Live data from Hacker News

Coinbase lays off around 1,100 employees

coindesk.com

81–90 of 1001 posts

Re: Coinbase lays off around 1,100 employees

#81
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think billionaires should exist, but I also don't think these employees have been wronged. That is a pretty generous severance package.

How much money should people be allowed to have?

100x of the average net-worth in the 50km radius of their primary residence.

Re: Coinbase lays off around 1,100 employees

#82
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think billionaires should exist, but I also don't think these employees have been wronged. That is a pretty generous severance package.

How much money should people be allowed to have?

There is obviously no exact dollar amount. I don't believe everyone should have the same amount, but there should probably be some lower and upper limit. Maybe it is possible to calculate the difference between the two. Perhaps the upper limit would be 10000x that of the lower limit. Just as an example. There being a lower limit also implies some kind of universal basic income. Theoretically partially supplied by the upper limits excess.

Re: Coinbase lays off around 1,100 employees

#83

I think if employees feel slighted by being fired, they're fooling themselves. The best mindset is that you could be gone tomorrow. It gives you clarity and purpose. It also happens to be the truth. Coinbase was also extremely generous with severance. 12 weeks plus two for every one year at the company, I think. I've had the experience of being let go without notice and without severance. Devs seem a little more griz…

> I've had the experience of being let go without notice and without severance.

You could reasonably ask whether that should be legal at all.

Re: Coinbase lays off around 1,100 employees

#84

I think if employees feel slighted by being fired, they're fooling themselves. The best mindset is that you could be gone tomorrow. It gives you clarity and purpose. It also happens to be the truth. Coinbase was also extremely generous with severance. 12 weeks plus two for every one year at the company, I think. I've had the experience of being let go without notice and without severance. Devs seem a little more griz…

People keep pointing to Armstrong's $110M house like it's some sort of injustice. If you think billionaires should exist at all, then that's one of the least-bad injustices imaginable Ok, I'll admit it, billionaires should not exist at all, there should be a heavy wealth tax that makes it hard to become a billionaire. Will a CEO work less hard if he (and his peers) can only ever gain $100M in net worth before a wealt…

Billionaires are highly correlated with millionaires, which don't seem to be beyond the pale for critics of wealth inequality. Countries with billionaires rank much higher on quality of life than those without. It hurts to see Bezos and Musk in yachts but the side effect of their wealth is companies like Amazon and Tesla that have a net positive effect on society in terms of products and employment.

Re: Coinbase lays off around 1,100 employees

#85

I think if employees feel slighted by being fired, they're fooling themselves. The best mindset is that you could be gone tomorrow. It gives you clarity and purpose. It also happens to be the truth. Coinbase was also extremely generous with severance. 12 weeks plus two for every one year at the company, I think. I've had the experience of being let go without notice and without severance. Devs seem a little more griz…

> The best mindset is that you could be gone tomorrow.

I find this a bit too cynical.., that said, it's also a good mental spot to not let your job define you define your job as much as possible. You try to make everything that you enjoy on a daily basis(hopefully you still have that possibility). Tasks that grow your skillset, new things, any reason.. so that if you're let go.. there's very few days you didn't profit.

Re: Coinbase lays off around 1,100 employees

#86
In my opinion this is what greed does to people. Doesn't matter your background. Armstrong was here on HN pointing out his vision of free exchange of currency at close to zero rates. He wanted to fight "the big guys", including credit cards mafia and PayPal mafia. What A WONDERFUL goal.

What he ended up with, is obnoxious exchange rates @ Coinbase (triple what credit cards charge), hundreds of thousands of ruined lives, lots of suicides, and $100 million dollar mansion.

What A RECORD.

Don't get me wrong - I would love to live Armstrong's life (although I wouldn't be this shrewd), but as someone who believes in heaven and hell, I definitely would not want to die as Armstrong.

Re: Coinbase lays off around 1,100 employees

#87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People keep pointing to Armstrong's $110M house like it's some sort of injustice. If you think billionaires should exist at all, then that's one of the least-bad injustices imaginable Ok, I'll admit it, billionaires should not exist at all, there should be a heavy wealth tax that makes it hard to become a billionaire. Will a CEO work less hard if he (and his peers) can only ever gain $100M in net worth before a wealt…

Why stop at $100M? Why can't $1M be the most?

"Probably" seems the key word here. Many people have a slight preference for a policy with wide ranging ramifications. It's better to be unconvicted on matters that are inconsequential, like whether tea or coffee is the superior beverage.

Re: Coinbase lays off around 1,100 employees

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People keep pointing to Armstrong's $110M house like it's some sort of injustice. If you think billionaires should exist at all, then that's one of the least-bad injustices imaginable Ok, I'll admit it, billionaires should not exist at all, there should be a heavy wealth tax that makes it hard to become a billionaire. Will a CEO work less hard if he (and his peers) can only ever gain $100M in net worth before a wealt…

Why stop at $100M? Why can't $1M be the most?

Because nobody wants to be living in 1970's China?

Re: Coinbase lays off around 1,100 employees

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People keep pointing to Armstrong's $110M house like it's some sort of injustice. If you think billionaires should exist at all, then that's one of the least-bad injustices imaginable Ok, I'll admit it, billionaires should not exist at all, there should be a heavy wealth tax that makes it hard to become a billionaire. Will a CEO work less hard if he (and his peers) can only ever gain $100M in net worth before a wealt…

> Will a CEO work less hard if he (and his peers) can only ever gain $100M in net worth before a wealth tax on assets kicks in? He'll certainly work a lot less hard after the wealth tax kicks in.

Then another entrepreneur who hasn't yet made $100M can start a business in the same space. If the market can bear both businesses, then they both win. If it can't, then they're in direct competition and we're still better off.

This actually sounds better than what we have now: monopoly as the end goal.

Re: Coinbase lays off around 1,100 employees

#90
post #26
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bold claims like this is what make people look like idiots when things turn around. With experience though, you can tell that people who make bold claims like this were always idiots gambling away their credibility, hoping the 50/50 lands in their favour.

I'm struggling to find a good analogy to these crypto boom/bust cycles, where the market continues to survive/thrive after the busts. The closest I can come up with is real estate, but there is a core underlying value in real estate in that people need space to live/work/shop/whatever -- so when speculative bubbles burst, there is pretty significant underlying demand. I have a hard time drawing that parallel the cryp…

A fool is born every minute. there is an endless supply of those who need to learn the hard way. Keeps the Boom/Bust cycle going.
Post reply on HN