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Here, I'll name a few things a rich person could do twenty years ago that a poor person today could not: Visit the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Visit t

Here, I'll name a few things a rich person could do twenty years ago that a poor person today could not: Visit the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Visit the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. Go to Cannes Film Festival. Go to Pixar movie premiers. Personal chef. Personal masseuse. Back-stage passes to go see amazing rock legends, many of whom have died by now. Influence politics. Invest in corporations, like SOLAR power, WIND power, NUCLEAR power. Fund start-ups. Help stabilize and transform former Soviet Block countries. Fly a Mig. Visit the Galapagos islands. See a living White Rhino, up close. Swim with dolphins. Swim with green sea turtles off Maui. Eat at Mama's Fish House on Maui, one night, and stay overnight in Hana so you can wake up early and visit the seven sacred pools bright and early. Walk the Great Wall of China. Go to the Olympics. Ride a hot air balloon. So, let's come back to what you said.. "100x the value"??? Come on. Name TWO things a poor person can actually do today, that would make them tangibly HAPPY, or tangibly BETTER OFF that a rich person couldn't do 20 years ago. > The conversation we are having right now likely could not have existed 30 years ago. First, you're moving the goal-posts, the discussion is 20 years ago. And second, nonsense. I was active on well over 100 BBS systems.

vinceguidry 11y ago
I don't understand your point. I could care less about any of these things. A few of them I would rather not do, even had I the option. Life contains a series of problems that need to be solved. If you solve them adequately, then you are happy and fulfilled. If you don't solve them at all, then you are unhappy. It's as true for the rich as it is for the poor. How to attain personal fulfillment. How to leave a legacy. How to earn the love of your family, friends, and community. How to retain a sense of control over your destiny. You can do all of these things with or without the wealth that would allow you to go to Cannes. You can fail to do them even if your personal masseuse is also your mistress. You can even do them if you're poor. Having the easy access to information that today's Internet offers means you don't have to limit yourself to your own mind, your own efforts. Fly a Mig? Christ man, talk about missing the point.
- VikingCoder 11y ago
  > Life contains a series of problems that need to be solved. And MOST of the problems that MOST people face, have already been solved by the time someone is rich. As in, seeking food, seeking shelter, seeking transportation, clothing, future security... > If you solve them adequately, then you are happy and fulfilled. That's not how my life works. My daughter just had heart surgery. It cost over $50,000. My cut of that was about $2,000. It saved her life. You still think I'd rather be POOR today? > If you don't solve them at all, then you are unhappy. In my experience, there are two broad types of people - those who imagine how happy they'll be after they accomplish their list of tasks (you), and those who are generally happy and find a way to put joy into the things they're doing (me). Since I'm generally happy, the gravy for me is getting to experience more out of this life and help other people. > How to earn the love of your family, friends, and community. I don't believe I do "earn the love of my family, friends." I think my family and friends love me unconditionally. > How to retain a sense of control over your destiny. We're talking about POOR today. ACTUALLY POOR. And ACTUALLY POOR people do not have nearly as much control over their destiny as you're painting. > Fly a Mig? Christ man, talk about missing the point. I specifically asked you to name TWO things a poor person can actually do today, that a rich person couldn't do 20 years ago. You're full of criticism for my point of view, but I've given you a terribly simple challenge, and you have not risen to it. If you want me to understand your point, then try STATING your point (via examples), rather than criticizing mine. And to defend myself, I find that in debate it's best to try to understand the most charitable rendition of the other person's argument. You're breezing right past several of my points: "Influence politics. Invest in corporations, like SOLAR power, WIND power, NUCLEAR power. Fund start-ups. Help stabilize and transform former Soviet Block countries." Those are all, in how I view them, about helping people. Most of my other ones were based on the fact that a rich person isn't struggling to survive, and is instead seeking to squeeze as much out of this life as possible. Carpe diem. And evidence points to helping people, and having unique experiences, as being far more enjoyable than merely having possessions. So, if I picture myself as rich 20 years ago, I come up with things (for that list) that a poor person could not do today, but that would make me happy. If you want to attempt to convince me, then why don't you try to list concrete examples of things a poor person could do today, that a rich person 20 years ago could not do. Since that's the actual topic at hand. And fine, let's take the most charitable form of your argument - Having The Internet Is Awesome. Fine. 2 billion people have access to the Internet. That means roughly 5 billion people do not. Perhaps the agreement that you and I can make is that it would suck to be poor, among those 5 billion people today.

vinceguidry 11y ago

I don't understand your point. I could care less about any of these things. A few of them I would rather not do, even had I the option. Life contains a series of problems that need to be solved. If you solve them adequately, then you are happy and fulfilled. If you don't solve them at all, then you are unhappy. It's as true for the rich as it is for the poor. How to attain personal fulfillment. How to leave a legacy. How to earn the love of your family, friends, and community. How to retain a sense of control over your destiny. You can do all of these things with or without the wealth that would allow you to go to Cannes. You can fail to do them even if your personal masseuse is also your mistress. You can even do them if you're poor. Having the easy access to information that today's Internet offers means you don't have to limit yourself to your own mind, your own efforts. Fly a Mig? Christ man, talk about missing the point.

VikingCoder 11y ago
> Life contains a series of problems that need to be solved. And MOST of the problems that MOST people face, have already been solved by the time someone is rich. As in, seeking food, seeking shelter, seeking transportation, clothing, future security... > If you solve them adequately, then you are happy and fulfilled. That's not how my life works. My daughter just had heart surgery. It cost over $50,000. My cut of that was about $2,000. It saved her life. You still think I'd rather be POOR today? > If you don't solve them at all, then you are unhappy. In my experience, there are two broad types of people - those who imagine how happy they'll be after they accomplish their list of tasks (you), and those who are generally happy and find a way to put joy into the things they're doing (me). Since I'm generally happy, the gravy for me is getting to experience more out of this life and help other people. > How to earn the love of your family, friends, and community. I don't believe I do "earn the love of my family, friends." I think my family and friends love me unconditionally. > How to retain a sense of control over your destiny. We're talking about POOR today. ACTUALLY POOR. And ACTUALLY POOR people do not have nearly as much control over their destiny as you're painting. > Fly a Mig? Christ man, talk about missing the point. I specifically asked you to name TWO things a poor person can actually do today, that a rich person couldn't do 20 years ago. You're full of criticism for my point of view, but I've given you a terribly simple challenge, and you have not risen to it. If you want me to understand your point, then try STATING your point (via examples), rather than criticizing mine. And to defend myself, I find that in debate it's best to try to understand the most charitable rendition of the other person's argument. You're breezing right past several of my points: "Influence politics. Invest in corporations, like SOLAR power, WIND power, NUCLEAR power. Fund start-ups. Help stabilize and transform former Soviet Block countries." Those are all, in how I view them, about helping people. Most of my other ones were based on the fact that a rich person isn't struggling to survive, and is instead seeking to squeeze as much out of this life as possible. Carpe diem. And evidence points to helping people, and having unique experiences, as being far more enjoyable than merely having possessions. So, if I picture myself as rich 20 years ago, I come up with things (for that list) that a poor person could not do today, but that would make me happy. If you want to attempt to convince me, then why don't you try to list concrete examples of things a poor person could do today, that a rich person 20 years ago could not do. Since that's the actual topic at hand. And fine, let's take the most charitable form of your argument - Having The Internet Is Awesome. Fine. 2 billion people have access to the Internet. That means roughly 5 billion people do not. Perhaps the agreement that you and I can make is that it would suck to be poor, among those 5 billion people today.