14 thoughts on “Bill Gates”

  1. I must say, I am glad someone is finally pointing this out.

    In the piece, this line was the clincher, “Bill Gates has been so rich for so long that he’s spent the bulk of his adult life without anyone telling him he’s wrong.”

    Most people are lucky if they are moderately successful at just one thing in their lives, even if they work really, really hard and smart. The mega successful, because they are mega successful rarely seem to appreciate the role luck played in their mega success. Yes, they worked really, really hard and smart, but empirically, hard and smart does not deliver mega success 99.9999999 percent of the time. Most of the time, at best, hard and smart only keeps your head above water. Gates, not appreciating the role of chance in his life, probably thinks that he, himself, is mega successful because of his inherent genius.

    BTW, This is not a premise for, nor an argument to soak the rich.

  2. If you “soak the rich” that is have the government take most of their money all you have done is create a new over-class of high level largely permanent bureaucrats and elected officials. After all the government is run by people whose profligate spending (of our money) with less oversight dwarfs what the rich do. It wouldn’t be redistributed to the poor; look how little of the 5 trillion dollar aid package last summer actually went out to the people and how much went elsewhere.

    1. Under Capitalism, the Rich become powerful. Under Socialism, the Powerful become rich.

      A friend loathed Big Business (he later professed himself a Socialist) but never seemed to open a history book and see “How Socialism works in Real Life”.

      1. “A friend loathed Big Business (he later professed himself a Socialist) but never seemed to open a history book and see “How Socialism works in Real Life”.”

        Wouldn’t likely matter much if he did. The usually response given afterward is something akin to what Communist defenders say; that the real life examples of socialism/communism don’t count against its implementation because they are not “true” socialism/communism.

  3. And, as long as I’m dogpiling, he apparently seriously suggested that schools have their students participate in more collaborative projects to better prepare them for the workforce.

  4. The rich know that they can safely say “Soak the rich” because the rich know how to avoid the soaking.

    Gates is like a lot of Hollywood stars: thinks that success in one field makes them geniuses in all fields.

    It also makes them think their opinion actually has value and must be heard.

    1. He has. Also when Michael Shellenberger picks up his Rubix Cube in his TEDx talks about nuclear energy he make a very convincing case.

  5. Gates isn’t any more “crazy” than other people who hold preposterous ideas. Such as, the entirety of the Left.

    In other words, Bill Gates is batsh*t insane.

    1. The delusion that expertise in one field means competence in another unrelated field. For example: would you want your Open Heart Surgery done by an long-term professional airline pilot?

      1. No, but I think my dentist could be trained to do one.

        Seriously, the guy has a light touch and is a virtuoso with dental instruments.

        The hygienist comes along, hoo-boy, no comparison. It is like someone came along and went at my gums with meat cleavers.

        I think there is something about “surgeon’s hands”, and it must be innately neurological — not everyone can do this.

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