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Netflix is now worth more than $100B

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Re: Netflix is now worth more than $100B

#231

Post by p10_user »

xapata wrote: post #197
losteric wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To what degree does income inequality, consumer debt, and rapidly rising barriers of entry to high-income fields contribute slowing GDP growth? Is there research and evidence on the subject? I'm just an engineer with basic financial survival skills... but blind intuition suggests fixing those problems is necessary for a sustainable growing economy. "Trickle-down" theory and growing inequality drains economic activity…

> research and evidence The trouble is that income/wealth inequality is often ignored in macroeconomic models. The math gets tough and an easy way to simplify the equations is to assume an equilibrium growth path. More complex models use a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium, but an equilibrium all the same. Unfortunately, the key feature of rising inequality is that it may move the system into an unstable equilib…

I think the “us vs them” mentality is too strong here. Don’t you think these billionaires are just as against each other (if not more so) than against the common man?

Re: Netflix is now worth more than $100B

#232

Post by jjeaff »

vlovich123 wrote: post #226
jjeaff wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really not a great way to launder money. To keep it off the books, you will need armies of individuals going out and buying it with cash through forums or whatever. Same to convert it back to cash. Otherwise, you are just buying and selling it through exchanged who, in the US, are going to report it on your 1099k. Otherwise, you have to have a seemingly legitimate Enterprise that is accepting Bitcoin on a large…

I started a X business that only sells widget Y for bitcoins. You shuffle all the coins through intermediary wallets that use small payments. The current transaction fee is $20 but regardless of what it is you just scale how much you transfer based on that. Also, if you set up many dummy coinbase accounts, you can use GDAX to exchange it for fiat without fees so you really just need to funnel it into a lot of coinbas…

Might as well turn yourself in to the FBI.

Creating tons of coinbase accounts is no easy task. You have to validate the accounts with multiple forms of ID and this pattern would eventually be found out and get flagged big time.

Then, you need different bank accounts for every single coinbase account you create and those require multiple forms of ID as well as valid SSN numbers which will be checked.

If you are referring to GDAX allowing you to transfer to USD, looks like it is FDIC insured, which means it is a US bank account, which means it is subject to KYC patriot act stuff and will be the same as opening any other us bank account.

Re: Netflix is now worth more than $100B

#233

Post by yters »

JamesBarney wrote: post #214
yters wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With the bank bailout in 2008, our dollar was effectively halved. Probably what we are seeing now.

By what measure has the dollar lost half it's value?

I saw a graph showing the bailout doubled the number of existing dollars.

Re: Netflix is now worth more than $100B

#234

Post by akra »

adventured wrote: post #161
WoodenChair wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> he computer boom is mostly over with the low hanging fruit taken. Prior to that we had IC engines and electricity, but nothing on the horizon seems to have that kind of potential to radically reshape society. And to double the economy every 25 years you need regular dramatic shits. Then the next revolution happens. I'm sure people were pessimistic during periods of lesser innovation before electricity, telephone, p…

That's where Peter Thiel screwed up in his pessimistic premise about flying cars vs tweets (used as an illustractive example of course). At the same time Thiel was making that claim, CRISPR, AI, robotics, VR/AR, blockchain/crypto-currencies and a massive general leap in automation were working their way into the economy. We're also about to take a leap forward when it comes to space tech and transportation improvemen…

Most of those innovations however seem to be playing "catch-up" though and there's a huge question mark as to whether most (not necessarily all) of the benefit goes to capital holders. Even the innovations that do benefit as a percentage how much do they lift living standards by compared to innovations of old? Electricity meant I had light at night; think of your local neighborhood without sewerage, etc.

They are also "costing a lot more" in terms of training and intelligence so there's a question mark of how much the average person without capital or privilege can access them. For me there's also a question of whether they are just playing catch up for increase in human population that's happened since the WW2 era - how many are not required if we just reduce population? Per capita are we really better of? There's a reason a lot of people are "nostalgic" for the period before the 1990's. There's also the negative things to consider of all this "innovation" such as environmental degradation, the massive increase in CO2 emissions, etc.

The "stagnant" economy (e.g food, land, health care) - the things most people need to survive comfortably have been increasing in cost significantly for most world economies. The innovations you state most of the world's population (who are mostly poor btw) would happily trade away for cheap more nutrient rich food, house, cheaper energy, etc.

Not saying hyperloops, blockchains and such aren't cool; I'm just questioning whether technology alone is what improves our quality of life. And all technology requires energy which is generally increasing in cost.

Re: Netflix is now worth more than $100B

#235

Post by philipov »

losteric wrote: post #201
virmundi wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not saying you're wrong. I understand where you're coming from. You raise good points. I think we need to add to this list one simple idea: regulation. Housing costs are terrible. They're getting bad even in small towns like mine. There is no way that my house is worth 172k. For many, especially in California and states that followed their lead, housing cost are largely, not solely, due to regulation on new house…

I'm a strong believer in using minimal but sufficient regulations and taxes to shape market growth. There are some absolutely unnecessary regulations, like the loopholes Tesla has to go through to sell cars because traditional dealerships don't want to lose money, or unfair taxes against green energy - protectionism must die. There are also outdated but reasonable regulations, like Seattle's density regulations. Our…

The main problem with regulation is that it's too easy to capture by various corporate lobbies. Propose a good plan, and see it get shredded and repurposed to serve those it's supposed to regulate. Congress is cheep, and campaign committees wield the purse strings to keep their members in check on policy issues, so the election system doesn't respond efficiently to abuses. We won't be able to get good regulation until we can get the lobbyists and campaign financiers out of there.

Re: Netflix is now worth more than $100B

#237

Post by lotsofpulp »

brisance wrote: post #220
jonknee wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speak for yourself, I own some Amazon shares and I like their financial prospects... Bezos is playing the long game and I'm happy to be along for the ride.

Then you better hope he has a long life and a good succession plan.

He looks like he's taking care of himself. Perhaps his shareholders should demand quarterly lipid, blood, and vitamin panels.

Re: Netflix is now worth more than $100B

#238

Post by JamesBarney »

yters wrote: post #233
JamesBarney wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By what measure has the dollar lost half it's value?

I saw a graph showing the bailout doubled the number of existing dollars.

But that doesn't mean it lost half it's value. If I printed an extra 100 trillion dollars and launched it into space that wouldn't affect the value of the dollar.

And the same thing was true during the bailout. 99% of that money was never spent so it didn't have any affect on the economy.

Re: Netflix is now worth more than $100B

#239

Post by danmaz74 »

Retric wrote: post #87
eldavido wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of sophisticated financial people share your thinking. The problem is there's no growth to be found anywhere. People are cheering for 3% GDP growth in the US. Interest rates are at all-time historical lows, meaning discount rates are lower than they've ever been. These macro trends have added up to an environment where people are willing to pay staggering premiums for even a remote shot at growth. It's affectin…

Sustained 3% US GDP growth is overly optimistic. We have 0.7% population growth, and no obvious major investments. The computer boom is mostly over with the low hanging fruit taken. Prior to that we had IC engines and electricity, but nothing on the horizon seems to have that kind of potential to radically reshape society. And to double the economy every 25 years you need regular dramatic shits. PS: Look at the past…

AI should bring growth to GDP, but it will also most likely bring about even further concentration of wealth and income. The long-term results could depend a lot on public policy.

Re: Netflix is now worth more than $100B

#240

Post by lotsofpulp »

jkmcf wrote: post #199
rajacombinator wrote: post #81

Finding Netflix fairly frustrating these days. Despite their runaway success they haven’t really done anything to change the Hollywood model. 99.9% crap with a sprinkle of watchable content. And despite the hoards of engineers and machine learning wizards they employ, discovery and interface has regressed in their product. Only reason I haven’t canceled yet is avoiding the hassle of going full torrent/YouTube.

I personally find the Apple TV UI fine, not great but easy enough. However, discoverability is still horrible. It constantly shows the same recommendations over and over, including things I've just watched. You need to know what you want and then hope they have it online. Not sure what you mean about the Hollywood model. Just about everything I've watched developed by Netflix has been above average. Maybe their junk…

That's because they don't have many good things to discover so they have to obfuscate it.
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