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The Ponzi Career

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Re: The Ponzi Career

#201

Post by seibelj »

bradleyjg wrote: post #190
jkhdigital wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This all requires contracts as code capable of ascertaining external facts Do meatspace contracts ascertain external facts? No, a court of law does. For most things that will likely never change. But if the contract is of a fungible nature, then allowing it to exist on a blockchain means ownership can be traded with no additional infrastructure required. This is why I prefer to call blockchain “market-as-a-service”…

> then allowing it to exist on a blockchain means ownership can be traded with no additional infrastructure required The same is true of the Chicago Board of Options, established 1848. The blockchain adds nothing. It’s the snake oil of the modern age.

You can’t trade on that directly as a normal person in, say, Turkey or Lebanon. With blockchain you can - there are no borders.

And you can’t add a twist on the standard options contract, or experiment whatsoever, as a software dev fooling around. With blockchain you can experiment in infinite ways instantly. There is no permission.

Again, the lack of imagination and the total “blockchain equals bad! All of this tech is stupid because I say so!” nonsense is exhausting. You don’t want to learn so you won’t learn.

Re: The Ponzi Career

#202

Post by bradleyjg »

hundreddaysoff wrote: post #197
bradleyjg wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What you're describing is just facetious and condescending to those with six-figure medical debt. The point is that medical debt is a very good deal for the reasons you point out and because the doctor cartel in the US has forced prices up to dizzying heights. Yet people bitching and moaning about having borrowed $300k at reasonable interest rates for the right to earn many millions with almost no risk (when was th…

FWIW, garden-variety West Coast ER doc here. Right now, I'm an independent contractor who makes ~$200/h. In a few months when my small company gets acquired, I'll be a W-2 who for various reasons will make ~$160/h before CA taxes. So, clearly not starving, and maybe even undeserving to be in the top 10--15% after working just ~24--36h/wk in night shifts. But won't make $$MILLIONS$$ and won't get as much as your avera…

If I’m understanding the situation correctly you’ll be in the 97% percentile of individual income while working on average 30 hours a week. You also can pick up and move anywhere in the country and be pretty confident of finding a comparably paying job. As mentioned, involuntary unemployment is all but unheard of in your profession. Within the hospital you’re near the top of the pecking order. Outside work your profession is well respected and rarely is the subject of hit pieces in prestige media.

I’m not saying it’s the best set up in the world, but it’s pretty good. Certainly a lot of people would consider it worth the financial costs of admission. (The hazing parts of medical training are unnecessary and unfortunate, different people are going to suffer more or less from that.)

Edit: Everyone is entitled to blow off steam. Nothing is perfect and there’s always going to be downsides to every profession. It just seems like complaining doctors is something of a cliche but I’ve yet to have one convince me that’s it’s not a pretty sweet gig, loans and medmal notwithstanding.

Re: The Ponzi Career

#203

Post by bradleyjg »

seibelj wrote: post #201
bradleyjg wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> then allowing it to exist on a blockchain means ownership can be traded with no additional infrastructure required The same is true of the Chicago Board of Options, established 1848. The blockchain adds nothing. It’s the snake oil of the modern age.

You can’t trade on that directly as a normal person in, say, Turkey or Lebanon. With blockchain you can - there are no borders. And you can’t add a twist on the standard options contract, or experiment whatsoever, as a software dev fooling around. With blockchain you can experiment in infinite ways instantly. There is no permission. Again, the lack of imagination and the total “blockchain equals bad! All of this tech…

> nonsense is exhausting.

So stop doing it. No one is forcing you to push these get rich quick scams.

Re: The Ponzi Career

#204

Post by personjerry »

Can socialism be thought of as this "investment into each other" taken to the extreme? Where we put all our investment into each other, believing the future output of anyone is a net gain?

Re: The Ponzi Career

#205

Post by TimJRobinson »

angry_octet wrote: post #123

We went through the 2008 financiy crisis and this is what people think is a good idea? How long before people are trading options on risk weighted batch of people? Leveraged buyouts if whole specialties? Movement controls to enforce greatest P/E? "I'm sorry sir, you can't leave the country without presenting a Holiday Risk Bond. Perhaps a Virtual Vacay is more affordable?" And most of all: you, as an individual, have…

> How long before people are trading options on risk weighted batch of people?

Lol I actually love this idea. Funding an ETF of people who want to move to SF to start a career in tech, or LA to start a career in acting. Diversify your risk and support some people with potential. Could have an acting school equivilant of ycombinator and you can invest in all each batch and get a return if some succeed.

If we want a metiocracy this could help build it, by giving more capital to those who have potential but are disenfranchised by existing institutions.

Re: The Ponzi Career

#206

Post by hansvm »

heartbeats wrote: post #200
SergeAx wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because having a share in an individual sounds very much like slavery?

So does usury. You loan someone $40000 @ 5% APR and he spends it on education. If the loan is to be paid back in a decade, he has to cough up $416 per month. Unlike a mortgage, he can't foreclose on his education. Since he doesn't have any assets to sell, and is by law unable to get out of them through bankruptcy, his only choice is to work some amount of hours every month to pay off the loans. If that is not slavery…

Small nitpick, if you're diligent with the paperwork and aren't a victim of some of the recent loan servicing scandals then the (federal) loan will eventually be forgiven so long as you pay a percentage of your income (which can be as low as $0). Functionally student loans are a lot like a typical ISA with a longer period (and comparable max total payments) which can't be discharged.

Re: The Ponzi Career

#207

Post by john_moscow »

JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #10

It’s just more top signals. There’s too much money floating around if people want to invest in nonsense like this. When equities correct from the current Shiller PE ratio higher than 1929 I think you will find less people want to invest in a career token for someone. https://www.multpl.com/shiller-pe The Bowie Bond part of the post was fascinating by the way. Had never heard that story. He issued them in 1997 which i…

>When equities correct from the current Shiller PE ratio higher than 1929 I think you will find less people want to invest in a career token for someone.

The government is actively preventing a correction by minting new dollars at unprecedented rates [0]. In this environment, the Shiller P/E doesn't make sense anymore.

The pressure in the society is building up and it's gonna eventually blow up, but it will follow some completely unexpected path because the usual safety valve has been welded shut.

[0] https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/money-supply-m0

Re: The Ponzi Career

#208

Post by ipiz0618 »

> For example, if Elon Musk succeeds in landing the first person on Mars, his coin price should theoretically go up. And if, in contrast, he makes a racial slur during a press conference, his coin price should theoretically go down.

That sounds a lot like social credit system? I can't imagine a future where a small fraction of people not related to you can decide what you should do, even if they are not the government.

Re: The Ponzi Career

#209

Post by andxor »

jopsen wrote: post #173

Have people forgotten the classic way of investing in humans? Social programs. In Denmark part of my taxes goes to pay public pensions, and when I get old taxes will fund some pension for me. The public pension isn't huge, so yes, almost everybody has a private pension scheme too. My private pension is exposed to global stock performance over ~30 years. My public pensions is exposed to value of humans in Denmark in ~…

So Denmark would forcibly take more than half of my income to invest in stuff I don't have a say on, while no one is held accountable by competition and economic incentives.

I'll pass.

Re: The Ponzi Career

#210

Post by [deleted] »

angry_octet wrote: post #123

We went through the 2008 financiy crisis and this is what people think is a good idea? How long before people are trading options on risk weighted batch of people? Leveraged buyouts if whole specialties? Movement controls to enforce greatest P/E? "I'm sorry sir, you can't leave the country without presenting a Holiday Risk Bond. Perhaps a Virtual Vacay is more affordable?" And most of all: you, as an individual, have…

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