5 ms·

Ok let me take a stab at it. I actually am on the fence on this so purely a thought exercise for me. Plus as someone getting into midlife crisis this has bee

Ok let me take a stab at it. I actually am on the fence on this so purely a thought exercise for me. Plus as someone getting into midlife crisis this has been on top of mind for me. How about take (in no order): 1. 1 or 2 fancy cars/suvs 2. Be able to travel business class (say once a month) for vacations and stay in decent hotels 3. Nice education (say 2 degrees at a top college) 4. Nice house (say 2 rooms per family member in a "decent" neighborhood) (add things like backyard, poop etc if you like) 5. Obviously enough money to pay taxes 6. Oh and ensure health-issue-free lifestyle 7. (Hobby or two) 8. (Ultra Branded clothing?) See what it takes to get all of the above and double it. Or even 3x it. Ymmv ofcourse. I am not a traveller so fancy hotels or biz class is not a big deal. I am also not a car person so 1 and 2 are not big deals for now (things can always change). I still can't see this needing billionaire status?

biofox 4y ago
What if I have all that, but also have a great idea for a business. Let's say I want to try it out, but to do so I'll need to hire some industrial space, expensive equipment, 5-10 engineers, and some business / marketing people to get it going. Should I have to risk my standard of living to do that? What if I have 10 ideas that require that?
- flashgordon 4y ago
  That's a great point. I wasn't suggesting people shouldn't desire things. We talk as if billionaires are not a zero sum game. But is that really true? #billionaires has gone up but the basic line around housing, education, healthcare, pollution have all been declining no? If I was to venture a hypothesis, will the billionaire's ability to realize the billions actually be viable if it wasn't for the workers who desperately need to cover (the stripped down basic form of) needs 1-7 above?
elefanten 4y ago
Add social expenses -- what it takes to fit into a society or community. Add a buffer for risk and uncertainty about the future. And then consider what role location has on the whole package. If you want proximity to one of the global hubs / power centers, then you're looking at doing this all in a top-tier cost market. Then you easily push into tens of millions. Breaking a hundred million to super thoroughly check those boxes isn't a stretch. This is before considering an agenda / passion that you want to see changed in the world. And before any ambitious desires from family members and close friends.
- MisterBastahrd 4y ago
  Breaking into a hundred million is an absurdity given the criteria GP set.
  - tomcam 4y ago
    No it’s not. Given the house prices in places like Palo Alto, Malibu, London, or Moscow, the house alone could easily be $50 million.
    - xvector 4y ago
      Postulating that anyone needs 100M is simply absurd. Just because there is insanity in house pricing doesn't mean that this needs to reflect into incomes.
      - tomcam 4y ago
        I didn’t say they needed it. But those are the parameters given
tomcam 4y ago
Can you describe the new governmental Department of Hobby Restrictions? I study music history, transcribe old popular songs, and play many different instruments. Does this count as one hobby called music or does it count as three different hobbies? What would be the penalty for an asshole like me having three hobbies instead of the two allowed under your plan? Am I allowed to have one flute, or if I play professionally am I allowed to have two in case one is broken? Am I allowed to have an alto flute and a bass flute as well, or am I limited to just the garden-variety soprano flute?
- flashgordon 4y ago
  So the #hobbies is really up to you. At some point personal responsibility would need to kick in to support things beyond some level of basic necessities no?
  - tomcam 4y ago
    Is it irresponsible that I know how to play a dozen different instruments?

biofox 4y ago

What if I have all that, but also have a great idea for a business. Let's say I want to try it out, but to do so I'll need to hire some industrial space, expensive equipment, 5-10 engineers, and some business / marketing people to get it going. Should I have to risk my standard of living to do that? What if I have 10 ideas that require that?

flashgordon 4y ago
That's a great point. I wasn't suggesting people shouldn't desire things. We talk as if billionaires are not a zero sum game. But is that really true? #billionaires has gone up but the basic line around housing, education, healthcare, pollution have all been declining no? If I was to venture a hypothesis, will the billionaire's ability to realize the billions actually be viable if it wasn't for the workers who desperately need to cover (the stripped down basic form of) needs 1-7 above?

elefanten 4y ago

Add social expenses -- what it takes to fit into a society or community. Add a buffer for risk and uncertainty about the future. And then consider what role location has on the whole package. If you want proximity to one of the global hubs / power centers, then you're looking at doing this all in a top-tier cost market. Then you easily push into tens of millions. Breaking a hundred million to super thoroughly check those boxes isn't a stretch. This is before considering an agenda / passion that you want to see changed in the world. And before any ambitious desires from family members and close friends.

MisterBastahrd 4y ago
Breaking into a hundred million is an absurdity given the criteria GP set.
- tomcam 4y ago
  No it’s not. Given the house prices in places like Palo Alto, Malibu, London, or Moscow, the house alone could easily be $50 million.
  - xvector 4y ago
    Postulating that anyone needs 100M is simply absurd. Just because there is insanity in house pricing doesn't mean that this needs to reflect into incomes.
    - tomcam 4y ago
      I didn’t say they needed it. But those are the parameters given

tomcam 4y ago

Can you describe the new governmental Department of Hobby Restrictions? I study music history, transcribe old popular songs, and play many different instruments. Does this count as one hobby called music or does it count as three different hobbies? What would be the penalty for an asshole like me having three hobbies instead of the two allowed under your plan? Am I allowed to have one flute, or if I play professionally am I allowed to have two in case one is broken? Am I allowed to have an alto flute and a bass flute as well, or am I limited to just the garden-variety soprano flute?

flashgordon 4y ago
So the #hobbies is really up to you. At some point personal responsibility would need to kick in to support things beyond some level of basic necessities no?
- tomcam 4y ago
  Is it irresponsible that I know how to play a dozen different instruments?