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Comment by marshallp | Hacker News Reader

DHH needs to get off his high horse. He's hacked his way into providing a tiny service for artsy folks but he's not exactly hacking on immortality tech or AI like some of us. The government needs to consider redistributing some of his wealth. This essay is him gloating about sitting on piles of cash, where's the concern for starving african children or terminal cancer patients. He should sell his company and work on immortality tech. He can start with extracorporeal devices like described here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuBDhT7Y5GU

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marshallp needs to get off his pony. DHH's is not gloating about the piles of cash he surely has on this essay. He's talking about the unprecedented and amazing opportunities unregulated internet gives businesses.

And about your career counseling, I'd rather have DHH building niche web software with nice UI than have him build life supporting medical equipment.

Why should he keep building nice UI's. He's proven himself as a can-do hacker and has millions in the bank. He could spend his resources saving lives instead of polishing what's a tiny hill in the global landscape of ideas.

He should keep doing whatever he wants to do.

You could propose him a venture on life supporting devices and see what he tells you.

There's a (tiny) chance he hasn't gotten into life supporting devices because the opportunity hasn't shown itself. On the other hand it might just be that this area is too far out of his domain of expertise or he's just not interested in it. Maybe he doesn't feel like immortality is a worthy goal to pursue. Maybe he donates thousands monthly to whatever charity he feels truly help people. Maybe he drinks all that money with friends after race driving.

That's why I said government maybe needs to redistribute wealth if these rich folk genuinely don't give a shit about poor people. They can keep their money if they invest in society improving stuff. That's why I said immortality tech. He could get involved in miniaturizing extra-corporeal devices (artificial organs) that keep people alive even if their hearts or lungs get too damaged. He can start by watching that video and contacting those people and putting together a team of engineers to get it done. If you're not doing an Elon Musk, then maybe the government needs to raise your taxes.

Ignoring all the problems like: who gets to decide; how are the decisions made; how often is success measured; what corrective measures are allowed; what is the best way to help the poor; what is the best way to redistribute the wealth; how to prevent lobbies from destroying the plan; how to avoid money escaping the countries implementing this into tax heavens.

Ignoring all that (and many more questions of the sort) I'm left with only one question: how exactly is Musk helping "the poor"?

He's helping the poor by making energy cheaper indirectly through kickstarting an electric car industry.

The tax issue can be resolved by luxury taxes. If people decide they'd like $100 million yacht, tax them $200 million for it. Countries like Singapore already have punitive taxes like that on cars.

How many Teslas would Musk sell when his $100,000 car becomes $250,000 after tax?

How the guy decides to spend his own money that he earned is none of your business. Mind your own, please.

If you think it's such a travesty that the guy has money and enjoys it, then maybe you should go to all the people who consensually traded with him and tell them what bad people they are for buying his products and services.

Maybe you should visit your local cancer ward or rat-eating homeless indian peasants and then decide what's what.

And how on earth seeing suffering/poor people convinces you that the solution is to grab from the rich and give it to the government?

That's one of the less efficient ways to solve most problems, even after discounting corruption.

Like I said earlier, a luxury tax. The capitalist utopia of singapore has them. Tax the rich and give it to NASA or create multi-billion dollar seed fund for immortality hacktivists.

AFAICT taxes in Singapore only create a welfare state that relieves somewhat poverty. A noble and worthy goal, but there are still poor people in Singapore. What about cancer cures and immortailty research, are they big there?

And now for the things you haven't addressed. Why is the government the most efficient way to solve the problem? Why cancer or immortality or space exploration are more important than food or malaria or sex education? Just because you like them?

I think you should stop and think real deep about the questions I've stated and implied in this thread, and answer them in length, with references where appropriate. Then share them.

Else all you end up doing is coming across as a naive angry fanatic with not too much reading comprehension skill (remember all this started because you misinterpreted DHH's essay) who doesn't even get to see the problem and is boasting about solutions.

> Maybe he drinks all that money with friends after race driving. > Maybe he donates thousands...

Damned good show if he does. The world needs more young, selfish playboy millionaires who make absolutely no public show of being philanthropic. Leave that stuff to the billionaires. (No irony or sarcasm intended; I love to see the rich having fun, as long as it's not to anyone else's detriment.) Matthew said it well in the Bible: "Take heed that you give not your alms before men, to be seen of them." He didn't have much to say on car racing, but even Jesus liked a boozy wedding.

> Maybe he doesn't feel like immortality is a worthy goal to pursue.

It's usually only the most awful people who do think it's worth pursuing. We'd all like a few more years, but it takes a special sort of narcissist to think their presence will be appreciated after 200, 500, 1,000, 1x10^6 years...

What if it's a relative you'd like to see live another 10 or 20 years because they're too young to die?

Yeah, we need more playboys. The kid with cancer or malnutrition and his family should just learn to cope with death.

Anti-death people are such narcissists. The financiers like you are the true heros. You get a lot of hookers and blow and we should be thankful for you consuming them.

> The financiers like you are the true heros. You get a lot of hookers and blow and we should be thankful for you consuming them.

It's a hard job, but someone's got to do it. Glad you're appreciative.

I believe in all the causes you have mentioned but please stop polluting this feed.

You get people to contribute to good causes by being able to influence them and not nag or harass or bully them.

Please get this book and read them because not all talk = influence:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Robe...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/...

I believe in what you profess but you are going about it the wrong way and even me who believe in your course find you annoying.

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