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Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. We are all losing out because of this

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Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. We are all losing out because of this

#11

Post by afpx »

javcasas wrote: post #10
afpx wrote: post #4

About 1.5 billion people were raised out of extreme poverty over about 30 years arguably because of capitalism. Similarly, large global middle classes have built up over that time. It feels like we should keep doing what we've been doing?

Be careful how you measure that. Extreme poverty was defined as less than a dollar per day. Are you measuring progress or inflation?

It's a power law. The middle class also grew, less substantially. 86% of the world's population are wealthy enough to afford to own a smart phone. To me, that's pretty amazing.

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. We are all losing out because of this

#12

Post by ParetoOptimal »

replygirl wrote: post #8
EchoChamberMan wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We pay managers who know nothing about technology even more. [Edit] And who's fault is it that people who barely know react are getting hired at those rates? Hiring managers.

idt we can simply blame the next rung up the ladder. we live in a culture that increasingly glorifies mediocrity and flattery. the hiring managers and engineers alike have been reared to believe the only difference from one person to the next is sensibilities, so any judgment on talent is a failure to support

Mediocre employees are easier to control which leads to a more predictable business that doesn't do much but also doesn't seem like a big risk to shareholders.

Plus since mediocre employees are easier to replace you can use layoffs as smoke and mirrors to buy more time for coming up with your latest grift.

Simply rehire mediocre employees laid off.

Repeat.

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. We are all losing out because of this

#13

Post by afpx »

replygirl wrote: post #5
EchoChamberMan wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any evidence to support your claim?

we pay software engineers 3x median income to barely know react service jobs and skilled trades all over are facing labor shortages

The companies paying 3x median income are trying to hire smart people, not necessarily ones with particular skills.

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. We are all losing out because of this

#14

Post by sinuhe69 »

“To study ability, they matched a subset of their data on inventors with records of their math scores back when they were third graders.4 To study the role that circumstances play, the research team matched the inventor dataset with tax record data that allowed them to study the socio-economic situation they grew up in.”

That is when the credibility of the study is lost on me. Maths scores and creativity/innovation are not necessarily related. To invent, you not only have to pay attention (also curiosity and a keen sense of observation), you also have to work diligently, systematically AND, more often than not, diffusely. I would argue that these combinations are rare and may be the stuff that makes an inventor. Do economic circumstances play an important role? I think they might contribute, but I doubt that their contribution is significant. So many great inventions have come from people with very modest economic backgrounds (Edison, Faraday, Nikola Tesla, Alfred Nobel, to name but a few).

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. We are all losing out because of this

#15

Post by harimau777 »

afpx wrote: post #4

About 1.5 billion people were raised out of extreme poverty over about 30 years arguably because of capitalism. Similarly, large global middle classes have built up over that time. It feels like we should keep doing what we've been doing?

I think that's some of what's captured by the idea of "late stage capitalism". That is to say, capitalism worked when companies where competing on quality, word of mouth was important, and mechanisms like social norms and unions promoted a balance of power between capitalists and workers.

However, capitalists have increasingly figured out ways to compete via regulatory capture, walled gardens, planned obsolescence, financialization, etc. Increasingly sophisticated marketing makes it easier to bypass the need for word of mouth sales. The 1% are increasingly insulated from the opinions of everyone else and unions are much weaker.

As a result, capitalism no longer works particularly well. At least without policies to correct for market failures; e.g. social democracy.

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. We are all losing out because of this

#16

Post by harimau777 »

afpx wrote: post #11
javcasas wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Be careful how you measure that. Extreme poverty was defined as less than a dollar per day. Are you measuring progress or inflation?

It's a power law. The middle class also grew, less substantially. 86% of the world's population are wealthy enough to afford to own a smart phone. To me, that's pretty amazing.

I think that it is fair to attribute some of the ubiquity of smart phones to capitalism. However, I think that technological development is also a big factor. Even the least capitalistic/industrialized parts of the world are dramatically more technologically advanced than they where 100 years ago.

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. We are all losing out because of this

#17

Post by lesser_value »

replygirl wrote: post #5
EchoChamberMan wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any evidence to support your claim?

we pay software engineers 3x median income to barely know react service jobs and skilled trades all over are facing labor shortages

are you hiring?

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. We are all losing out because of this

#18

Post by giraffe_lady »

afpx wrote: post #4

About 1.5 billion people were raised out of extreme poverty over about 30 years arguably because of capitalism. Similarly, large global middle classes have built up over that time. It feels like we should keep doing what we've been doing?

Doesn't china account for like at least half of that? And even there but also everywhere else it has stalled or even reversed since 2020?

Which is not even getting into the problem that "extreme poverty" is defined by organizations operating from within wealthy countries, who have their own interests, incentives, and constraints around these figures and their boundaries.

If you want to argue for it all being capitalism go ahead, so far you've just stated it.

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. We are all losing out because of this

#19

Post by Aerroon »

harimau777 wrote: post #16
afpx wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a power law. The middle class also grew, less substantially. 86% of the world's population are wealthy enough to afford to own a smart phone. To me, that's pretty amazing.

I think that it is fair to attribute some of the ubiquity of smart phones to capitalism. However, I think that technological development is also a big factor. Even the least capitalistic/industrialized parts of the world are dramatically more technologically advanced than they where 100 years ago.

I think the point is that capitalism drives that technological innovation.

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. We are all losing out because of this

#20

Post by JacobThreeThree »

Aerroon wrote: post #19
harimau777 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that it is fair to attribute some of the ubiquity of smart phones to capitalism. However, I think that technological development is also a big factor. Even the least capitalistic/industrialized parts of the world are dramatically more technologically advanced than they where 100 years ago.

I think the point is that capitalism drives that technological innovation.

No, you see, only the bad parts of our current society are attributable to capitalism. /s
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