Stay Gold, America

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Donations, Wealth, and Motives

  • Clarification that the author donated $8M now and plans to give half his net worth within five years; some question the implied net worth size.
  • Many applaud the scale of giving; others see it as humble‑bragging or symptomatic of a system where problems depend on billionaire charity.
  • Several argue that philanthropy is a “drop in the bucket” and cannot fix structural issues; others counter that $8M to effective orgs still tangibly improves lives.

Inequality, the American Dream, and Mobility

  • Strong disagreement over whether the “American Dream” is dead:
    • Critics cite falling mobility, high inequality, and unaffordable housing/education; the dream is now mostly lottery‑style success.
    • Defenders say the dream was always about incremental improvement, not becoming ultra‑rich, and argue it still exists, especially across generations.
  • Debate on whether business formation meaningfully drives broad mobility vs mainly benefiting a small minority.
  • Multiple comments stress affordable higher education as a key mobility driver; others question education as an inherent moral good.

Price Increases, Regulation, and Cost Disease

  • Discussion of the “Baumol cost disease” graph: tradable goods got cheaper, labor‑heavy services (healthcare, education) much more expensive.
  • Some blame regulation and administrative growth (e.g., huge rise in healthcare administrators) for healthcare costs; others emphasize structural limits to productivity in care work.

Systemic Critique vs Incremental Fixes

  • Several see wealth concentration as driven by state policy: central banking, money supply expansion, government debt, and regulation‑enabled cartels.
  • Proposed systemic responses include abolishing or radically changing reserve banking, considering UBI, and reducing government’s GDP share.
  • Others argue focusing solely on “the rich” is a form of classism and that many wealthy people also fund science, hospitals, and public goods.

Democracy, Voting, and Legitimacy

  • Some challenge the article’s framing that 42% non‑voting makes 2024 uniquely unrepresentative, noting turnout was historically high.
  • Long sub‑thread on compulsory voting:
    • Pro: higher participation, harder voter suppression, fewer shock outcomes driven by small motivated minorities.
    • Con: loses “abstention as dissent” signal; may not improve decision quality; many democracies choose voluntary voting for this reason.
  • Ideas aired: sortition (random citizens as legislators), public holidays for voting, and better civic infrastructure.

Mail‑In Voting and Fraud

  • One side labels universal mail‑in voting “most open to abuse”; the other calls this a partisan myth, pointing to extremely low documented fraud rates.
  • Discussion of trade‑offs between voter ID, accessibility for poor/disabled voters, and verification of signatures vs in‑person ID checks.

Charity List and Partisan Alignment

  • Some see the chosen nonprofits as a partisan wishlist, at odds with recent electoral outcomes.
  • Others note that many causes (hunger, veteran support, financial literacy, free speech) are broadly popular, while civil‑rights, LGBTQ, and immigration work sit on sharper culture‑war fault lines.

Broader Mood

  • A recurring sentiment of cynicism: voting, donating, and protesting feel ineffective against entrenched plutocratic power and “extractionist” elites.
  • Others push back on nihilism, arguing that even imperfect actions—like major donations and turnout drives—still matter and should not be dismissed.