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by acuozzo 560 days ago
Anecdotal, but… I'd be willing to put the time and effort in to start a company, but I would not be willing to lose my home or fail to provide for my wife & three children in the process as neither my wife nor I have any family capable of taking us in.
1 comments
WalterBright 560 days ago
You're risk averse. That's fine - but it does not justify being envious of those who do take risks. Musk bet everything he had on Tesla, and at one point was within hours of personal bankruptcy as well as Tesla's.
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acuozzo 559 days ago
FWIW, I'm not necessarily envious of Musk, et al.

With that being said, I'm not sure personal bankruptcy is a particularly meaningful risk when the individual in question can enjoy substantial riches by sheepishly(?) returning home to the care of their parent(s).

Granted, neither you nor I know if this is an option for Musk, but given that his mother speaks quite fondly of her son in public, it seems reasonable enough to me to believe that it is.

What I'm trying to say here is: Musk's risks are not mine. Would personal bankruptcy result in both he and his offspring living in poverty?

Celebrating someone for having taken a risk while omitting what exactly was on the line for them is a debate tactic built on a false equivalency which can be used as a cudgel to beat opponents down in arguments if its foundational trick goes unnoticed.

>> He jumped from the building and survived! Why can't you jump from the building too?

> The fire department erected a life net for him beforehand. All I have is sidewalk.

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WalterBright 559 days ago
People go bankrupt all the time in the US. That doesn't mean they starve to death.

> Would personal bankruptcy result in both he and his offspring living in poverty?

Musk did spend time in the US with no money. He got a job. It was a dirty job cleaning industrial machinery. A job anyone with a willingness to work could get.

Instead of doing all this guessing and assuming and making up things about Musk, why not read an actual biography of him? The one I read is by Vance:

https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/...

It costs $1.32. No excuses!

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