My original intention was to spend the money in my lifetime.

The criminalization of marijuana did not prevent marijuana from becoming the most widely used illegal substance in the United States and many other countries. But it did result in extensive costs and negative consequences.

There is always a divergence between our perception and what actually exists.

Giving government aid to a bank basically transforms it into a utility. The huge salaries in this sector are only a symptom of a more profound misalignment. The profitability of the finance industry has been excessive. [...] That was absurd.

Most of the poverty and misery in the world is due to bad government, lack of democracy, weak states, internal strife, and so on.

Who most benefits from keeping marijuana illegal? The greatest beneficiaries are the major criminal organizations in Mexico and elsewhere that earn billions of dollars annually from this illicit trade - and who would rapidly lose their competitive advantage if marijuana were a legal commodity.

Whenever there is a conflict between universal principles and self-interest, self-interest is likely to prevail.