Also, if it turns out that I have three sub-budgets as you describe here (X, Y, Z) and there exist three acts (Ax, Ay, Az) which are optimal for each budget, but there exists a fourth act B which is just-barely-suboptimal in all three, it may turn out that B is the optimal thing for me to do despite not being optimal for any of the sub-budgets. So optimizing each budget separately might not be the best plan.
Generally, you are right. But in effective altruism, the axis “helping other people” is estimated to do hundred times more good if you use a separate budget for it.
This may be suboptimal for the other axes, though. Taking the pledge and having your name on the list could help along the “signalling philantropy” axis.
Also, if it turns out that I have three sub-budgets as you describe here (X, Y, Z) and there exist three acts (Ax, Ay, Az) which are optimal for each budget, but there exists a fourth act B which is just-barely-suboptimal in all three, it may turn out that B is the optimal thing for me to do despite not being optimal for any of the sub-budgets. So optimizing each budget separately might not be the best plan.
Then again, it might.
Generally, you are right. But in effective altruism, the axis “helping other people” is estimated to do hundred times more good if you use a separate budget for it.
This may be suboptimal for the other axes, though. Taking the pledge and having your name on the list could help along the “signalling philantropy” axis.
Fair point.