6 ms·

Bill Gates says the US missed chance to avoid shutdown and should stay closed

36 points by Reedx 7y ago

grayed-down 7y ago
So says the guy with $96.3 Extra Large and a security detail.
- naavis 7y ago
  Does that somehow refute his point?
  - grayed-down 7y ago
    No, but it certainly makes it a lot easier to take that position even if it's wrong.
    - perl4ever 7y ago
      Why is it easier? It seems to me easier to take any position when you have no influence and nobody is going to take your advice. Even if small, there is a chance that if he is wrong and people think he is right, (or vice versa) there could be negative consequences for him, without any particular bound.
      - grayed-down 7y ago
        I'm not disagreeing with you. However, it's just easier for Bill Gates to say that we should crater the US/world economy than, say, a waitress or a bartender or anyone living closer to the financial edge. BTW, you really should not be using Perl 4 anymore.
        perl4ever 7y ago
        Well, I'm disagreeing with you and I don't use Perl at all any more, I switched to VBA. Who is saying we should "crater the economy" depends on your opinion of what will crater the economy, but all sorts of people are demanding things that someone thinks will crater the economy. That's what happens in a crisis, things seem crazy so people start talking about radical actions. It's not difficult for some random person to say something that is going to have no personal or collective consequence. Gates may be insulated, but his comments have the potential to influence people who might in turn affect him.
        grayed-down 7y ago
        I think it's a fairly simple proposition. Anyone who suggests that nations suspend across the board business operations beyond what is "reasonable", let's say beyond 4/5, is suggesting that we should "crater the economy" because that is what will happen. It's already happening. And I'm still agreeing with you that Gates does indeed have a great deal of influence and should be very mindful of the human damage this cratering of the economy is going to have. Perhaps he should not comment publicly? But that's his right to do so. Anyway, I disagree with Bill Gates on this. We need to get everything back up to speed again and still remain vigilant in protecting ourselves from this contagion.
    - AftHurrahWinch 7y ago
      Sure, but that's an objection you could register to everything Bill Gates ever proposes, and a lot of other people besides. It's the equivalent of wandering around whispering 'remember, thou art mortal' to people. Wealth insulates people from the consequences of their actions. Good point, duly noted.
- WheelsAtLarge 7y ago
  That money didn't just appear in his account. He has it simply because he can look ahead given the current situation. I'm glad he's giving his opinion. We should take it seriously.
tengbretson 7y ago
Is there any country that has faced and contained covid 19 that has not had to shutdown in some way? I'm not even sure what that would look like.
- slaw 7y ago
  Taiwan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_Taiwan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_T...
  - WheelsAtLarge 7y ago
    Yes, but they were prepared for it and took it seriously from the start.
_bxg1 7y ago
I really enjoy retirement-aged-Bill Gates' nonpartisan, pragmatic approach to humanitarianism. He often feels like the only adult left in the room (or at least, adult that still has any interest at all in the well-being of the world at large).
- twox2 7y ago
  Yeah, I'm often surprised at his level of optimism, but then I realize that he's a big picture kind of guy and thinking quite far ahead from a problem solving capacity instead of reacting emotionally to current events.
  - _bxg1 7y ago
    While at the same time not being a sociopath like most of today's other big-picture problem-solvers (Jeff Bezos, etc.)
    - meowface 7y ago
      Microsoft CEO Bill Gates likely would have appeared as sociopathic as Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, if not more so. The only question is what retired philanthropist Jeff Bezos would be like.
      - _bxg1 7y ago
        It's possible he was no better at heart, but he didn't have warehouses of low-wage workers doing manual labor under dystopian conditions with which to demonstrate the depths of his sociopathy, so we'll never know
        natpalmer1776 7y ago
        Except that Amazon pays well over minimum wage, offers health benefits, bonuses, and paid leave. They have draconian employee policies and enforce strict discipline in terms of performance metrics in exchange for these benefits. I'm not saying they are perfect by any means, what I am saying is that it is not some sweatshop operation exploiting those without any other options. Amazon has been a blessing to many people around the world, and to cast them as the villain simply because the unskilled labor job isn't as comfortable and kind as some would have it is frankly wrong in my opinion.
aaron695 7y ago
> Bill Gates says the US missed chance to avoid shutdown and should stay closed The title doesn't match his quotes at all. It's misinformation unless he said something else during the talk. He's not ruling out stopping the shutdown. He says it's to late if you want a containment strategy. And politically people won't like a non shutdown plan.

36 points by Reedx 7y ago

grayed-down 7y ago

So says the guy with $96.3 Extra Large and a security detail.

naavis 7y ago
Does that somehow refute his point?
- grayed-down 7y ago
  No, but it certainly makes it a lot easier to take that position even if it's wrong.
  - perl4ever 7y ago
    Why is it easier? It seems to me easier to take any position when you have no influence and nobody is going to take your advice. Even if small, there is a chance that if he is wrong and people think he is right, (or vice versa) there could be negative consequences for him, without any particular bound.
    - grayed-down 7y ago
      I'm not disagreeing with you. However, it's just easier for Bill Gates to say that we should crater the US/world economy than, say, a waitress or a bartender or anyone living closer to the financial edge. BTW, you really should not be using Perl 4 anymore.
      - perl4ever 7y ago
        Well, I'm disagreeing with you and I don't use Perl at all any more, I switched to VBA. Who is saying we should "crater the economy" depends on your opinion of what will crater the economy, but all sorts of people are demanding things that someone thinks will crater the economy. That's what happens in a crisis, things seem crazy so people start talking about radical actions. It's not difficult for some random person to say something that is going to have no personal or collective consequence. Gates may be insulated, but his comments have the potential to influence people who might in turn affect him.
        grayed-down 7y ago
        I think it's a fairly simple proposition. Anyone who suggests that nations suspend across the board business operations beyond what is "reasonable", let's say beyond 4/5, is suggesting that we should "crater the economy" because that is what will happen. It's already happening. And I'm still agreeing with you that Gates does indeed have a great deal of influence and should be very mindful of the human damage this cratering of the economy is going to have. Perhaps he should not comment publicly? But that's his right to do so. Anyway, I disagree with Bill Gates on this. We need to get everything back up to speed again and still remain vigilant in protecting ourselves from this contagion.
  - AftHurrahWinch 7y ago
    Sure, but that's an objection you could register to everything Bill Gates ever proposes, and a lot of other people besides. It's the equivalent of wandering around whispering 'remember, thou art mortal' to people. Wealth insulates people from the consequences of their actions. Good point, duly noted.
WheelsAtLarge 7y ago
That money didn't just appear in his account. He has it simply because he can look ahead given the current situation. I'm glad he's giving his opinion. We should take it seriously.

tengbretson 7y ago

Is there any country that has faced and contained covid 19 that has not had to shutdown in some way? I'm not even sure what that would look like.

slaw 7y ago
Taiwan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_Taiwan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_T...
- WheelsAtLarge 7y ago
  Yes, but they were prepared for it and took it seriously from the start.

_bxg1 7y ago

I really enjoy retirement-aged-Bill Gates' nonpartisan, pragmatic approach to humanitarianism. He often feels like the only adult left in the room (or at least, adult that still has any interest at all in the well-being of the world at large).

twox2 7y ago
Yeah, I'm often surprised at his level of optimism, but then I realize that he's a big picture kind of guy and thinking quite far ahead from a problem solving capacity instead of reacting emotionally to current events.
- _bxg1 7y ago
  While at the same time not being a sociopath like most of today's other big-picture problem-solvers (Jeff Bezos, etc.)
  - meowface 7y ago
    Microsoft CEO Bill Gates likely would have appeared as sociopathic as Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, if not more so. The only question is what retired philanthropist Jeff Bezos would be like.
    - _bxg1 7y ago
      It's possible he was no better at heart, but he didn't have warehouses of low-wage workers doing manual labor under dystopian conditions with which to demonstrate the depths of his sociopathy, so we'll never know
      - natpalmer1776 7y ago
        Except that Amazon pays well over minimum wage, offers health benefits, bonuses, and paid leave. They have draconian employee policies and enforce strict discipline in terms of performance metrics in exchange for these benefits. I'm not saying they are perfect by any means, what I am saying is that it is not some sweatshop operation exploiting those without any other options. Amazon has been a blessing to many people around the world, and to cast them as the villain simply because the unskilled labor job isn't as comfortable and kind as some would have it is frankly wrong in my opinion.

aaron695 7y ago

> Bill Gates says the US missed chance to avoid shutdown and should stay closed The title doesn't match his quotes at all. It's misinformation unless he said something else during the talk. He's not ruling out stopping the shutdown. He says it's to late if you want a containment strategy. And politically people won't like a non shutdown plan.