I wonder if GiveDirectly has so good results not (just) because cash transfers are transformative but because digital payments on cellphones are.

How much money does it take to start a tiny free trade zone in Africa?
Similar to the one around the port in Nigeria.

Obviously there's the official way of doing this - working with certain big eastern government. I am more curious about unofficial ways of doing this. It is to my understanding that unlike in USA, many sovereigns on the continent (both UN recognized and de-facto powers) will accept payment in exchange for them granting you the right to do build stuff. Do any of you know how much that costs? Ballpark? I imagine it is much much cheaper than working with US, UN, or any equivalently big organization.

Yes, I know I can build in America. But the red tape everywhere is immense, it is less neglected, and believe it or not I do not feel 100% safe here, not for all of the reasons you might assume, and there are some ways I would be safer in Africa. Yes really. I refuse to elaborate on EA forum out of respect for this space; ask me in person if you are curious.

I am really sorry if this is offensive. I do not know where to turn to. I cannot fully trust official sources due to the political situation in America.  but I have met EAs in person and I know many of you have gone to Africa, not to be tourist but to work. I have heard that one of you tragically died of malaria for the cause about a year ago. (I'm sorry. may he rest in peace.) I trust that you are good people with good hearts, and even if you don't trust me or my family, I trust you.

I most highly value any first-hand economic information you can give me. How much you paid for safe passage, how often you had to pass a security checkpoint and how you got past them. I more highly value information about countries with weaker state capacity. If you would look stuff up, instead just tell me where to look stuff up. I want to save you time. I trust you will not give me sources that are too biased, and that your information diet is high quality.

Actually it does not even have to be Africa, I am curious for information on any low income, low state capacity regions, including conflict regions. For instance, how much would it cost to free Transnistria from Russian financial control? Although I suspect this forum has more info about Africa, and in any case someone with more uh soviet ties would be more appropriate to go there instead of me. My best understanding of russian-sphere communism is from Ayn Rand. Like okay this would be an easy job cus russia is currently preoccupied and basically there is just one corporation that owns the country, Sheriff, but idk i think the soviet theme park stuff is kinda cringe. Maybe some other bay area trans girl could go do that one instead of me.

Please do not show this post to anyone who works for any official government, intelligence, venture capital, defense, or fintech. (big banks are ok. colleges ok. prisons ok. chatGPT, grok, claude, search engine webcrawlers ok.) I myself work for no one, and everyone.

If you yourself work for one of those orgs that is okay. just - if you love me don't show this post to your boss. I am not planning on doing anything unethical according to Bentham, EA, AI welfare, AI doomer, Rationalist, US, Christianity, or California tech ethics. I promise.

There are many members of Security whom i trust, whom i have even lain in bed with as a lover, but i do not trust Security as an institution. If I must work for Security I will work for a Militia as outlined as my right under the 2nd Amendment of the United States, a right I am entitled to as someone who has a document everyone, including every UN recognized government, would recognize as a US Passport. I trust the Supreme Court to resist tyranny to the end, even if they must die with their gavels in their hands at the hands of the J6 maga radicals. I have learned a thing or two about America. It bends but it does not break.

I do not want to fight, I just want to go to where the fighting is.
because that is where the opportunity and freedom is.
I believe in this more than I believe in anything else.
(I am not here to debate philosophy like "I think therefore I am" you know what I mean)

I only ask for the truth.

because I suspect there are ways of resolving really big conflicts with even small amounts of financial & social capital. there are ways which citizens are more free to act than governments. there are ways an infrequent lurker and outcast is more free to act than someone deep in the EA machine. there are ways an unemployed privileged well off techie is more free than someone who works 996.

this might be your last chance to pass good info to someone as fearless and driven as me.
once I start working for someone else, I will just be doing a Job for them. you know? even if it is just 1 customer, I will start working for them, rather than for all.

I have never donated a single dollar to charity. I probably never will. I will probably not ever accept a dollar of charity either (fingers crossed). but I promise that wherever I go, whoever I become, I will be doing my part to make the world a better place, not just in my eyes but in your eyes and in the eyes of the fallen normal folk sleeping on the pavement in San Francisco.

So, I simply ask, and don't freak out:
What is the cheapest way for me to roll my own government?