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America has become an entrepreneur's paradise

economist.com

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Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise

#51

Post by paxys »

There's a very thin line between "full-time self-employment" and unemployment. As the article itself states, the count of new business applications correlates with economic downturns and rise in unemployment. If no one is hiring you it's easy to write "entrepreneur" or "AI startup founder" or "influencer" on your LinkedIn. Doubly so when you don't even need to go to city hall to register your business, just press a few buttons online and you'll have an entity in any state you want.

Conspicuously missing from the article among all the other numbers – how many of these businesses earn enough money to pay the owner's rent?

Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise

#52

Post by oaidsjf »

repeekad wrote: post #41
tripleee wrote: post #28

How does any of this article have anything to do with America specifically? Getting off the ground with a small business in America stinks in a lot of ways. Taxes are high and health insurance is really expensive when you have to cover it yourself.

On the contrary, if you don't expect to need a doctor you can get really cheap coverage, just with a really high deductible. I only pay $100/month for $1 million in coverage, but my deductible is $20k so I pay out of pocket for all health expenses, but am covered during a major emergency (over $1 million I have bigger problems to worry about than paying off medical debt..) Normal health insurance like employer provid…

I'm a little confused if you are in the US. That does not seem to align with ACA insurance policy standards (the max is too high). Even the under 30 catastrophic plan.

For example, if you are in your 40s the cheapest (bronze level $10k deductible) plan is around $500-$900 a month. Are you maybe talking about a family plan (which allows for about $20k deductible)? But that would be significantly more than $100/month.

Sorry, do not mean to come off as combative, just trying to understand what I am misunderstanding.

Edit: to clarify, federal regulations do not allow an individual to have a plan with a $20k deductible that I am aware of.

Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise

#53

Post by losvedir »

lazyasciiart wrote: post #44
repeekad wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the contrary, if you don't expect to need a doctor you can get really cheap coverage, just with a really high deductible. I only pay $100/month for $1 million in coverage, but my deductible is $20k so I pay out of pocket for all health expenses, but am covered during a major emergency (over $1 million I have bigger problems to worry about than paying off medical debt..) Normal health insurance like employer provid…

What you have is not considered health insurance so much as disaster insurance.

Similarly, what is considered health insurance is not really insurance but a convoluted way to pay for healthcare. I think there's a place for what you're calling disaster insurance but to me sounds truly like insurance for health-related issues (i.e. risk-pooling high cost low probability events). The conflation with what we've got now with that is one of the key reasons our health care system is so out of control, in my opinion.

Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise

#54

Post by slashdave »

bad_haircut72 wrote: post #42
slashdave wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a simple way, money = value. If someone is "paying", there is demand.

Is this what Adam Smith had in mind? Say I pay Facebook $10000 to generate demand for $12000 worth of funny slogan tshirts sales, is that overall an efficient use of our resources?

Does "value" have to be "efficient"?

I am not in the habit of judging other people's values. If it makes someone happy, why not?

Of course: capitalism. So slippery slope and all that.

Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise

#55

Post by OutOfHere »

One can't start a real world business without substantial capital to get it off the ground. The absence of this capital is still what's holding back at least nine out of every ten entrepreneurial ideas. Often the requirement starts at a million dollars, and scaling the business requires 10x. As for VCs and banks, they won't fund anything too experimental.

Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise

#58

Post by repeekad »

oaidsjf wrote: post #52
repeekad wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the contrary, if you don't expect to need a doctor you can get really cheap coverage, just with a really high deductible. I only pay $100/month for $1 million in coverage, but my deductible is $20k so I pay out of pocket for all health expenses, but am covered during a major emergency (over $1 million I have bigger problems to worry about than paying off medical debt..) Normal health insurance like employer provid…

I'm a little confused if you are in the US. That does not seem to align with ACA insurance policy standards (the max is too high). Even the under 30 catastrophic plan. For example, if you are in your 40s the cheapest (bronze level $10k deductible) plan is around $500-$900 a month. Are you maybe talking about a family plan (which allows for about $20k deductible)? But that would be significantly more than $100/month.…

That’s correct, and while I understand why regulations like that maybe should be exist, there are exemptions you can go through to make informed decisions about what is best for you and your particular situation.

Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise

#59

Post by repeekad »

losvedir wrote: post #53
lazyasciiart wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you have is not considered health insurance so much as disaster insurance.

Similarly, what is considered health insurance is not really insurance but a convoluted way to pay for healthcare. I think there's a place for what you're calling disaster insurance but to me sounds truly like insurance for health-related issues (i.e. risk-pooling high cost low probability events). The conflation with what we've got now with that is one of the key reasons our health care system is so out of control,…

[dead]

Re: America has become an entrepreneur's paradise

#60

Post by nl »

readread wrote: post #36
nl wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you underestimate the value that "filtering by a trusted source" provides.

What are the "trusted sources" that are better than Amazon (which is itself no better than Aliexpress)? Or Walmart, or target, or Newegg, which, ditto? I buy straight from brands I trust whenever possible, not even trusting Amazon as an intermediary between us. Those brands aren't selling alibaba-dropshipper stuff. I'd say my trust in stores that sell more than their own brand is at an all-time low. You have enshitti…

Trusted sources = influencers

For example, when I'm buying a synthesizer I watch lots of Youtube reviews.

I know the influencers are paid or given goods but if you watch a person over while you get to understand their biases.

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