There are a lot of idle boasters popping out of the wordwork who want you to think they could solve all the world's problems with a trillion dollars.
They come in two types.
- The ones who want us to give the US government an additional trillion dollars, because apparently what we really need, to fix all the problems, is to simultaneously bomb the third bomb and import all of it to America. Even faster.
- And the ones who want us to give them, personally, a trillion dollars. Usually they are pretty shy about telling us what, if anything, they have done for us with the wealth they already have.
Personally, if someone has big ideas, and thinks we should all put him in charge, I'd like to see how he does running, say, a small sandwich shop, before we hand him the reins of any real power.
The words "I could do better" cost very little to say.
They also prove very little, because literally anyone can say them.
What would I do with Elon Musk's trillion dollars?
Probably about what he did: invest in building science-fiction technologies and making them fact. Perhaps a slightly different list of technological priorities, but same basic idea.
That's about the best I think a man can do for his species. Buying stuff that already exists and giving it to people doesn't create anything new. It doesn't move the ball forward. It just kinda fiddles with things as they are.
I would rather fix suffering than distribute it evenly.
I really don’t understand true greed. If I was worth $1 trillion, you’d have to physically stop me from solving as many of the world’s problems as possible.
Everyone would have a home, food on the table, proper healthcare, happiness.
I just don’t get it.