charity in the world won't help. In general, the problem in 3rd world countries isn't education, or sanitation, or lack of capital, or mosquito nets, etc... The problem is corruption and safety. I've seen…

Relevant http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Who-We-Are/Resources-and-Medi...

"One of the most common stories about aid is that some of it gets wasted on corruption. It is true that when health aid is stolen or wasted, it costs lives. We need to root out fraud and squeeze more out of every dollar....

"We should try to reduce that. But if we can’t, should we stop trying to save lives?"

Re: Bill and Melinda Gates 2016 Annual Letter

#52

Post by clock_tower »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #46
thesimon wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With just a few "minor" issues with safety and waste.

With just a few "minor" issues with safety History shows that nuclear power is very safe as long as you don't build the plants in tsunami-prone seismic zones, operate them for decades beyond their intended service life, or allow a bunch of unhinged Russians to play "Hold my vodka and watch this" in the control room. ...and waste. We've also learned that disposal of radioactive waste isn't a problem as long as you mix…

On nuclear safety, consider that France runs on something like 80% nuclear power. Hardly anyone knows this, because French nuclear plants are run well, and haven't had any disasters.

Re: Bill and Melinda Gates 2016 Annual Letter

#53

Post by hsitz »

scholia wrote: post #34
ZeroGravitas wrote: post #20

Bill's focus on new tech still seems odd to me. Maybe he's thought about it, and as a famous geek thinks that the number one thing he can do is champion tech innovation. But he specifically talks about increasing energy efficiency. An obvious opening to talk about carbon taxes that bake efficiency decisions into everything we buy (and provides a ready made market for new, low-carbon tech). Or he talks about coal, aga…

Gates doesn't govern any countries and he's not in charge of any global policies. Also, he is not superman and he doesn't have infinite resources. He's just trying to find niches where a rich geek can make a difference. Child vaccination was a good example. Significantly, he's trying to do practical things to improve the lives of poor people in the third world, as opposed to founding libraries or building more Willia…

I don't think anybody would judge him badly for not doing what he's unable to do. Of course not, just go back to Hume's "ought implies can".

I do think, however, that it does make sense to question whether he might be wasting resources and effort.

Re: Bill and Melinda Gates 2016 Annual Letter

#54

Post by awakeasleep »

kelvin0 wrote: post #28
technotony wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a whole body of poverty work devoted to these kinds of issues, called Institutionalism. My own experience in poverty reduction was working in Microfinance (in Kenya, Uganda and Philippines). I got disillusioned when I realized that even when our loans helped someone make some additional income there was always some group above them in the food chain who would find some way to leach the additional profit from…

Sometimes I think the 3rd world population most view the western powers as Schizophrenic. On one hand you have some westerners trying to help with micro lending and free solar energy initiatives, fresh water ... (the list goes on). On the other hand, powerful corporations and western governments do everything to counter any efforts by: meddling in local politics (outright financing coup d'etats!), installing their lo…

Microlending counterpoint

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/11/microcredit-muhammad-yunu...

Re: Bill and Melinda Gates 2016 Annual Letter

#55

Post by awakeasleep »

kelvin0 wrote: post #28
technotony wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a whole body of poverty work devoted to these kinds of issues, called Institutionalism. My own experience in poverty reduction was working in Microfinance (in Kenya, Uganda and Philippines). I got disillusioned when I realized that even when our loans helped someone make some additional income there was always some group above them in the food chain who would find some way to leach the additional profit from…

Sometimes I think the 3rd world population most view the western powers as Schizophrenic. On one hand you have some westerners trying to help with micro lending and free solar energy initiatives, fresh water ... (the list goes on). On the other hand, powerful corporations and western governments do everything to counter any efforts by: meddling in local politics (outright financing coup d'etats!), installing their lo…

Microlending counterpoint

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/11/microcredit-muhammad-yunu...

Re: Bill and Melinda Gates 2016 Annual Letter

#56

Post by droopybuns »

dominotw wrote: post #6
Reza7865 wrote: post #3

"Poverty is not just about a lack of money. It’s about the absence of the resources the poor need to realize their potential."

Paul Graham would disagree with you on that definition of Poverty. In his world poor people can wake up one fine day and start a business. Aaron : What drove the decision to go start a business? Paul : Poverty. Aaron : Poverty. Paul : I was tired of being poor. I was working as a freelance programmer, and it was this sort of boom/bust thing where I would get money and then I would run out of money, and then it would…

When an engine idles, it is burning fuel & venting exhaust without creating any force. It is consuming itself & providing no value. What is worse is that it's polluting while it's doing nothing.

Idle thought is when a human spends time thinking to no end purpose.

This thread is about Bill & Melinda Gates' opinions on how to fix things. You're here speculating on Paul Graham's opinions & then slamming your carefully constructed strawman. It is thought pollution.

You (and some of the children of this thread) should scrutinize your personal values and evaluate just what you think you are hoping to achieve by proposing up this kind of unsubstantiated tangent.

Re: Bill and Melinda Gates 2016 Annual Letter

#57

Post by tryitnow »

Mikeb85 wrote: post #47

> A cheap, clean source of energy would change everything. Like nuclear fission? Or how about solar? Anyhow, while I think the intentions are good, my experience in 3rd world countries has me convinced that all the charity in the world won't help. In general, the problem in 3rd world countries isn't education, or sanitation, or lack of capital, or mosquito nets, etc... The problem is corruption and safety. I've seen…

I don't know if there's much that Gates can do about corruption. That's something that might have to take it's natural course and weed itself out (like it has partly done in the US and other developed nations).

In the mean time I think Gates wants to do something rather than nothing and things like mosquito nets apparently do save lives. The people whose lives are saved may not be able to prosper, but they're most likely grateful for not dying of malaria.

Re: Bill and Melinda Gates 2016 Annual Letter

#58

Post by kelvin0 »

awakeasleep wrote: post #54
kelvin0 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes I think the 3rd world population most view the western powers as Schizophrenic. On one hand you have some westerners trying to help with micro lending and free solar energy initiatives, fresh water ... (the list goes on). On the other hand, powerful corporations and western governments do everything to counter any efforts by: meddling in local politics (outright financing coup d'etats!), installing their lo…

Microlending counterpoint https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/11/microcredit-muhammad-yunu...

I'm not against micro lending. I just don't think they'd need it if 'we' didn't put them in the miserable position they are in now. It's like cutting someone's leg off and then offering them a small fragile cane ...

Re: Bill and Melinda Gates 2016 Annual Letter

#59

Post by tobltobs »

clock_tower wrote: post #52
CamperBob2 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With just a few "minor" issues with safety History shows that nuclear power is very safe as long as you don't build the plants in tsunami-prone seismic zones, operate them for decades beyond their intended service life, or allow a bunch of unhinged Russians to play "Hold my vodka and watch this" in the control room. ...and waste. We've also learned that disposal of radioactive waste isn't a problem as long as you mix…

On nuclear safety, consider that France runs on something like 80% nuclear power. Hardly anyone knows this, because French nuclear plants are run well, and haven't had any disasters.

A few years ago you could have said the same about japan.

Re: Bill and Melinda Gates 2016 Annual Letter

#60

Post by ZenoArrow »

crackpotbaker wrote: post #49
ZenoArrow wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he's wise not to tackle this issue. Food is more than just a means to an end, it's also a core part of human culture. We can't expect to fix cultural issues with money alone, even if philanthropists made it very easy to live a vegan lifestyle there would still be people who chose to eat meat regardless. It has to be a cultural change to stand a chance in succeeding, it's up to us as individuals to make this c…

Okay, I can definitely agree that this issue shouldn't be tackled by him -- there's too much emotion linked to diet and people seem to think their behavioural changes consisting of recycling and saving water are enough. But he, as the richest man in the world, could just say that he's on a plant based diet (he's currently not). I believe a lot of people would quit the luxurious flesh eating habits if someone as Bill…

> "I believe a lot of people would quit the luxurious flesh eating habits if someone as Bill Gates says he's a vegan and just states his reasons."

I don't think you've understood Bill Gates' position in our culture. He's clearly admired as a businessman and as a philanthropist, but I don't see much evidence that people are seeking to emulate his lifestyle choices.

Instead of waiting for Bill Gates to become a vegan, focus your energy on positive changes you can make. For example, want to encourage people to eat more vegetables? Why not start a cookery channel on YouTube that you can use to promote vegan food?

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