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points by senordevnyc 1 day ago | 0 comments
Almost every such good thing he does is a tax credit which polishes his image and legacy. He was a pretty cutroath businessman and there's no reason for me to now paint him with some saintly image.

Bill Gates has had a major role in more than 120 million extremely poor children not dying of horrible diseases in some of the most destitute places on earth.

But he bundled a browser with his OS thirty years ago, so fuck all that, right?

[–] modo_mario 1 day ago
Then I guess billionaires really should pay less taxes unlike us plebs since they're so much better at picking out and solving the wrongs of the world. It is good that Microsoft was bribing some african governments because clearly they could use the money so much better saving them from themselves by redirecting that income to the global fund (and tax credits) Perhaps we should incentivise his veiled land purchases for the common good since on thing obviously absolves of another.

BTW just since you use it for the rethoric. Can I also point out how that major role in 120 million children (by their own estimation and 40mil since 2000 on some other own estimation) includes the work of everyone else donating to, remotely involved with or working in line with his organisation. You know including my tax money going to the the vaccination drives of Gavi, the WHO, UNICEF, etc It seems to miss the bit where bill himself attributed the vast majority of such global health and development funding to donor nations.

You think we could get a tax credit for our major role in that?

[–] senordevnyc 1 day ago
Where did I suggest that he should pay less taxes? I just think the sneering at him because of MS’s business practices decades ago is pathetic.
[–] modo_mario 18 hours ago
>Where did I suggest that he should pay less taxes?

You went on about his saintly works disregarding that for those billionaires it's quite relevant that they're structured as tax deductions and quite in tune with their wealth gain contrary to stated aims.

>I just think the sneering at him because of MS’s business practices decades ago is pathetic.

Oh the business practices are consistent and present. People just pay less attention or get a more clear view looking back. That said he has a 0.9% to 1.4% stake now.

What i consider pathetic is attributing some grand benevolence to his veiled purchase of farmland trough loads of shell companies. Are we also to take it Alex Karp just really really cares about forest preservation? You know it's somewhere in the sidelines of Cladonia Skog AB's aims.