Bill Gates blasts capitalism - research for 'male baldness gets more funding than malaria

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Billionaire Bill Gates criticized capitalism saying that it causes fundraising efforts to go to trivial issues that bother rich people a opposed to global health epidemics that are devastating the poor.

The Microsoft founder was speaking at a conference about his latest philanthropic push to end malaria, saying that it gets slighted in terms of funding because the ones with the checkbooks are typically men in wealthy countries.

'The malaria vaccine in humanist terms is the biggest need. But it gets virtually no funding. But if you are working on male baldness or other things you get an order of magnitude more research funding because of the voice in the marketplace than something like malaria,' he said.

He said that the way to fix the disparity is to address this 'flaw in the pure capitalistic approach.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2294205/Billionaire-Bill-Gates-blasts-capitalism-saying-reason-research-male-baldness-gets-funding-malaria.html

[MadHound]

1. So says one of the Masters of the Universe,

One who made his fortune off of cutthroat, crony capitalism.

All he is doing is the same as other capitalists who've made it big, trying to polish his legacy.

[socialist_n_TN]

6. There you go MH........

Once they've played the system to the point where you or your descendants to the nth degree, never need to worry about money again, you start playing the philanthropist.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

9. Attacking the messenger.

How about dealing with the message?

[MadHound]

10. Sorry, but this is one of those cases where the message is the messenger,

An uber capitalist, who made his obscene fortune through ripping off others, exploiting labor and squeezing consumers is now saying there's something wrong with capitalism? You know, this is a revelation that most folks have before they make their first million.

This is nothing more than legacy polishing, much like every other Master of the Universe does after they've made their fortune. They want to insure that history treats them kindly instead of damning them for the thieving, exploitive uber capitalists that they are.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

14. Who did Bill Gates rip off?

My guess is once challenged to give examples you won't reply.

[Logical]

13. LOL, you crack me up! n-t

[dkf]

2. Capitalism has no incentive to cure anything either. Better to keep people perpetually hooked on Rx

Geez where has he been?

[Ter]

3. Far more men go bald then get malaria

No offense, but I'd rather they find a cure for baldness.

[socialist_n_TN]

5. Not me and I've been bald for 20 years or so........

Baldness won't kill me or anyone else, but malaria does.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

7. True that.

[Ter]

11. It doesn't bother some men, but destroys the lives of many others

This may sound selfish, but I never even knew anyone with malaria. Curing it doesn't affect my life at all. Curing baldness does. If that's selfish, so be it.

[octothorpe]

12. My hair is falling out, but I'd rather them cure deadly diseases

than make it so I always have a full head of hair. Death is far shittier than baldness.

I'd even go as far to say I'd go bald if it meant just one life could be spared from some deadly disease.


That being said, I kinda hope they can do both.

[MindPilot]

4. I do not have malaria. I am however bald.

I don't see the problem.

[randome]

8. I see his point but I don't see any solution, either.

You could put both those issues up for an Internet vote and probably male baldness would still win out.

Maybe if a 'weighting factor' such as how many deaths could be prevented was added...