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Don’t worry. I’m not at all offended. It’s a good faith discussion. :) I think I agree more than I disagree. A few points: 1. Note that Buffet and Gates have

by md_ 5y ago

Don’t worry. I’m not at all offended. It’s a good faith discussion. :) I think I agree more than I disagree. A few points: 1. Note that Buffet and Gates have both pledged to give half their wealth to charity in their lifetimes. Is your concern that half is too little, that it’s charity and not taxes, or something else? 2. For me personally, quite frankly, I absolutely struggle with the question of how much I should give. I could afford to give more than I do without impacting my lifestyle, and while I don’t live high on the hog maybe my lifestyle should be impacted. I struggle with this, because there’s no obvious answer—if you’re lucky enough to have disposable income, you can always afford to give a little more, no? My personal view is that what I save now will go to charity when I (and my partner) die, so I don’t worry too much about it—I’m sure at that point the need will be as great as it is now. But I do think these are difficult questions, and I would certainly forgive anyone for having no pat answer to them. Then again, there’s always the question of extremes. A la Peter Singer (I think), should I donate a kidney to a stranger? For me, utilitarianism says yes, but I just can’t bring myself to do that. So is it possible I’m being less than fully rational and some of this is guilt assuaging? Yeah, I think so. But anyone as lucky as we are who doesn’t feel a bit of, well, if not guilt, then somehow conflicted about it is someone I really wonder about.

ericmay 5y ago
Thanks. I'm enjoying this and I hope you are too. I'd say that for Buffet and Gates the issue is the terminology used. If instead of saying "I'm not taxed enough" they said "people need to give more" or something along those lines that would be fine with me. It's specifically that they're talking about not paying enough taxes while actively using methods to not pay those taxes that bothers me. I have little doubt that they write off their philanthropic contributions for example. Just... don't do that and there ya go. You paid the higher tax rate you say you want to pay. It's their insistence that they are unable to take action that bothers me. They can take action. They are the most capable people in the world who could take action. So for me I just can't believe that it's not marketing and trying to craft an image. Have you ever seen Becoming Warren Buffet on HBO by the way? Fun documentary if taken with a grain of salt. I think your personal philosophy is in line with mine too. I try to donate time and energy and knowledge into endeavors and source money from others who have the same viewpoint you do. That allows me to have the benefit of working on compounding interest while still effectively doing something. But even then we give a little bit, certainly not enough. > But anyone as lucky as we are who doesn’t feel a bit of, well, if not guilt, then somehow conflicted about it is someone I really wonder about. Couldn't agree more. And I'm not sure if guilt is the right word? I feel what we would describe as guilt, but I'm not exactly doing anything "wrong" so it's a complex emotion for me. If you're ever in Columbus, Ohio let me know - I'll buy you a beer.

by md_ 5y ago

ericmay 5y ago

Thanks. I'm enjoying this and I hope you are too. I'd say that for Buffet and Gates the issue is the terminology used. If instead of saying "I'm not taxed enough" they said "people need to give more" or something along those lines that would be fine with me. It's specifically that they're talking about not paying enough taxes while actively using methods to not pay those taxes that bothers me. I have little doubt that they write off their philanthropic contributions for example. Just... don't do that and there ya go. You paid the higher tax rate you say you want to pay. It's their insistence that they are unable to take action that bothers me. They can take action. They are the most capable people in the world who could take action. So for me I just can't believe that it's not marketing and trying to craft an image. Have you ever seen Becoming Warren Buffet on HBO by the way? Fun documentary if taken with a grain of salt. I think your personal philosophy is in line with mine too. I try to donate time and energy and knowledge into endeavors and source money from others who have the same viewpoint you do. That allows me to have the benefit of working on compounding interest while still effectively doing something. But even then we give a little bit, certainly not enough. > But anyone as lucky as we are who doesn’t feel a bit of, well, if not guilt, then somehow conflicted about it is someone I really wonder about. Couldn't agree more. And I'm not sure if guilt is the right word? I feel what we would describe as guilt, but I'm not exactly doing anything "wrong" so it's a complex emotion for me. If you're ever in Columbus, Ohio let me know - I'll buy you a beer.