Thaidog,
I think Aro has a good point. One that you haven’t responded to.
A typical person in Mexico, working at a factory, can, at best make $15.00.
A Day.
You, I can only imagine, make much more than that a day.
Where is the fairness in that? How much of your money are you donating?
When you say: “no man you can’t make that much money with out being underhanded” .
I have to wonder who the real troll is in this thread.
ok people… you’re taking this post way too seriously ;j
It’s a simple question: Is it morally correct to live like a king while you watch others suffer? That’s the point of the post… Bill Gates just happens to be the riches guy…
What is a troll? one hyperlink for ya: www.slashdot.org btw, no shortage of Bill Gates bashing there… in fact, it’s an IT site… which basically understands why Bill is rather weak willed… I suggest everyone look into it before jumping on the Gate’s yes man bandwagon…
What about the Bible? The Love of money is the roo of all evil. That’s straight out of God’s mouth
An the idea that it does not make economic sense to clear the debt to the last super power… the last communist super power is total and complete bullshit… I should know I have a degree in economics…
Okay, troll away… just kidding 
ok people… you’re taking this post way too seriously ;j
It’s a simple question: Is it morally correct to live like a king while you watch others suffer? That’s the point of the post… Bill Gates just happens to be the richest guy… and thus an easy target… (I don’t hate Bill… it’s just fun to pick on him)
What is a troll? one hyperlink for ya: www.slashdot.org btw, no shortage of Bill Gates bashing there… in fact, it’s an IT site… which basically understands why Bill is rather weak willed… I suggest everyone look into it before jumping on the Gate’s yes man bandwagon… And yes I work for the biggest IT co in the world… and Bill is why we push Linux… in a nutshell…
What about the Bible? The Love of money is the root of all evil. That’s straight out of God’s mouth
And the idea that it does not make economic sense to clear the debt to the last super power… the last communist super power is total and complete bullshit… I should know I have a degree in economics…
Okay, troll away… just kidding
It is morally correct to enjoy the fruits of your labor and not feel the need to be forced into some sort of publi guilt induced socialistic wealth flattening procedure. And, perhaps you missed the mention of a $24 billion endowment to his foundation up above? He’s not exactly sitting around, lighting cigars with $1000 bills, and laughing as the poor folk dance for nickels in front of him.
Sadly, we on the SDMB are all too familiar with what a troll is. You are dancing perilously close that line. Well, that line or the one separating rational thought from irrational thought.
Whoopee. Thanks for the resume. There are plenty of IT people who dislike Bill. There are plenty who like him. And you are clearly not completely reading the posts on this thread if you are referring to the writers as Gates’ yes man bandwagon.
While I could find links to bore you with regarding the role of money in the bible, or a list of the charitable deeds Gates’ money supports, I will simply say this. Gates net worth = ~$50billion. Gates foundation =~$24 billion. Tithing, as defined by the bible = 10% of what you own. Granted, he’s not giving to a church, but he is using his success to help others.
Answer my question and you shall answer your own.
I am not really a fan of MS products, and seldom, if ever use them - except at work.
Having said that, I have no issues with the wealth Mr Gates has generated. His company has enriched countless lives and improved the world. His wealth is his own, to use or misuse as he sees fit. Wealth generation is not a zero-sum game. It grows, it is not extorted from others. There is a hell of a lot more wealth in the world now than there was, say, 50 years ago.
Some, like me, choose not to enrich him, by not buying his products, others choose the opposite.
As to banning wealth above certain sums, this woud only encourage a lack of innovation. To strip anyone of their rightful earnings, no matter how high they may be, is ludicrous - and a moral outrage
OK, quote the Bible. How about this then. Money is the root of all that is good From Ayn Rand. Basically money represents our right to the fruits of our labour, it represent the freedom of trade, to trade our services and products with each other without coercion.
FTR, I am a Linux user as well. But am in no way interested in the Gates bashing that seems inherent in a large part of that community.
You have a degree in economics? Good, then you ought to recognise the fallacy you are promoting about wealth. See my comments above about zero-sum games.
If nothing else, this thread was at least highly amusing to read, thanks everyone 
I knew that roo was up to no good! 
Ok people fine think what you want… as far as I care it’s end of line…
Thou shalt not binld mine eyes… and stuff…
I can’t believe I’m actually playing along with this crap, but…
What should the legal limit be for how much money you can have? And don’t give me some vague answer about “when you have what you need” or anything like that. I want a dollar figure.
Well of coures it is not morally correct to live like a king while others suffer. Thats not the point. Kings are made on the suffering of others. You cant be king without stepping on some people.
The point is we can NOT regulate morality. If Bill suffers in hell for all eternity for the suffering he has caused or couldve alleviated (but didnt) well, THATS HIS PROBLEM! He made his money the old fashioned way. He earned it. How he got it is irrelevant, he has it and if he can keep it while the govt, competitors, charities and thieves try to take it from him then more power to him. He’s only a man and he has a limited lifespan. Ultimately, he cant take it with him. So I believe it is very legal and proper for a man to have that much money. You only live once.
Dude! You really need to preview more often!
As far as Bill goes, good for him. Its his money, and he earned it. And from everything I’ve ever read about him, he knows he has more than he needs and does a damn fine job of distributing the excess.
You want a piece of his pie? Work harder! And check your resume for spelling errors.
Fagjunk Theology: Not just for sodomite propagandists anymore.
Thaidog,
why won’t you answer my question?
Anyone should be able to earn as much money as they wish. The operative term here is “earn.” Microsoft’s crappy software cost America so much productivity throughout the 80s and 90s that Gates should be forced to refund all buyers from that period. The MS 2000 system is decent. Not so his previous work.
Mind you, he has made a commitment to divest himself of 90% of his wealth before he takes the dirt nap. I just happen to feel that he has used very predatory marketing techniques to hawk off some pretty crappy software.
Between Microsoft, IBM and Intel, American computing has been set back decades. Imagine if IBM had gone to Apple when the Mac came out, opened their wallet and said, “How much?” Think about what it would be like if America had been using Macs for the last few decades.
Cite? He, he, I always wanted to do that 
The other thing to remember is that Bill Gates wealth is primarily Microsoft stock. Those $32 billion or 50 billion figures for his wealth are just paper wealth, arived at by multiplying the number of M shares Bill owns by the current price per share of M$ stock. If Bill tried to sell that stock, he’d lose control of the company. Also, dumping that many shares would depress the market, so he couldn’t sell all of them at the current price, he’d have to sell most at a depressed price. And if Bill was dumping M$, that would have a psychological effect in addition to the supply-demand effect. If Bill sells M$, that means M$ is worth less since Bill will no longer run the company.
Bill owns a big chunk of the company he started. If you want to be as rich as he is all you have to do is found a wildly successful company and maintain ownership of it.
I used to Live in Tuscon, AZ… which is about 25mi from Nagalos, Mex.
What a horrible place to be… 25 fucking miles from Tuscon… and people live in cardboard houses carved into the sides of the mountains that surround the town… Porr women on every street corner… selling chiklet gum for money…
My mom insisted on visiting so she culd take advantage of the low prices on handmade household items… i told her I would never go there again with her and that she should NEVER go there by herself… she could easily get lost forever down there if you know what I mean… Mexican men at every stop asking to be your “tour guide” or if you need something to “smoke”…
My mom just looked at my like I was crazy and said “Why not?” So I spelled it out for her… My mom is not very “street smart”
Point is… that place sucks. It’s just like you said… people work for nothing because they know no better… you know the saying “if education costs a lot… try not having one!” It’s the truth… these people get taken advantage of on a daily basis because people like me and you want to “GO TO MEXICO!” or want to buy a fake Rolex… or other more seedy reasons… Bill, give the money to Mexico if you want… but China, people, is even worse than Mexico… People even poorer in a comunistic governent…
(I don’t have time to preview… sorry for any issues reading my posts… but I’m sure you get my point… now back to work for me, i hope this answers your question)
OK, but now you are assuming that Mr Gates has a responsibility for the well-being of other people. Why? On what basis?
I do not mean to sound cold-hearted or uncharitable, but what we are talking about here is his property. Not mine, not yours not the people of China or mexico or of waikikamookow. His. To do with as he sees fit. He did not extort it from anyone, but traded products and service for it (the efficacy of which might be open to debate but that is a different question). He owes nothing to the people you mention. The only people he owes to are the people who work for him, whom he pays, and his customers, to whom he provides service.
Why should he give it to anyone at all?
Morally, it is his to do with as he sees fit. He does in fact choose to be the biggest philanphropist in history (educated guess). i would warrant that he has done more good in this world than any number of Mother Theresas - in terms of improving the lives of countless people, and growing the overall pool of wealth, not just his philanthropic activities
Let me give you a clue on that one, EconMajor boy. When you spend money in Mexico, when you buy that pottery or those chicklets, you are enabling them to feed themselves.
So, let’s get this straight:
a) you think people with more money then you have too much money and should have it taken away.
b) you think that people with less money then you should be kept at a distance so you don’t get “lost forever”
If you would’ve been awake at those Econ classes, you would’ve realized that Bill Gates has created far more wealth in the world then he personally owns. Employees made a lot of money. Investors made a lot of money. But all those pale in comparison to the enormous efficiencies gained by every Bill customer who was happy to pay for his software because it saved them so much money over their previous solution.
As noted, Bill has given $24 billion to charity. Have you given your first million yet? How many starving children are alive today because of Bill’s generosity? And how many have you saved?