18
votesJon Zulanas says:
I’d have to say that the technology and money used to create the iPods and iPhones could have been used towards a better cause, not just new devleopment of other iPods to compete with Microsoft, and see who can become richer. The money and technology could have helped millions of people who are homeless, hungry, slaves, etc. to create a better enviorment for all of us.
(Sorry to anyone who thinks this is a stupid response, but think about it. What if you were one of them?)
Stever
September 12th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
That is a different use of money, not of technology.
September 12th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
You forget that it is the primary responsibility of those nations that possess all the starving and homeless people to fix that problem. The US sends billions in aid to countries all over the world, yet things don’t seem to get better. Also, the use of that money for charity is not necessarily better. If Bill Gates didn’t spend millions on software development, then he wouldn’t have had the 10 billion dollars he is in the process of donating to charity. Rich people like him give more to charity than a billion middle class people like us. Also, think of all the jobs and money companies like Apple and IBM create for people in the US. Ever heard of the $100 laptop? Without the technology created by the apples and microsofts, this might well be impossible.
More and better technology will save the poor and homeless, not more money.
September 14th, 2007 at 10:38 am
In most cases throwing money at the homeless is a temporary fix to an ongoing problem. You might as well throw duct tape at them.
September 14th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Yeah I agree you can’t throw money at poor people and expect them to just get better. Lets be reminded of the 95% of lottery winners wind up worse off two and three years down the road then before they fell into millions of dollars, because they didn’t/don’t know how to properly handle money versus blowing it all on all these “toys” (liabilities) that don’t do anything but suck up their money. Broke is a temporary state but poor is a mindset and if you don’t change the mindset they’ll just be right back where they started.
Now don’t get me wrong, I actually plan on setting up homeless shelters in the next few years that are more of a ‘lets get you on your feet and off of or away from those things keeping you this way and get you on your feet’ type shelter, don’t forget that almost every single person in a homeless shelter is there because of something they got themselves into (I’m not saying they like it or they don’t want out but it’s their fault). However, to just throw money at homeless shelters means that you’re saying “It’s OK to be poor, we’ll fund you that way.” and that’s not good for society at all.
I’ve personally met a guy in my business who used to live under a bridge in CA. HE decided he didn’t want that any longer and DID something about it. Now he’s making over $100k+ a year. That being said, you really can only save people (from ANYTHING) if they they WANT to be saved and are willing to participate in their own rescue.
September 20th, 2007 at 9:19 am
Yeah. Thats a new use for money. Putting money into charities than just throw it at lazy bums is a waste. Donating money to chairties who will buy food, clothes, and provide shelter for homeless people who were forced into homelessness (say they were born into a family of illegal immagrants or something similar) is a much different thing. DOnating money to chairities who will help get those people jobs is another thing. The technology that Microsoft makes helps all of these people. I made 120k+ a year from home, working maybe 4 hours a day. Bill Gates co-invented the Internet, which allows me to do my job, which lets other people have jobs, which gives the mail clerks jobs, which gives people mail, which they open to find out if they got a job, which then could lead to them getting promotions which would allow other people to have jobs, and the whole process repeats.