Comment by S_A_P | Hacker News Reader

Comment by S_A_P | Hacker News Reader

I’ve noticed a shift in tone of late on this site from “let’s invent the future” to “let’s shame the wealthy wasters of the world”.

So let’s say that we have a private jet tax that is some scalable amount to make people stop flying private.

1) commercial flights typically are not as direct as a private flight can be since small regional airports can accommodate small jets and not commercial ones. So if you were to fly into Houston you could fly to the side of town you wanted instead of the north(iah) or central (hou) part of town. That saves upwards of an hour of driving afterwards.

2) does this fix our carbon problem? Unfortunately no.

3) even electric cars are 40-50 years away from going away. There is nowhere near the same amount of charging infrastructure in the US to support mass adoption.

The only real way to get adoption of cleaner technologies is to make them better than their carbon generating alternatives in most if not every way. I’m all for getting off of fossil fuels. I’m personally looking for opportunities to push forward better and cleaner energy technologies. Articles like these are just journalistic dunks on the rich. Of course we have to mention Kim K who is the epitome of a wasteful vapid human being who flys around going from lunch to party on her jet. Of 8 billion people there are 1000 who ride planes too much. Never mind that many countries still burn coal for electricity we need to stop these rich folks!!!

> I’ve noticed a shift in tone of late on this site from “let’s invent the future” to “let’s shame the wealthy wasters of the world”.

These aren't mutually exclusive.

> Never mind that many countries still burn coal for electricity we need to stop these rich folks!!!

We are talking about the people managing companies that tell us, the "regular folk", to recycle, to lower our electricity usage, to stop wasting water. The same companies responsible for the vast majority of the CO emissions, plastic production, water waste dumping.

Of course regular people are mad at the rich. They have every right to be.

Private jets are just the tip of the iceberg. They should not be a thing, and they are a symbol of how the super rich are above everyone else. I would compare it to hunting rhinos: it is likely that the very few people who could afford this aren't behind the extinction of white rhinos in Africa, but they still should not be allowed to do it.

I appreciate the response and it prompted me to think of the following questions/comments. Hopefully this comes across as curious questions and not attacks or contrarian.

1)Flying in private jets != killing an rhino. Yes a jet harms the environment. Not debating that at all. However, they are more like a drop of water in the ocean in terms of pollution. 2) If this is the tip of the iceberg what are we taking away next because the amount of consumption is too conspicuous? 3) why should a private jet not be a thing? is there no reason ever for a private jet? 4) when was the last time someone shamed you into complying? Did it make you change your mind willingly and not resent the person who shamed you? Is that the way to affect change in a healthy way? 5) what companies are telling you to change your habits? Genuinely curious- what are you having to do that you don’t want to because a rich company is telling you to change? I’m really trying to think of one and cannot. 6) which rich people specifically are you or people supposed to be mad at? For what reasons? Should they not be allowed to be rich? Is being rich a bad thing? I can think of a few things that even Kim K has done that are good for society (judicial reform being a big one)

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