[javajosh]

Sorry you're getting down-votes, because I think you bring up a very important point. We as a society should understand the trade-offs involved when we allow individuals to accumulate truly vast wealth. In general terms, this increases the variance in how the money can be spent. One guy might give it away, another builds rockets, another buys gilded toilets for his estate. Individual decision makers can do much better than government (the benevolent dictator...of their own money) and much worse (irresponsible or even damaging use of it). Government use is less efficient, but also has less variance: it will be spent on a similar range of things, but closer to the middle.

[lordnacho]

This is beside the point, but how can you see when someone is down-voted? I don't see any scores for other people's comments.

[rurp]

I'm guessing the comment text turned a shade of gray, which happens when the count goes negative. Though it's back to the normal shade currently, meaning it's back above negative territory.

[dfxm12]

Comment text gets lighter and lighter the more downvotes it gets.

[s17n]

I downvoted, not because of what he said or how he said it, but because there's basically no chance that the comment will lead to an enlightening conversation.