Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by stego-tech 511 days ago
An excellent visualizer. I particularly appreciate the use of text metaphors and analogies in lieu of traditional graphics, as it provides a more relatable metric to go by than just starkly different bar sizes on a chart.

My only critique would be to put into perspective social problems (e.g., homelessness, medical debt, etc) to demonstrate what portion of these could be solved through the wealth of a single billionaire. This is going to be even more critical as we approach the bleak reality of having our first trillionaire, barring global catastrophe wiping out asset values.

1 comments

Right - Musk could end world hunger.
From the World Food Program:

> Back in July of 2021, U.N. World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley told us it would take an estimated $40 billion each year to end world hunger by 2030.

The problem is that it would mean directing his wealth and influence according to the guidance of others, which would detract from the cult of personality billionaires carefully cultivate for themselves. It’s a difference of emphasis: sure, their fortune and influence could end world hunger/buy everyone a home/pay off medical debts, but they can’t solve these problems themselves because they’re not capable of doing so.

And so they don’t. They let problems fester because they cannot get the credit they want for fixing it. They’re unconcerned with actually solving problems, and solely concerned with recognition.