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Old 12-02-2015, 12:01 PM   #61
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Are you saying the $10 contribution doesn't make the world a better place? Isn't it also admirable?
Please show where I said anything like that?

But your earlier comment is completely arbitrary and unfounded.
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Sure, maybe it will. A person dropping a $10 bill into a Salvation Army bucket though has likely made a greater sacrifice and yet gets no front page news article.
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Old 12-02-2015, 12:04 PM   #62
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Are you saying the $10 contribution doesn't make the world a better place? Isn't it also admirable?

Why do we care how much the amount is? Why do we oooh and ahhh at someone who says that sometime in the future they will give away a large portion of their wealth but we don't even really pay attention when an average person drops some money in a bucket at a Safeway.
Which one is going to make a bigger impact in the world? By an enormous amount? There's your answer.
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Old 12-02-2015, 12:06 PM   #63
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The money he donates will do about as much good as the $100 million he already donated to New Jersey schools. Do a quick google search: zuckerberg new jersey schools and get ready to read how colossal of a failure that was. When a check is written that big everyone will come out of the woodwork to charge for their brilliant ideas...in the tune of sometimes $1,000/hr to consult. Nice.
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Old 12-02-2015, 12:07 PM   #64
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...
If they give away billions to make the world a better place, that's generous/admirable - period. ...
Allow me to address this one more specifically.

Is it 'generous'? In my view, not particularly. Semantically, one could argue that it is generous by definition. But from my meaning of the word, no, not particularly.

It gets to that concept of 'marginal utility'. Z has so much, the marginal utility of all those B's is near zero. It quite literally is worth near nothing to him. So is it being generous to give away something that is of little value to you?

An analogy: Let's say I have some old nick-nack in my basement. It has no sentimental value to me, and it has no cash value on the open market. I meant to toss it in the trash last time I cleaned up, but I missed it.

A friend comes over, who happens to be the only collector in the world of these particular knick-knacks, and it would complete a missing part of his collection. It would mean a lot to him to own it, but it means nothing to me. He sees it, explains it to me, and I say "take it".

Was my 'donation' generous or admirable?

All those $B's are like knick-knacks to Z. That's what we are trying to get across.

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Old 12-02-2015, 12:08 PM   #65
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Which one is going to make a bigger impact in the world? By an enormous amount? There's your answer.
Meh...depends. If you have 150 million people donate $10 every year vs 1 dude donating $30 billion lifetime...you tell me.
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Old 12-02-2015, 12:08 PM   #66
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As someone who has been hoarding money to support a 40-year vacation, I don't feel that I'm in any position to suggest how anyone else should handle his or her money.
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Old 12-02-2015, 12:44 PM   #67
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Oye vey. This has been a painful thread to read...so out of character for the ER.org crowd.

I am happy to see Mr. Z give away as much as he is...it's admirable. My only heartache (not towards him specifically) are folks that 1) advertise that they are giving something away. What happened to modesty? Perhaps I donate to charity, perhaps I don't. It's no one's business except mine and the IRS. 2) What is this nonsense with "giving back"? I hate that term as it's incorrect. To "give back" would to imply that you were GIVEN something originally. In this case, Mr. Z wasn't GIVEN his wealth...he earned it. OK...off my soapbox.
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Old 12-02-2015, 12:50 PM   #68
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Also...this forum doesnt have much activity in general. It seems to have a small following. Maybe thats why? Theres only the regulars and or users who have been here for a while. Im surprised how few new threads are started here...or how many new comments in general are posted. Guess I have to spend more time at bogleheads. Its too bad as im all about retiring early and was hoping to find a ton of info related to that.
Ummm. Well, in the last hour, there has been no less than 20 responses and/or new threads. That's a pretty active board. Of course if you compare it to Reddit, where there are millions of users (and where about 80% of the responses are useless) then sure, it's quiet here. Nonetheless, when it comes to ER, I certainly appreciate quality *over* quantity. So, if you don't think that there is useful information to be had, then feel free to not hang around.

Oh yes, and as a tip...if you are specifically looking for information about being FI, RE, or FIREd, then I don't think that information would be in the "other topics" area, especially this one.
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Old 12-02-2015, 03:13 PM   #69
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