Bill Gates is a God..

[IamDavid]

I know, I know, some of you think he is the antichrist but any man who gives billions to charity has to be some what good. Who else has givin so much? I know he has the money to give away but that's not the point. 22 Billion dollars. That is more than twice the income of the entire state of Iowa.

 

[Czar]

You know that in is will, all his money will go to charity, so why dont we just kill him or something.

 

[ManSnake]

I know some of u might like to disagree, but IMO he is a vert successful person.

 

[vi edit]

I'm from Iowa too...damn I feel poor

btw - the closest I've ever come to calling 'ole billy boy "god" was closely followed by a "damnit!"

 

[ManSnake]

Iowa ain't so bad, I lived in Ames for awhile, a beautiful city if you know what I am saying

 

[Optimus]

Billy isn't bad, but some of M$'s business practices were just plain wrong, and for that he angered a lot of people.

I'm glad he gives money to charity, but how much is that money worth to him? What about time and effort? It is easy for a gazillionaire to write a check for money he couldn't spend in a lifetime.

 

[IamDavid]

"It is easy for a gazillionaire to write a check for money he couldn't spend in a lifetime"

If its such an easy thing for a rich person to do then why hasn't many others done it. ya can't blame him for making alot of money. This is America, the Mecca for capitalism.

 

[Looney]

I wouldn't call him a God, but he is very charitable... he just keeps it low profile to keep the hounds off him.

This world really would be a different place without him, and i definitely would say it wouldn't be so technologically advance. People once only saw computers as business machines, but it was him that saw it in every home and school... kind of amazing considering the OS back then was crap, with no GUI, graphics, or any multimedia... you have to wonder what he thought those computers would do in all those homes and school without GUI and graphics.

No doubt about it, he's going in the history books with the likes of Edison, Bell, and Jefferson.

I'm actually on the hunt for Windows 1.0 right now... i just want something i can show my kids 15-20 yrs down the road 'this is where it all started.'

 

[Looney]

<< I'm glad he gives money to charity, but how much is that money worth to him? What about time and effort? It is easy for a gazillionaire to write a check for money he couldn't spend in a lifetime >>



And how much of your money do you give to charity? What percentage is that? Even if he gives 1billion dollar, and it's only 1% (he's given more than 1B) of his worth, he's still contributed alot more to charity then you will ever. And for that, he is a better man than you would ever be to society.

 

[Optimus]

My point is that he gave from excess - money that meant nothing to him. Its good, but it is not as good as the people serving soup at a soup kitchen, or the folks at the food bank.

God he ain't.


But as I said, I'm glad he gives something. Rich people who give nothing to charity are scum. :|

 

[Optimus]

Moralpanic - what the hell do you know about me? Do you know how many hours a week I spend doing charity work? Do you know how much of my after-tax income goes to charity? Do you know anything about me?

No.

So shut the hell up.


We are talking about Gates and what he gives to charity. As I said, I'm glad he gives money. But I'd rank his charity efforts right along with anyone who writes a check. Good, but not God-like. Try Mother Theresa, or any number of people who devote their lives to helping others.

 

[Looney]

<< My point is that he gave from excess - money that meant nothing to him. Its good, but it is not as good as the people serving soup at a soup kitchen, or the folks at the food bank >>



Wow, are you freaking kidding? Do you know what it takes to give charity? You have thousands upon thousands of charities hounding you, how do you choose which will be the most productive with your money? Hell, his wife quit her job (which was no doubt cushy - she use to be his employee) to donate charity full time.

 

[Looney]

BTW, i use to live in a halfway house (Salvation Army), so i know what those 'charitable' people are like. They drive brand spanking new vans every couple of yrs, wear uniforms thinking it's a sign of authority, and their houserules are almost nazi.

I'm not saying they're all bad, some are truly nice, but to MOST it is a job like any other. When they said you can only have one juice, they mean ONLY one juice. How charitable is that.

 

[vi edit]

&quot;And how much of your money do you give to charity? What percentage is that? Even if he gives 1billion dollar, and it's only 1% (he's given more than 1B) of his worth, he's still contributed alot more to charity then you will ever. And for that, he is a better man than you would ever be to society. &quot;

That has to be one of the most blantent bursts of blabbering bullshit that I have ever, ever heard.

It is the intentions behind it, not the amount on the dotted line.

 

[Optimus]

Good for her! I mean that. Time and energy are a lot to give to charity, and I always respect it.



As I said before - Bill did good... but for Bill did not give untill it hurt, Bill did not go without anything, Bill does not limit his earnings to a set salary and give the rest to charity - not that I expect him to. Ted Turner also wrote a big fat check to charity - good for him too.

But they give from excess. Again, _good_, but not amazing or truly remarkable. Not god-like.

 

[Looney]

<< Moralpanic - what the hell do you know about me? Do you know how many hours a week I spend doing charity work? Do you know how much of my after-tax income goes to charity? Do you know anything about me? >>



I don't know much about you, but i can damn well bet Bill Gates does more for society than you will EVER do... so who are you to criticize?

And well, whatever you say about your charity contribution i consider that fiction... we're on the internet, i don't know you, and i'm not gullible enough to think you do all that.

 

[vi edit]

Moralpanic, by your own logic, Bill Gates is a &quot;better person&quot; than Mother Theresa. She didn't donate 22 billion dollars, so she's less of a person right?

 

[Looney]

<< That has to be one of the most blantent bursts of blabbering bullSh*t that I have ever, ever heard.

It is the intentions behind it, not the amount on the dotted line.Q]

LOLOL ok. A dozen person might thank you for helping at a soup kitchen, but if he does it right, millions will be thanking him... and for decades and decades to come, as most of his charity comes in trust.

 

[Optimus]

<< BTW, i use to live in a halfway house (Salvation Army), so i know what those 'charitable' people are like. They drive brand spanking new vans every couple of yrs, wear uniforms thinking it's a sign of authority, and their houserules are almost nazi. >>



Moralpanic - I'm sorry you had a bad time at that charity, but if it angered you that the charity-givers had nice vans and such, why do you defend Bill driving god-knows-what kind of luxury car and living in his billion dollar home?

By mentioning that the charity folks at the salvation army kept back enough for nice new vans, you seem to ignore that Bill kept many times more money than he could ever spend, let alone enough for a new van!




<< I'm not saying they're all bad, some are truly nice, but to MOST it is a job like any other. When they said you can only have one juice, they mean ONLY one juice. How charitable is that. >>



Maybe because they had a lot of people needing juice, and only so much juice to go around. Or maybe they were on a power trip? There are bad-natured people everywhere, but these people were helping.

 

[Looney]

No, money has nothing to do with it.. impact on the amount of people does. Mother Teresha help millions, but if Bill Gates uses his 50+Billion correctly, he can reform countries if he wanted, and i guarantee you that if he could eliminate poverty in a single country, he would be held in higher esteem than any other. Bill still have decades to prove himself.

Well, i need to run an errand... i'll argue some more when i get back.

 

[Optimus]

Moralpanic - if you are going to decide who I am and what I do for charity with no information, and reject anything I say I do because we are on the net, then this argument is useless. You are not someone who can carry on a logical and sensible debate if this is how you think.

 

[lupin]

Moralpanic,
I think I have windows 1. You want it?

 

[IamDavid]

How can any of you people say that Bill Gates is an bad person just because he is rich. Makes no sense. Maybe he should just keep his money to himself like most of the rich.

 

[urbantechie]

Moarlpanic, I have Windows 1.03 . PM me if ya want it. Is it still illegal to distribute it?

 

[axelfox]

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but who is more beneficial to society, Mother Theresa, who helped the poor by doing charity work like soup kitchen-type deals, or Bill Gates who, with his money, provides job training to people to better themselves.

I heard this arguement from someone, on this BBS I think, a long time ago.