Nuclear energy, in terms of an overall safety record, is better than other energy.
Bill GatesRead
One of the statistics that always amazes me is the approval of the Chinese government, not elected, is over 80 percent. The approval of the U.S. government, fully elected, is 19 percent. Well, we elected these people and they didn't elect those people. Isn't it supposed to be different? Aren't we supposed to like the people that we elected?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the contrasting approval ratings of elected versus non-elected governments.
Bill Gates highlights the paradox in political approval ratings between elected governments, like that of the United States, which has a low approval rate, and non-elected governments, such as China's, which boasts a high approval rate. He questions whether democratic elections should naturally lead to greater satisfaction among the populace, pointing out the discrepancy in expectations between the two types of governance.
Themes
PoliticsApprovalGovernmentDemocracyElections
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in discussions about government accountability and approval ratings during a political seminar.
More from Bill Gates
All quotes →The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.
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With the states release today of a set of clear and consistent academic standards, our nation is one step closer to supporting effective teaching in every classroom, charting a path to college and careers for all students, and developing the tools to help all children stay motivated and engaged in their own education. The more states that adopt these college and career based standards, the closer we will be to sharing innovation across state borders and becoming more competitive as a country.
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About three million computers get sold every year in China, people don't pay for the software. Someday they will, though. And as long as they're going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll get sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.
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Internet TV and the move to the digital approach is quite revolutionary. TV has historically has been a broadcast medium with everybody picking from a very finite number of channels.
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These four policy prescriptions - strengthening educational opportunities, revamping immigration rules for highly skilled workers, increasing federal funding for basic scientific research, and providing incentives for private-sector R&D - should in my view be top priorities as Congress and the Administration consider how to maintain the nation's leadership in science, technology, and innovation.
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