from http://www.ted.com:
” I’ve got a suggestion for how Bill Gates can change the world that he is uniquely suited to execute:

Team up with Warren Buffet to tell governments to tax wealth rather than economic activity.

More specifically, charge a use fee for net in-place liquidation value of household assets in excess of the median price of a home plus the median capitalization of a job, and stop taxing income, capital gains, sales, value added or any other economic activity.

And while on the subject of economic rent seeking, they should talk to Charles Murray about replacing government transfer programs with a citizens dividend — although they aren’t as well positioned to remove public sector rent seeking from the economy as they are private sector rent seeking.

PS: On malaria, talk to Paul Ewald about evolutionary medicine. Isolating the sickest from mosquitoes will get malaria to evolve lower virulence.”

Takamoto Sato watched angrily, but very quiet, the wedding ring on his right hand. He turned it with his thumb, as his left hand reached over the credit card to the barman. Later on this afternoon  this credit card will get lost together with his wifes purse and all their money. An ugly argue of about two hours with the barmen and waitresses will follow, while within the course of this afternoon his wife would also have two bottles of red wine, 3 margaritas and a couple of unnamed shots. Sato married his wife 13 years ago, after a holiday in Fiji. She was a beautiful young woman from the south of Fijis main island Viti Levu. For her, to marry a business-class japanese man, was like win the lottery big time. Today is the birthday of their two sons, twins. Sato, carefully watched his language and voice, and perfectly kept his countenance like you would expect from a proud japanese San. They celebrate this event in the bar and restaurant of a new beach resort on the south part of Viti Levu, which was considered to be very new and top class. Around 10 guests are present and one or two bored tourists, and his wife repeatedly bothered all of them with loud announcements about the birthdays of her sons, mainly to justify her drinking.