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2025 Letter

danwang.co

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Re: 2025 Letter

#141

Post by jimnotgym »

macintux wrote: post #130
brokencode wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Opinions vary. There are those who think massive concentration of wealth is not a problem at all and is just a product of healthy capitalism. Tax is theft, and individual property rights are above all else. There are others who want some kind of communist revolution, where the entire structure of society and property ownership is changed. The workers should benefit from their work as much as the managers. Personally,…

> trust busting, the New Deal, and the Great Society. I don't know what sea change it would take for today's GOP to even tepidly support any of these.

An electorate that looks like it will certainly vote them out if they don't change

Re: 2025 Letter

#142

Post by jimnotgym »

ralph84 wrote: post #127

The Europe of today is the result of 400 years of brain drain. It would take generations to reverse the effects, if anyone even wanted to.

Where were the brains draining to 350 years ago?

Re: 2025 Letter

#143

Post by DiscourseFan »

ceuk wrote: post #70

As a Brit, I struggled to get much interesting out of this considering how many times he mentions "Europe" (in that condescendingly general way that only US folks seem to manage). He talks about "European" prospects and his trip to Denmark but then cites London as a representative example? This almost broke my brain it felt so incoherent. Never mind that (despite my personal wishes) we're not even part of the EU (whi…

Since I’ve lived in the UK before, I will say that yes it is not the same as continental Europe, but culturally, socially, and economically it is deeply tied into Europe, is European. One could say the same thing about Ireland—except the majority of Ireland is in the EU. Does Europe stop at the border of Northern Ireland?

Re: 2025 Letter

#144

Post by cycrutchfield »

amelius wrote: post #139
socalgal2 wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a common opinion that never actually matches the facts. The issue is all the things blocking supply. As long as supply is blocked, prices will go up, Period

But why allow e.g. Chinese investors to buy property in SF if they aren't even going to live there?

Do they pay property taxes?

Re: 2025 Letter

#145

Post by amelius »

cycrutchfield wrote: post #144
amelius wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But why allow e.g. Chinese investors to buy property in SF if they aren't even going to live there?

Do they pay property taxes?

Maybe but that will certainly not bring down prices for the average US citizen looking for a home.

Re: 2025 Letter

#146

Post by whyleyc »

hereonout2 wrote: post #137
jemmyw wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> while in the US you see automated car washes, in the uk most car washes are Albanians n other immigrants etc Er what? I moved away from the UK in 2007 but even then the only place I or my parents washed a car was the ubiquitous petrol station automated car wash.

Is it that unimaginable things might have changed in the almost two decades since you left?

I live in the UK now, have done for 40+ years and there are (still) automated car washes everywhere.

Re: 2025 Letter

#147

Post by basisword »

hereonout2 wrote: post #136
basisword wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No idea where OP is based but like most suggestions about the UK or London online it's bullshit. Most petrol stations have the same automated car washes they've always had. If you want your car hand washed there are lots of people doing that too, as there always have been. Like all places, the UK and/or London has plenty of issues including serious ones - but I'd still pick it over anywhere in the US regardless of sa…

Conversely, I've no idea where you or the parent has the idea that the UK is full of automated car washes and the OP is talking bullshit. I live in London and can think of a only a handful of the old fashioned automatic car washes. Whereas I can get a hand carwash at pretty much any supermarket car park I land on. From a guy with a bucket and trolley to a full team of four going at it with a power wash. Tesco, Sainsb…

London is an odd one as space is limited and the hand wash places can pop up anywhere quite easily. If I look at the more suburban place I'm from most petrol stations still have the automated ones (contactless payment now instead of the tokens). And most of the larger supermarkets there that have petrol stations still have the automated car washes too.

Re: 2025 Letter

#149

Post by senordevnyc »

ceuk wrote: post #132
tshaddox wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Never mind that (despite my personal wishes) we're not even part of the EU (which I assume is what he means by "Europe"). Nah, Americans aren’t particularly interested in which Europeans are offended by being identified as “Europeans” this week. If we say “Europe” without qualification we’re probably just talking about the continent. (And no, we don’t even use the word “continent” as a distinction within Europe, ex…

> Americans don’t really have much of a concept of what European identity is, and we don’t really care Cool. Look, I made that comment with a lot of fondness, but if this is the case, maybe leave the European analysis to someone else..

Yeah, it was dripping with fondness.

Re: 2025 Letter

#150

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

> If the Bay Area once had an impish side, it has gone the way of most hardware tinkerers and hippie communes.

Woz had that (still does). He was smart enough to take his winnings and bail. I think that many in SV can't fathom why, but I suspect I know exactly why.

I do remember the tech community as being full of humor and whimsy. I miss that.

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