In short, he's a multiple time felon who was even pardoned by Trump and then spent 500 million to rebuild and repair his name with the Milken Institute thing, which I've attended several times. There is something particularly off putting about eating free lobster corn dogs with leaders in business and government while we talk about the unhoused and how they don't have what they need.
Many would disagree with your premise. Governments are not for curing all diseases. Governments are for protecting my rights, enforcing the law, and providing basic services and a safety net.
Zuckerberg has undoubtedly paid billions in taxes, far more than practically any of us ever will. If everyone else paid taxes like Zuckerberg, we’d have a lot less money in our pockets.
Moreover, the US government collects more than a trillion in taxes each year — is a few additional billion in tax revenue really what’s stopping the feds from tackling those issues?
I doubt it. They lobby (i.e. bribe) to have the tax code shaped to where they have a access to a bazillion loop holes. Between holding money in a tax haven to holding large amounts in company stock or whatever...there are lots of tricks. Sure he may pay more absolute dollars, but percent wise it's surely far less than those of us paying 40%. They then form their own charities to control exactly where their money goes instead of it going to taxes like all of us.
Because of the concentration of income-earning power in the capital-rich class driven by the favorable tax treatment of capital income; they pay little for the income they earn from capital. Its a really good deal for them, and a bad deal for everyone else.
Really? Long-term capital gains tax rate at upper income levels is 20%. Most households have a lower effective income tax rate than that after accounting for all deductions.
Need for defense, education, water, fire fighting/regulations, sewer, trash/recycling pickup, and once in a while workers rights and anti-trust. (Depending on ones definition of 'solved'.)
Yes thank goodness those monopolies are gone and our cities are all clean and safe from fires and our sewage and road infrastructure is in top condition
I'd agree those needs haven't been solved permanently. Hence the need for vigilance and a strong government that's controlled by the people, not the rich or high born.
These discussions are exasperating for me because I always go where? Where in this world is this strong government that's controlled by the average joe and not by the rich or high born. It seems like some enlightenment era utopian fantasy that people haven't grown out of
All of those sit on the shoulders of private business and enterprise. Government (and bureaucracy generally) only prevents them from efficiently executing on what the market demands of them.
Smallpox is no longer a disease (anywhere in the world) thanks to public health services funded by governments. Likewise polio is on the way out (with an unfortunate recent spike due to some parents not vaccinating their children for "reasons").
Water-spread diseases like cholera which used to kill thousands every few years in in places like New York or London in the 19th century are basically unknown today in the developed world, thanks to modern water treatment plants and sewers. While you might say there was some contribution to these efforts by private philanthropists, the vast majority of these public health efforts were government (taxpayer) funded.
As an engineer who had worked for a number of years in biotech and med-tech, I find fault with the underlying assumption that one can build an organization out of bio-PI types and get anything out of it beyond a bunch of papers.
My hard-earned experience is tha the biology PI track selects against the technocratic leadership style necessary for the coordination of a large-scale effort.
My own stint in the field found most value with a small subset of fresh PhDs who were still mentally flexible enough to figure out how to do their research in a stackable and incremental way.
Unsurprisingly, most of these people stood very little chance of being hired as PIs, because their focus on efficiency made for worse short-term splashing.
Agreed. I've had similar experience. There is a huge difference between a mechanical, electrical or systems engineer and a biotech engineer. The former can design and make physical objects, the latter works generally in the paperwork and publications associated with the devices, not the devices themselves.
The pair have done more to harm human dignity and privacy than most evil people thoughout history could even dream of. To respect their opinion on anything, let alone health, is so just vulgar, bordering on complete degeneracy.
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[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 100 ms ] threadhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/02/18/michael-m...
In short, he's a multiple time felon who was even pardoned by Trump and then spent 500 million to rebuild and repair his name with the Milken Institute thing, which I've attended several times. There is something particularly off putting about eating free lobster corn dogs with leaders in business and government while we talk about the unhoused and how they don't have what they need.
Maybe start with making sure your platform does not spread anti-vaccine, anti-science misinformation?
That would require taking an ad impressions hit and a monetary loss, a sacrifice too steep to make for the public good.
If you search for “disease” or “curing disease” you get 0 hits.
Meanwhile the thing they advocate for is protected as the 1st amendment.
> Maybe start with making sure your platform does not spread anti-vaccine, anti-science misinformation?
So they have it almost as close to backwards as you can get it.
(Pretty sure you are a fan of his)
Moreover, the US government collects more than a trillion in taxes each year — is a few additional billion in tax revenue really what’s stopping the feds from tackling those issues?
People whose income comes mainly in the form of capital gains pay much lower taxes on income than everyone else.
Good deal or bad deal is relative to some counterfactual alternative.
The topic is far too entwined with what one thinks the point of taxes or even the government is, and who should pay for it.
Tell ya what, you give me enough money for me to pay taxes like Zuckerberg, and I will /happily/ give you back half of whatever is leftover.
Zuckerberg famously paid a fortune in taxes because he didn't do an 83b election.
The government is run like a Ponzi scheme. We’re $33 trillion in debt paying a trillion in interest this year.
Of course the entitlements time bomb is an even bigger problem:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucemccain/2016/10/14/the-enti...
Private industry has its place. Doesn't mean it's a good idea to outsource governance to them in all but name.
Water-spread diseases like cholera which used to kill thousands every few years in in places like New York or London in the 19th century are basically unknown today in the developed world, thanks to modern water treatment plants and sewers. While you might say there was some contribution to these efforts by private philanthropists, the vast majority of these public health efforts were government (taxpayer) funded.
As an engineer who had worked for a number of years in biotech and med-tech, I find fault with the underlying assumption that one can build an organization out of bio-PI types and get anything out of it beyond a bunch of papers.
My hard-earned experience is tha the biology PI track selects against the technocratic leadership style necessary for the coordination of a large-scale effort.
My own stint in the field found most value with a small subset of fresh PhDs who were still mentally flexible enough to figure out how to do their research in a stackable and incremental way.
Unsurprisingly, most of these people stood very little chance of being hired as PIs, because their focus on efficiency made for worse short-term splashing.
Which was OPs direct point, not that nobody else has done any, but nobody else has done more.
That seems indisputable
You will excuse me as I guffaw at the credibility gap here.
Source: https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/11/08/tech/meta-facebook-instag...