As an engineer who had worked for a number of years in biotech and med-tech, I find fault with the underlying assumption that one can build an organization out of bio-PI types and get anything out of it beyond a bunch of papers.
My hard-earned experience is tha the biology PI track selects against the technocratic leadership style necessary for the coordination of a large-scale effort.
My own stint in the field found most value with a small subset of fresh PhDs who were still mentally flexible enough to figure out how to do their research in a stackable and incremental way.
Unsurprisingly, most of these people stood very little chance of being hired as PIs, because their focus on efficiency made for worse short-term splashing.
Agreed. I've had similar experience. There is a huge difference between a mechanical, electrical or systems engineer and a biotech engineer. The former can design and make physical objects, the latter works generally in the paperwork and publications associated with the devices, not the devices themselves.
Zuckerberg has undoubtedly paid billions in taxes, far more than practically any of us ever will. If everyone else paid taxes like Zuckerberg, we’d have a lot less money in our pockets.
Moreover, the US government collects more than a trillion in taxes each year — is a few additional billion in tax revenue really what’s stopping the feds from tackling those issues?
Really? Long-term capital gains tax rate at upper income levels is 20%. Most households have a lower effective income tax rate than that after accounting for all deductions.
Because of the concentration of income-earning power in the capital-rich class driven by the favorable tax treatment of capital income; they pay little for the income they earn from capital. Its a really good deal for them, and a bad deal for everyone else.
I doubt it. They lobby (i.e. bribe) to have the tax code shaped to where they have a access to a bazillion loop holes. Between holding money in a tax haven to holding large amounts in company stock or whatever...there are lots of tricks. Sure he may pay more absolute dollars, but percent wise it's surely far less than those of us paying 40%. They then form their own charities to control exactly where their money goes instead of it going to taxes like all of us.
Many would disagree with your premise. Governments are not for curing all diseases. Governments are for protecting my rights, enforcing the law, and providing basic services and a safety net.
Need for defense, education, water, fire fighting/regulations, sewer, trash/recycling pickup, and once in a while workers rights and anti-trust. (Depending on ones definition of 'solved'.)
All of those sit on the shoulders of private business and enterprise. Government (and bureaucracy generally) only prevents them from efficiently executing on what the market demands of them.
Yes thank goodness those monopolies are gone and our cities are all clean and safe from fires and our sewage and road infrastructure is in top condition
I'd agree those needs haven't been solved permanently. Hence the need for vigilance and a strong government that's controlled by the people, not the rich or high born.
These discussions are exasperating for me because I always go where? Where in this world is this strong government that's controlled by the average joe and not by the rich or high born. It seems like some enlightenment era utopian fantasy that people haven't grown out of
Smallpox is no longer a disease (anywhere in the world) thanks to public health services funded by governments. Likewise polio is on the way out (with an unfortunate recent spike due to some parents not vaccinating their children for "reasons").
Water-spread diseases like cholera which used to kill thousands every few years in in places like New York or London in the 19th century are basically unknown today in the developed world, thanks to modern water treatment plants and sewers. While you might say there was some contribution to these efforts by private philanthropists, the vast majority of these public health efforts were government (taxpayer) funded.
In short, he's a multiple time felon who was even pardoned by Trump and then spent 500 million to rebuild and repair his name with the Milken Institute thing, which I've attended several times. There is something particularly off putting about eating free lobster corn dogs with leaders in business and government while we talk about the unhoused and how they don't have what they need.
The pair have done more to harm human dignity and privacy than most evil people thoughout history could even dream of. To respect their opinion on anything, let alone health, is so just vulgar, bordering on complete degeneracy.
As an engineer who had worked for a number of years in biotech and med-tech, I find fault with the underlying assumption that one can build an organization out of bio-PI types and get anything out of it beyond a bunch of papers.
My hard-earned experience is tha the biology PI track selects against the technocratic leadership style necessary for the coordination of a large-scale effort.
My own stint in the field found most value with a small subset of fresh PhDs who were still mentally flexible enough to figure out how to do their research in a stackable and incremental way.
Unsurprisingly, most of these people stood very little chance of being hired as PIs, because their focus on efficiency made for worse short-term splashing.