BLUE ORIGIN (Jeff Bezos) 1ST HUMAN FLIGHT TO SPACE

[Vlerkies]

Neil deGrasse Tyson is as entertaining as ever in this clip about billionaires in 'space'.

[Falafel]

The Dutch 18-year old’s billionaire dad paid an undisclosed amount at an auction. The previous bid, which backed out, was $28M.
For a 10 minute ride, that borders on vulgar.

It is vulgar and considering the underlying tones in the world today about the gap between rich and poor, it is understandable why there is a growing resentment... no one disputes a free market but there is something fundamentally wrong when the very users of Amazon for instance might not be able to afford to send their children to school in some instances.... its a systemic problem which is going to get worse and this does highlight it, no matter which side of the fence one sits... problem is where do you draw the line between enjoying ones hard earned cash and being sensitive to the plight of millions who also work hard but dont have any

Did you maybe consider that the money these people paid for this flight, kept probably a few hundred people employed? Earning a salary, providing for their families? That rocket did not build itself. I don't see this as rich people wasting money, I see this as one person that, through buying that ticket, spent more money on employing and helping people than you have probably ever done in your life.

Wow thats a little out of order.... fact is you dont know him or me and frankly speaking I dont think he was "helping" anyone by spending USD20m on a space trip for his kid... I am not going to debate how much I have done for society or you have or even the Dutch guy...

We can debate the employment of thousands of people on this thread til the cows come home, but we really dont know do we Space travel is wonderful and glorious, and maybe has created so many additional technologies and man really wants to go and live on Mars, but lets be careful here because the same could be said for the Cruise Industry carting thousands of pasty white Europeans all over the world, living large and spewing all kinds of filth into the sea... it creates jobs - sure. But this is largely in my view a very narrow view of the industry / technology...

What cannot be debated is the growing gap between rich and poor and perhaps this Billionaire ego back slapping highlights it... its a problem which, could be solved be a more even wealth distribution... I do not believe in communism but a very high concentration of wealth in the hands of so few which could effectively end world hunger is cause for concern...

This is nothing more than a pi$$ing contest... they ran out of Ferrari's and Yachts and now orbit the earth for the greater good of man... seriously

[Fransw]

..

[Ugly Duckling]

Might be the place to draw the line

[HJK 414]

.........................
What cannot be debated is the growing gap between rich and poor and perhaps this Billionaire ego back slapping highlights it... its a problem which, could be solved be a more even wealth distribution... I do not believe in communism but a very high concentration of wealth in the hands of so few which could effectively end world hunger is cause for concern...
...........

Unfortunately - the truth is - you can not make the poor richer by making the rich poorer ....
That is an illusion .....

And at the end of the day - the wealthy pay taxes accordingly - so in proportion it all stays the same
As Whirly stated - and I agree ..

JK

[Falafel]

.........................
What cannot be debated is the growing gap between rich and poor and perhaps this Billionaire ego back slapping highlights it... its a problem which, could be solved be a more even wealth distribution... I do not believe in communism but a very high concentration of wealth in the hands of so few which could effectively end world hunger is cause for concern...
...........

Unfortunately - the truth is - you can not make the poor richer by making the rich poorer ....
That is an illusion .....

And at the end of the day - the wealthy pay taxes accordingly - so in proportion it all stays the same
As Whirly stated - and I agree ..

JK

Yeah but the rich dont and thats a fact. They do not pay 40% away like many middle income people do.... I am not saying make people poored what I am saying is that we need to call a spade a spade here... its NOT altruistic, its obscene and the money could likely be spent on better things. Is it their perogative, yes clearly, but it certainly does highlight a bigger problem.

[Whirly]

Falafel,

I have an idea!

Go and make your $ billions and then show the rest of them how it should be done.

Whirly.

[savas]

Falafel,

I have an idea!

Go and make your $ billions and then show the rest of them how it should be done.

Whirly.

Spot on Whirly

[Falafel]

Falafel,

I have an idea!

Go and make your $ billions and then show the rest of them how it should be done.

Whirly.

Honestly throwing an insult like that is purile and weak. From your posts I HAD believed your levels of maturity were a little higher than that however obviously mistaken.

I was merely trying to highlight a point which has come from many quarters globally. This is not something I am alone in, there are Billions who have felt it, thought it and dozens who have written about it better than I have. I would also anticipate some of them have more money than you and me put together, so while you may shut me up in this discussion here, by your deduction if you are a Billionaire you are only qualified to discuss this, which makes you just as unqualified as I am.

[Frontiersman]

It is vulgar and considering the underlying tones in the world today about the gap between rich and poor, it is understandable why there is a growing resentment... no one disputes a free market but there is something fundamentally wrong when the very users of Amazon for instance might not be able to afford to send their children to school in some instances.... its a systemic problem which is going to get worse and this does highlight it, no matter which side of the fence one sits... problem is where do you draw the line between enjoying ones hard earned cash and being sensitive to the plight of millions who also work hard but dont have any

Did you maybe consider that the money these people paid for this flight, kept probably a few hundred people employed? Earning a salary, providing for their families? That rocket did not build itself. I don't see this as rich people wasting money, I see this as one person that, through buying that ticket, spent more money on employing and helping people than you have probably ever done in your life.

Wow thats a little out of order.... fact is you dont know him or me and frankly speaking I dont think he was "helping" anyone by spending USD20m on a space trip for his kid... I am not going to debate how much I have done for society or you have or even the Dutch guy...

We can debate the employment of thousands of people on this thread til the cows come home, but we really dont know do we Space travel is wonderful and glorious, and maybe has created so many additional technologies and man really wants to go and live on Mars, but lets be careful here because the same could be said for the Cruise Industry carting thousands of pasty white Europeans all over the world, living large and spewing all kinds of filth into the sea... it creates jobs - sure. But this is largely in my view a very narrow view of the industry / technology...

What cannot be debated is the growing gap between rich and poor and perhaps this Billionaire ego back slapping highlights it... its a problem which, could be solved be a more even wealth distribution... I do not believe in communism but a very high concentration of wealth in the hands of so few which could effectively end world hunger is cause for concern...

This is nothing more than a pi$$ing contest... they ran out of Ferrari's and Yachts and now orbit the earth for the greater good of man... seriously

Most of these billionaires worked themselves up to the position they are in now from humble beginnings. They took a chance on a business idea and it paid off handsomely. Through having the guts to put an idea into practice and having it pay off handsomely for them, they brought themselves to where they are. They could just as easily have lost everything.

Can I start a billion dollar business? Maybe, I don't know, but I can tell you that, unlike these people that put their backsides on the line and probably worked 20 hour days at the start to make their vision a reality, I don't have the guts to try it. But yeah, thank whatever higher power you pray to for people like this. It's because of people like them that we are not living in caves anymore.

Now people like you scream and shout and expect these people to just give away all the money that they worked damn hard for, just because there are poor people in the world? It's like me expecting you to never own a car, because there are many people in the world that can't afford a car. Or never to eat in a restaurant, because there are people in the world that go hungry.

So if Jeff Bezoz wants to spend a billion dollars on putting a diamond encrusted crapper in every room of his house, good for him, in my eyes he earned the right to do just that.

This is the way the world has always been and the way it always will be. They worked for that money, they can do with it what they want.

[Whirly]

Falafel,

I am not going to be dragged down to your level. I did not insult you btw.

I am only saying that it is always easy to give things (like money) away when it is not yours.

I think most posters have covered it here, I don't begrudge those that have more than 90% of the rest of us put together. Good for them, and great if they want to share or give to others, but nobody should demand they do.

Chill, and play the ball.

Whirly.