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It’s Time to Build

a16z.com

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Re: It’s Time to Build

#271

Post by nerfhammer »

MattGaiser wrote: post #157
tlb wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Getting an answer from a court (is X legal?) takes a long time: at least a few years and several hundred thousand dollars. Far too long to wait before building a business around X. Asking people to build the business first and then find out if it's legal isn't how a society of laws is supposed to work. Fast courts would be a huge benefit to society.

I also don't think you can just ask a court to answer a hypothetical in a binding way. You basically need to get into the legal problem first.

is that what suing for "declaratory relief" is, or is that only for civil law?

Re: It’s Time to Build

#272

Post by harryh »

KirinDave wrote: post #167

I find this essay to be extremely frustrating, and a good example of the attitude I've personally witnessed Andreessen have in the few interactions I've had with him directly. > Is the problem capitalism? I’m with Nicholas Stern when he says that capitalism is how we take care of people we don’t know — all of these fields are highly lucrative already and should be prime stomping grounds for capitalist investment, goo…

I'm confused why you think a VC who generally won't see returns on a good investment for a decade or so thinks that "value lies in quarterly profits."

Re: It’s Time to Build

#273

Post by [deleted] »

khuey wrote: post #205
brudgers wrote: post #91

Re: Housing Housing is about the least desirable form of real-estate development for land owners. That's why low cost market housing is built in former cow pastures outside of town and in town market rate housing development tends to be built for upper income and luxury buyers. That's why affordable housing has been done with public subsidy. First as public housing. Then as tax credit financing and housing vouchers.…

The solution to that is simple: raise property taxes to the point where underutilized land is no longer a suitable vehicle for wealth preservation.

[deleted]

Re: It’s Time to Build

#274

Post by talkingtab »

Give me a break! "The problem is desire." You gotta be kidding me. Perhaps the real problem is a simplistic view of the world that fails to account for the dysfunctional forces at work in our society.

Did you even notice the Republican party in Wisconsin so desperate to stay in power they demanded that voters risk infection in order to vote? Have you not noticed the divisiveness that is overwhelming our social and political institutions? Did you notice that we have a generation of young people saddled with debt, while large corporations now line up for the dole? "The problem is desire"?

Sorry, but the condescension is unconscionable.

Re: It’s Time to Build

#275

Post by imafish »

The biggest argument for tax paid, public sector health care and education, is that it should be much cheaper for the customer when the institutions are made efficiently and not for-profit.

A quality education does not have to cost more than $10-20k to produce (per student). So why are current prices in the $100-200k range?

Re: It’s Time to Build

#276

Post by olivermarks »

KirinDave wrote: post #167

I find this essay to be extremely frustrating, and a good example of the attitude I've personally witnessed Andreessen have in the few interactions I've had with him directly. > Is the problem capitalism? I’m with Nicholas Stern when he says that capitalism is how we take care of people we don’t know — all of these fields are highly lucrative already and should be prime stomping grounds for capitalist investment, goo…

Interesting that Andreesen mentions Milton 'Shock Doctrine' Friedman. I recently read 'don't be evil' by Rana Foroohar about big tech and 'Goliath' by Matt Stoller, the 100 year battle between monopoly power and democracy in the USA. I believe we are a dangerous point in history - look at how the Amazon/Bezos monopoly has become even more dominant in the last few weeks of soft martial law, with online orders permissible while countless small businesses are shuttered. Just in time supply chains and quarterly profits worship have hollowed out holding inventory, which is why there are no medical gowns. Meanwhile China is effectively what the USA used to be economically. Valley VCs invest heavily in businesses they believe will dominate a vertical and crush competition for maximum profit. This is monopoly power personified.

Re: It’s Time to Build

#277

Post by harryh »

djcapelis wrote: post #238

> But the harsh reality is that it all failed — no Western country, or state, or city was prepared This is silly. There are clear differences in response. Here’s just one example: 21 Jan - The city department of public health activates its operations center to prepare for a potential outbreak. 28 Jan - The city activates its emergency operations center. 25 Feb - The city formally declares a state of emergency to prep…

NYC and SF have roughly similar sized city budgets when measured on a per capita basis and they had _wildly_ different responses to Coronavirus. Whatever it was that causes such different responses, I don't think it was "political movements who want to drown government in a bathtub."

Re: It’s Time to Build

#278

Post by amasad »

KirinDave wrote: post #167

I find this essay to be extremely frustrating, and a good example of the attitude I've personally witnessed Andreessen have in the few interactions I've had with him directly. > Is the problem capitalism? I’m with Nicholas Stern when he says that capitalism is how we take care of people we don’t know — all of these fields are highly lucrative already and should be prime stomping grounds for capitalist investment, goo…

> We don't have it because building these things requires long term investments and folks like Marc and his investors are not interested in long term investments.

I don't know where you get this from but as far as VC goes a16z are especially willing to take long-term bets. Case in point, when we pitched them, we explicitly said it's going to take us a decade to achieve our goals and they were okay with that.

Re: It’s Time to Build

#279

Post by [deleted] »

oxymoron wrote: post #70

I'm in the process of reading _Why Nation Fails_. The central thesis is that the rich and poor countries are separated by inclusive vs extractive institutions. The extractive institutions are characterised by elites that attempt to defend their own wealth and status by maintaining the status quo and resisting the creative destruction that may threaten that position. It seems to resonate a bit here, when Marc speaks o…

[deleted]

Re: It’s Time to Build

#280

Post by cwperkins »

I expect a decently big infrastructure spending bill in the near future. It was even one of Trump's campaign promises and interest rates are near zero. I'm fiscally conservative, but I've seen the evidence from Southern Europe that Austerity is not the way forward. Many Southern European countries still have not fully recovered their GDP from 2008. I see many people weary about the future and I think it would do us wonders to see people excited to create a future with Sci-Fi level transportation, advanced manufacturing and cheap, abundant and renewable energy.
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