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Request for Startups: News, Jobs, and Democracy

blog.ycombinator.com

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Re: Request for Startups: News, Jobs, and Democracy

#291

Post by Analemma_ »

eevilspock wrote: post #216
FrancoDiaz wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the question is how much reward is needed Who decides that?

Society. It was society that decided to have the current reward system. It is society that can change its mind.

This is... very wrong, at least if you're talking about CEO pay. Who decides CEO pay? The Board. Who is the Board? Well, it's usually guys who are CEOs at other companies. Boards have every incentive to make this pay as high as they can get away with, so they will get the same quid pro quo, and "society" has nothing to do with it.

Re: Request for Startups: News, Jobs, and Democracy

#292

Post by eanzenberg »

literallycancer wrote: post #239
3825 wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I agree. And some men want to be stay at home dads, and sometimes both parents want to work, and sometimes there's a single parent who's falling apart trying to do everything. I wish we could agree that all those choices are valid, and allow some social safety nets that make it possible. I think it goes back to what you said first. We need to agree on some core values. I don't want any more of my money going to peo…

>"children belong to the collective" I grew up in post-communist Europe. In the past, we had state propaganda that told children to turn in their parents[1], among other wonderful products of that line of thinking. So I'd be very careful with ideas like this one. (I still support mandatory vaccinations and/or sane defaults.) >Lets send a clear message: If your children are your own and do not belong to the society, t…

It's fine, let's send these people off to Venezuela to live happily ever after.

Re: Request for Startups: News, Jobs, and Democracy

#293

Post by kmicklas »

clarkmoody wrote: post #207
thowar2 wrote: post #34

Education should be on this list. The root of all these problems stem from a lack of effective education. 1) The current methods are highly ineffective for teaching By getting more effective at teaching children, and helping them to self educate, we get better informed citizens who can interpret news more accurately and effectively participate in democracy. 2) The current goals for education do not align with current…

As long as education is controlled by government, directional decisions will be made politically. Try bringing up the idea of shrinking class sizes by eliminating the football program at your next town-hall and see what happens. The only lasting solution will be to allow true market competition for education to replace the centralized top-down system we have. Yes, it's a libertarian pipe dream. No, I don't want to he…

> Yes, it's a libertarian pipe dream.

Yes, yes it is.

> No, I don't want to hear about how "poor people will not be educated" by such a system.

Libertarianism summarized: have you ever tried hating poor people... on weeeeeed?

Re: Request for Startups: News, Jobs, and Democracy

#294

Post by kmicklas »

dukeluke wrote: post #132
ryanworl wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not what I'm getting at. I'm referring to technology specifically. Cost of living is dictated predominantly by the cost of housing, healthcare, education, and food. Food cost as a % of income has decreased significantly since 1960 according to the USDA [1]. Technology and globalization have impacted food a lot. Education, and housing? Not nearly as much. Healthcare is more complicated, and I'm not an expert, s…

The problem is that the benefits of globalization are offset by the centralization of the remaining jobs, and is adding to the inequality seen in America. There are some parts of the country doing fantastic, but a lot of the Midwest is seeing lower wages, fewer jobs, and a lower quality of life.

That's largely a false narrative.

Re: Request for Startups: News, Jobs, and Democracy

#295

Post by hsavit1 »

I have a pretty good idea for an app that I'd like to make and I'd like to apply. However after reading through the article it seems as if the deadline has already passed?? Would I be applying for Spring 2017? Also, any advice on what constitutes a strong application (in other words: I don't yet have a working product, can I still apply? )

Re: Request for Startups: News, Jobs, and Democracy

#296

Post by tsycho »

DougN7 wrote: post #167
Kluny wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We can start moving toward an education system that works once we agree on some core values. Someone else said that the goal of education is to produce factory workers. I disagree. I think the goal of education is to allow one teacher to effectively babysit up to 30 children at once. With both parents working, it simply isn't possible for them to give kids the attention they need to keep them healty and sane, let alo…

I've rewritten my comment three times so far ... My wife and I are fortunate enough that she can be a stay at home mom. I grew up the same way. Were middle class, though increasingly probably slightly mid to upper these days. We don't need the babysitter, and want our kids to be educated, so that is the focus. We help them with homework, etc. We're lucky. So from my perspective, having both parents working is the roo…

It's not just about money. Even if parents can afford to have one of them be stay at home, neither parent might want to be the one staying at home.

Being a stay at higher parent is an incredibly difficult, stressful and under appreciated job so to many well educated couples, it's not appealing at all.

Re: Request for Startups: News, Jobs, and Democracy

#297

Post by patmcguire »

saalweachter wrote: post #269
thowar2 wrote: post #34

Education should be on this list. The root of all these problems stem from a lack of effective education. 1) The current methods are highly ineffective for teaching By getting more effective at teaching children, and helping them to self educate, we get better informed citizens who can interpret news more accurately and effectively participate in democracy. 2) The current goals for education do not align with current…

See, I hear techies grumble about education constantly. Our education system is teaching the wrong skills or not challenging students or just an elaborate babysitting racket. I hear teachers, on the other hand, complain that after decades of trying everything they can, they've realized that they cannot help students unless those students have safe, stable, supportive home lives. It's easy to say we should introduce c…

You can aim at other models that aren't trying to improve the 18-year batch model. The great stratification that happens at the end of that, where you're either raised to the great meritocracy in the sky or cast into the abyss, would probably still be unconscionable if it were done fairly, and it's not.

So focus on the parts that happen once you're an adult. MOOCs aren't a panacea but you don't have to miss a class because your shift moved. If the objection is they aren't taken seriously by employers, my objection is that's still playing the old prestige and rank game, and there is always going to be someone at the bottom of that anyway. So make them useful to themselves if employers don't want them.

(I believe fixing childhood poverty involves the US Government doing things it's not going to do soon, and that private business isn't going to do it. We must cultivate our garden.)

Re: Request for Startups: News, Jobs, and Democracy

#298

Post by kmicklas »

dukeluke wrote: post #161
alphonsegaston wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right. Corporate republicanism would have probably been more accurate.

"Corporate oligarchy" would be a less partisan way to say this.

I think they mean replubican in the representative democracy sense, not the GOP sense.

Re: Request for Startups: News, Jobs, and Democracy

#299

Post by ethbro »

saalweachter wrote: post #269
thowar2 wrote: post #34

Education should be on this list. The root of all these problems stem from a lack of effective education. 1) The current methods are highly ineffective for teaching By getting more effective at teaching children, and helping them to self educate, we get better informed citizens who can interpret news more accurately and effectively participate in democracy. 2) The current goals for education do not align with current…

See, I hear techies grumble about education constantly. Our education system is teaching the wrong skills or not challenging students or just an elaborate babysitting racket. I hear teachers, on the other hand, complain that after decades of trying everything they can, they've realized that they cannot help students unless those students have safe, stable, supportive home lives. It's easy to say we should introduce c…

> they cannot help students unless those students have safe, stable, supportive home lives

As someone from a teaching family, this is absolutely true.

That said, the underlying problems can only be fixed by a combination of economic improvement and education. Education empowers in the future, but economic status empowers educational opportunities in the present.

And when it comes down to it, the government can't afford to replace the future wealth created by an educated citizenry.

Re: Request for Startups: News, Jobs, and Democracy

#300

Post by kmicklas »

zxcvvcxz wrote: post #174
baursak wrote: post #46

Democracy can be improved by having democracy in the workplace. Modern corporations are run like totalitarian, authoritarian regimes with top-down orders being barked down. If you disobey, you're out. People in Western democracies are no longer putting up with non-democratic control of their political institutions, but are completely oblivious to non-democratic control of their economic institutions and are perfectly…

> Modern corporations are run like totalitarian, authoritarian regimes with top-down orders being barked down. If you disobey, you're out. People in Western democracies are no longer putting up with non-democratic control of their political institutions, but are completely oblivious to non-democratic control of their economic institutions and are perfectly willing to take orders where and when it matters most -- ever…

> And the capitalist system works fine, because if these employees think I'm doing a shit job, they do have a vote: leave and start their own company.

I didn't know it was this possible to be so non self aware.

> The parts that don't work are actually the more socialist parts of the system, such as bailouts for big behemoth, and regulatory barriers to starting competitors.

Socialism is when the government does things, and the more things it does, the socialister it is!

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