7 ms·

Why on earth would he be the most qualified person for that?

by robertfw 7y ago

danielhlockard 7y ago
Likely because of the work the Gates foundation has done on infectious disease across the world.
- hinkley 7y ago
  Also it seems like the sort of proposal that 45 would be willing to consider.
  - brk 7y ago
    To be completely serious, no it doesn't. I do not see an appointment of someone who is clearly both richer and smarter to be the frontman of the largest crisis to hit the country in recent history.
    - DonHopkins 7y ago
      Yeah, he'd appoint Jimmy Carter before he appointed Bill Gates. And he'd appoint Ted Nugent before he appointed Jimmy Carter.
usepgp 7y ago
Not sure he'd be the most qualified, but he seems like a person who take advice from knowledgeable people well and has the experience and current position of leadership to take advantage of it. He also lives right near a huge local outbreak, and so has obvious personal incentive to make sure that it gets cleaned up ASAP.
EGreg 7y ago
I think it has to do with the amount of jazz music he has performed over the years.
prox 7y ago
Maybe not the (emphasis) but his foundation is doing a tremendous amount of work in medicine and disease. He has a lot of knowledge, experience and contacts to set something up.
darawk 7y ago
Because he's been managing large scale responses to infectious diseases via his foundation for a decade or so now.
- burkaman 7y ago
  But he came into that position because he's rich, not because of any particular expertise, and he's been able to accomplish more than others for that same reason. He's done a lot of good, but there is not really any oversight into what his foundation does and no reason to believe he's doing the best possible job. He's just pouring a ton of money into a lot of very hard problems. If I had to pick someone, I would probably go with the guy who's already done this exact job less than two years ago and has experience with both global health and government service: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Timothy_Ziemer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Timothy_Ziemer
  - Marsymars 7y ago
    > He's just pouring a ton of money into a lot of very hard problems. To expand on this, those problems take a lot of money to deal with, more than his foundation has, so in a lot of cases, the foundation effectively acts as force multiplier to get even more money on the problems. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/2/11/21133298/bill-gates-melinda-gates-money-foundation https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/2/11/21133298/bill-g...
  - dcolkitt 7y ago
    > But he came into that position because he's rich, not because of any particular expertise Except Gates is rich precisely because of expertise and talent. Without a doubt he's one of the best managers alive. Doubly so when those organizations are operating in complex, technically challenging, domains like software or epidemology.
  - hhjinks 7y ago
    He has ten years of experience. Not many others can point to that.
downerending 7y ago
During a local non-profit board election I once voted in, one of the candidates' position statements was a single sentence: I may not have a lot skills, but I'm really good at writing checks.
- majos 7y ago
  Did they win?
  - lostlogin 7y ago
    I’d be asking if they bounced.
  - downerending 7y ago
    Yeah, definitely one of the group that was elected.
waynecochran 7y ago
Window's viruses.
tuna-piano 7y ago
1. Bill Gates is extremely competitive, he's a bulldog, he fights and wants to win against whatever. He built Microsoft into a Monopoly and is fighting hard (and doing a great job) against diseases. 2. Bill Gates looks at problems logically, finds missing links, and solves those links. Whether that is refrigeration for vaccines, getting useful data for diseases, etc. 3. Bill Gates knows a ton about diseases, epidemics, etc. He's super curious and doesn't stop learning. Who could be more qualified for the job?
- dave5104 7y ago
  Maybe someone with a medical degree? Gates can certainly bring some unique skills to the table if he was invited, but it seems like we should have an actual doctor leading the charge.
  - hoten 7y ago
    He'd obviously consult top doctors. Why would a doctor be better at organizing a large response than a proven business leader who pivoted to disease control?
  - natalyarostova 7y ago
    Why? Being an MD isn't a huge deal in these cases. Not to say that having knowledge of the fundamentals of biology or healthcare isn't useful, but managing thousands of people, complex human systems, mass organizations, and building a plan to eliminate a disease is not something they teach in medical school. Gates has done more to battle malaria and other diseases than anyone currently alive. His track record is second to none, in terms of building a huge strategy, managing complex systems, and executing a pragmatic plan. And I suspect he has many MDs in his close circle of advisers who he relies on. A leader doesn't need to be a specialist -- they need to be a leader, a generalist, and rely on a team for specialist knowledge.
  - kube-system 7y ago
    MDs are good at treating patients, but they're not necessarily good at leading people. Good leaders know how to draw on the expertise of others to organize a coordinated response... which the Gates Foundation has proved themselves very capable of doing, particularly with public health issues. The Gates Foundation employs lots of healthcare professionals. I'd highly suggest looking up some of the talks Gates has done about his work with his foundation. He definitely has his shit together.
WalterBright 7y ago
I'd have full confidence in Gates taking on such a role.
lukevdp 7y ago
He has experience and credibility in the field and could bring widespread attention to a clear plan to tackle the problem. Everybody already knows what needs to be done to slow down the pandemic, but there needs to be swift and strong political leadership to make it happen.

Why on earth would he be the most qualified person for that?

danielhlockard 7y ago

Likely because of the work the Gates foundation has done on infectious disease across the world.

hinkley 7y ago
Also it seems like the sort of proposal that 45 would be willing to consider.
- brk 7y ago
  To be completely serious, no it doesn't. I do not see an appointment of someone who is clearly both richer and smarter to be the frontman of the largest crisis to hit the country in recent history.
  - DonHopkins 7y ago
    Yeah, he'd appoint Jimmy Carter before he appointed Bill Gates. And he'd appoint Ted Nugent before he appointed Jimmy Carter.

usepgp 7y ago

Not sure he'd be the most qualified, but he seems like a person who take advice from knowledgeable people well and has the experience and current position of leadership to take advantage of it. He also lives right near a huge local outbreak, and so has obvious personal incentive to make sure that it gets cleaned up ASAP.

EGreg 7y ago

I think it has to do with the amount of jazz music he has performed over the years.

prox 7y ago

Maybe not the (emphasis) but his foundation is doing a tremendous amount of work in medicine and disease. He has a lot of knowledge, experience and contacts to set something up.

darawk 7y ago

Because he's been managing large scale responses to infectious diseases via his foundation for a decade or so now.

burkaman 7y ago
But he came into that position because he's rich, not because of any particular expertise, and he's been able to accomplish more than others for that same reason. He's done a lot of good, but there is not really any oversight into what his foundation does and no reason to believe he's doing the best possible job. He's just pouring a ton of money into a lot of very hard problems. If I had to pick someone, I would probably go with the guy who's already done this exact job less than two years ago and has experience with both global health and government service: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Timothy_Ziemer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Timothy_Ziemer
- Marsymars 7y ago
  > He's just pouring a ton of money into a lot of very hard problems. To expand on this, those problems take a lot of money to deal with, more than his foundation has, so in a lot of cases, the foundation effectively acts as force multiplier to get even more money on the problems. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/2/11/21133298/bill-gates-melinda-gates-money-foundation https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/2/11/21133298/bill-g...
- dcolkitt 7y ago
  > But he came into that position because he's rich, not because of any particular expertise Except Gates is rich precisely because of expertise and talent. Without a doubt he's one of the best managers alive. Doubly so when those organizations are operating in complex, technically challenging, domains like software or epidemology.
- hhjinks 7y ago
  He has ten years of experience. Not many others can point to that.

downerending 7y ago

During a local non-profit board election I once voted in, one of the candidates' position statements was a single sentence: I may not have a lot skills, but I'm really good at writing checks.

majos 7y ago
Did they win?
- lostlogin 7y ago
  I’d be asking if they bounced.
- downerending 7y ago
  Yeah, definitely one of the group that was elected.

waynecochran 7y ago

Window's viruses.

tuna-piano 7y ago

1. Bill Gates is extremely competitive, he's a bulldog, he fights and wants to win against whatever. He built Microsoft into a Monopoly and is fighting hard (and doing a great job) against diseases. 2. Bill Gates looks at problems logically, finds missing links, and solves those links. Whether that is refrigeration for vaccines, getting useful data for diseases, etc. 3. Bill Gates knows a ton about diseases, epidemics, etc. He's super curious and doesn't stop learning. Who could be more qualified for the job?

dave5104 7y ago
Maybe someone with a medical degree? Gates can certainly bring some unique skills to the table if he was invited, but it seems like we should have an actual doctor leading the charge.
- hoten 7y ago
  He'd obviously consult top doctors. Why would a doctor be better at organizing a large response than a proven business leader who pivoted to disease control?
- natalyarostova 7y ago
  Why? Being an MD isn't a huge deal in these cases. Not to say that having knowledge of the fundamentals of biology or healthcare isn't useful, but managing thousands of people, complex human systems, mass organizations, and building a plan to eliminate a disease is not something they teach in medical school. Gates has done more to battle malaria and other diseases than anyone currently alive. His track record is second to none, in terms of building a huge strategy, managing complex systems, and executing a pragmatic plan. And I suspect he has many MDs in his close circle of advisers who he relies on. A leader doesn't need to be a specialist -- they need to be a leader, a generalist, and rely on a team for specialist knowledge.
- kube-system 7y ago
  MDs are good at treating patients, but they're not necessarily good at leading people. Good leaders know how to draw on the expertise of others to organize a coordinated response... which the Gates Foundation has proved themselves very capable of doing, particularly with public health issues. The Gates Foundation employs lots of healthcare professionals. I'd highly suggest looking up some of the talks Gates has done about his work with his foundation. He definitely has his shit together.

WalterBright 7y ago

I'd have full confidence in Gates taking on such a role.

lukevdp 7y ago

He has experience and credibility in the field and could bring widespread attention to a clear plan to tackle the problem. Everybody already knows what needs to be done to slow down the pandemic, but there needs to be swift and strong political leadership to make it happen.