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Define "excess" I'm glad people like Elon Musk and Bill Gates have billions of dollars - they're solving some of the world's hardest challenges right now with

Define "excess" I'm glad people like Elon Musk and Bill Gates have billions of dollars - they're solving some of the world's hardest challenges right now with their wealth.

rhizome 6y ago
With pittances. What is an example of even a $20 billion project by a private party? Elon Musk's current wealth could fund SpaceX for over 350 years. I have a favorite illustration of what just one billion dollars is: a million dollars per week for almost 20 years.
- johndevor 6y ago
  > With pittances. Bill Gates is giving away the vast majority of his wealth You don't know what Elon Musk will do with his wealth, but given his track record -- probably something good for humanity
  - klyrs 6y ago
    Probably something good for technology. I haven't seen much to indicate a focus on "humanity"
  - rhizome 6y ago
    > Bill Gates is giving away the vast majority of his wealth That's a tax-avoidance scheme. Here's a recent (and certainly not the first) article laying it out: https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/bill-gates-promised-to-give-away-his-wealth-well-that-was-bs.html https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/bill-gates-promised-to-gi... > You don't know what Elon Musk will do with his wealth I think we both know that whatever it is, first and foremost it'll be good for Elon Musk.
ardy42 6y ago
>> Idea for the solution is to get everyone together to opt-in to a value system that demonizes excess accumulation. > I'm glad people like Elon Musk and Bill Gates have billions of dollars - they're solving some of the world's hardest challenges right now with their wealth. There's a difference between having billions of dollars and controlling billions of dollars. Having usually implies controlling, but it's not necessary for that. A hypothetical value system that "demonizes excess accumulation" will can still allow talented people to use massive resources to solve challenging problems. For an actual real-world example: the US didn't have to wait for a SF fan to become a billionaire before it built rockets to travel to the moon. Similarly, billionaires often don't solve any problems with their wealth. Musk spends millions to build rockets and win government contracts, but other purported billionaires spend millions on money-losing golf courses and vanity airlines instead.

Define "excess" I'm glad people like Elon Musk and Bill Gates have billions of dollars - they're solving some of the world's hardest challenges right now with their wealth.

rhizome 6y ago

With pittances. What is an example of even a $20 billion project by a private party? Elon Musk's current wealth could fund SpaceX for over 350 years. I have a favorite illustration of what just one billion dollars is: a million dollars per week for almost 20 years.

johndevor 6y ago
> With pittances. Bill Gates is giving away the vast majority of his wealth You don't know what Elon Musk will do with his wealth, but given his track record -- probably something good for humanity
- klyrs 6y ago
  Probably something good for technology. I haven't seen much to indicate a focus on "humanity"
- rhizome 6y ago
  > Bill Gates is giving away the vast majority of his wealth That's a tax-avoidance scheme. Here's a recent (and certainly not the first) article laying it out: https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/bill-gates-promised-to-give-away-his-wealth-well-that-was-bs.html https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/bill-gates-promised-to-gi... > You don't know what Elon Musk will do with his wealth I think we both know that whatever it is, first and foremost it'll be good for Elon Musk.

ardy42 6y ago

>> Idea for the solution is to get everyone together to opt-in to a value system that demonizes excess accumulation. > I'm glad people like Elon Musk and Bill Gates have billions of dollars - they're solving some of the world's hardest challenges right now with their wealth. There's a difference between having billions of dollars and controlling billions of dollars. Having usually implies controlling, but it's not necessary for that. A hypothetical value system that "demonizes excess accumulation" will can still allow talented people to use massive resources to solve challenging problems. For an actual real-world example: the US didn't have to wait for a SF fan to become a billionaire before it built rockets to travel to the moon. Similarly, billionaires often don't solve any problems with their wealth. Musk spends millions to build rockets and win government contracts, but other purported billionaires spend millions on money-losing golf courses and vanity airlines instead.