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How Paul Graham Is Wrong

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Re: How Paul Graham Is Wrong

#131

Post by unclebucknasty »

Meh. Keep the barriers high and the labor market tight for as long as possible. Let companies compete for workers like the good ol' days. Let startups use more of that VC cash on its workers and also help keep rates up for IT workers across the country.

I know we Yanks get no sympathy from the rest of the world, but labor here has taken a beaten long enough.

And, I say this as a dev-turned-founder who would presumably now want to see low rates and a bigger pool. I guess I just appreciate more a little "economic justice" from time-to-time!

Re: How Paul Graham Is Wrong

#132

Post by larrys »

jasode wrote: post #38

>Use WordPress and P2, use Slack, use G+ Hangouts, use Skype, use any of the amazing technology that allows us to collaborate as effectively online as previous generations of company did offline. I've been a 100% remote worker for 5+ years but I think we have to be honest here. All those teleconferencing/videoconferencing/virtualwhiteboards/etc are not as effective as everyone sharing the same physical workspace. Yes…

"are not as effective as everyone sharing the same physical workspace. Yes, they do help mitigate many issues of isolation and they do help collaboration but there's still some "bandwidth loss" when people are not in the same room or even down the hall from each other."

Agree. Which, in fact, was one of the reasons that both Bell Labs and the Manhattan Project achieved what they did. (For sure a different time which lacked many of the advantages we have today.) And you could also argue about the negatives, the distractions etc. [1] But there is no question that in many cases it's an advantage to be located near others working in the same area and not in near isolation.

[1] If you don't like listening to music (I don't) use a set of 3M "tarmac" grade earmuffs which will block out nearly everything.

Re: How Paul Graham Is Wrong

#133

Post by dennisgorelik »

tptacek wrote: post #2

The idea that remote work is a solution to immigration is also a meme on Twitter. I'm not sure I understand it. A San Francisco tech company can employ developers in Krakow to work remotely without dealing with visas. But those developers either need to be 1099 contractors, or loaned out from an outsourcing firm. Both options are poor. Outsourcing firms for obvious reasons (introducing a middleman that serves no purp…

The contract with foreign contractors is NOT "1099".

AFAIK you do not have to file 1099 form in order to deduct foreign contractor expense from US business revenue.

I'm not a lawyer or CPA, but I run my own business and pay to foreign contractors.

Re: How Paul Graham Is Wrong

#134

Post by Vendan »

tracker1 wrote: post #117
falcolas wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Videoconferencing _used_ to suck. Four years ago, having a voice conversation while sharing a screen was neigh on impossible. Now, however, it's dirt simple and works really well.

I'm kind of split... I think it depends on your home environment. Spouse, kids, other distractions? Sometimes the workplace has fewer distractions than home.

Meh, that's an easy fix. I've got an actual office outside of my house that takes 30 seconds to get to. (AC and hardwired ethernet, of course)

Re: How Paul Graham Is Wrong

#135

Post by tptacek »

dennisgorelik wrote: post #133
tptacek wrote: post #2

The idea that remote work is a solution to immigration is also a meme on Twitter. I'm not sure I understand it. A San Francisco tech company can employ developers in Krakow to work remotely without dealing with visas. But those developers either need to be 1099 contractors, or loaned out from an outsourcing firm. Both options are poor. Outsourcing firms for obvious reasons (introducing a middleman that serves no purp…

The contract with foreign contractors is NOT "1099". AFAIK you do not have to file 1099 form in order to deduct foreign contractor expense from US business revenue. I'm not a lawyer or CPA, but I run my own business and pay to foreign contractors.

You're right; it's 1042-S.

Re: How Paul Graham Is Wrong

#136

Post by frostmatthew »

jasode wrote: post #38

>Use WordPress and P2, use Slack, use G+ Hangouts, use Skype, use any of the amazing technology that allows us to collaborate as effectively online as previous generations of company did offline. I've been a 100% remote worker for 5+ years but I think we have to be honest here. All those teleconferencing/videoconferencing/virtualwhiteboards/etc are not as effective as everyone sharing the same physical workspace. Yes…

> All those teleconferencing/videoconferencing/virtualwhiteboards/etc are not as effective as everyone sharing the same physical workspace.

Totally agree. But also feel collaborative periods make up a small amount of our time - remote workers allow having more/better/cheaper developers (whichever of the three you want) which can easily offset the less effective collaborative times.

If software development were a field where we spent most of our time collaborating with others remote work wouldn't make sense. But most developers are spending most of their time alone at their desk coding or communicating with others in a manner that doesn't differ based on location (i.e. you still email people in the same office).

Re: How Paul Graham Is Wrong

#137

Post by welshguy »

cgh wrote: post #81
welshguy wrote: post #71

If my business pays for a great programmer, I want that programmer's knowledge, experience and attitude to diffuse to the rest of my team (... not that I have a business, just sayin' :-). Much harder to do this if that great programmer isn't in the office.

In my eight years' remote working experience, your statement is false.

In my thirty years experience in IT, my statement might be right.

Re: How Paul Graham Is Wrong

#138

Post by dennisgorelik »

tptacek wrote: post #135
dennisgorelik wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The contract with foreign contractors is NOT "1099". AFAIK you do not have to file 1099 form in order to deduct foreign contractor expense from US business revenue. I'm not a lawyer or CPA, but I run my own business and pay to foreign contractors.

You're right; it's 1042-S.

Is filing 1042-S mandatory?

It may or may not be the case, but when foreign contractor works as a business entity then "Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income" seems to be irrelevant.

Re: How Paul Graham Is Wrong

#139

Post by tptacek »

dennisgorelik wrote: post #138
tptacek wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right; it's 1042-S.

Is filing 1042-S mandatory? It may or may not be the case, but when foreign contractor works as a business entity then "Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income" seems to be irrelevant.

Work with a US nexus is subject to withholding. More broadly, this article does a good job of summing up my concerns:

http://www.whitecase.com/hrhottopic-0711/

Re: How Paul Graham Is Wrong

#140

Post by ci5er »

mgkimsal wrote: post #104
hckr1292 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Videoconferencing sucks -- it's not as effective as having your coworker come over to your screen for pair programming, or talking face-to-face with your UXer. Anyone who has done any amount of remote work will realize that the OP is dramatically overstating the value of teleconferencing solutions compared to working in house.

You know what else sucks? Driving in to an office for pointless meetings to take up half your day. Getting sucked in to office politics whether you like it or not. All those things suck. I think you're underestimating the degree to which day to day office crap weighs on people and makes them far less effective than they might otherwise be, even if they get to have someone come over and "pair" with them. Remote workin…

I agree with your first paragraph 1000%.

One of my old start-ups had white boards everywhere (when we ran out, there were windows...) and ad-hoc bi-lateral marker-of-death struggles would spring up anywhere all day long. That was super handy.

I've mostly been an independent lone-ranger type for a long time now, and have rarely met most of my clients face-to-face -- but I do miss at-the-drop-of-a-hat white board sessions.

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