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Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble

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Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble

#331

Post by mcguire »

thinkfurther wrote: post #249
mcguire wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...because otherwise most of us would be dead. Or would never have lived, which is the same thing, kind of.

If anything had been slightly different whole other sets of sperm would have fertilized the egg, so that's not such an impressive argument. Especially since all of us will be dead at some point, regardless. And funny how that "compassion" doesn't extend to the people crushed every day, the people shrieking in anguish as we speak. The question isn't just how many people are "alive", but what life are they living. What…

Well, you have convinced me. We should immediately switch back to a pre-agricultural, nomadic, very low technological, hunter gatherer society. I nominate you as the first headman.

The change will, of course, result in the near immediate death of, say, half of the people currently alive, including me. You get to explain to them what is going on (extra points for ending your speech with a dismissive "But, well, there you are."), but you also get to choose who is a "healthy person" and who is a "clone of an alienated person".

Go for it!

Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble

#332

Post by unknown_apostle »

vmware513 wrote: post #281
unknown_apostle wrote: post #60

Working class people are being subjected to ultra efficient hypercapitalism, as in Uber drivers discovering they worked for free when they need to purchase a new car. Meanwhile Wall Street has been bailed out 2 times in the last 15 years alone with monetary policy. How many people went to jail? (And they haven’t learned a thing, on the contrary and quite spectacularly so.) If you want to know where the tech bubble co…

Do you guys think, maybe a capitalist, but more social system will be more maintainable long term? Similar like in Sweden or in Finnland? As I know these modern countries reallocate some part of extreme revenue to other part of the society who in needs and the whole population is more equal.

Not sure, the final word on Sweden is not out yet.

Also, (imho) the problem is not some people making more money than others. The problem is that the grim reaper of capitalism is still hard at work for regular working people, but has been quite absent at crucial points in time when it comes to certain big capitalists.

Wrestling mom & pop into submission and taking over their land is less hard if you don't really have to worry about mundane things like being profitable, paying taxes, complex legislation, risk consciousness in investors, personal liability, mark to market accounting or making sure your constructions are capable of surviving some slight financial turbulence.

Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble

#333

Post by kesselvon »

nine_k wrote: post #232
rayiner wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's interesting that you identify ultra efficient hyper capitalism as the problem, then point the finger at Wall Street traders betting on mortgage backed securities. They really have nothing to do with each other. To the extent you can blame anyone for ultra efficient hyper capitalism, blame programmers. It's programmers that allowed Uber to turn the inefficient and leisurely taxi industry into the Uber/Lyft rat ra…

You speak as if customers do not also enjoy lower prices, faster delivery, lower fares, wider choices, etc. All this is also enabled by the very same platforms.

Sure, your uber ride is $7 dollars but the person driving that is getting screwed.

Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble

#334

Post by Kluny »

bmwe30is wrote: post #30

>Some are rooted, embedded in their communities; and some are trapped — because housing is unaffordable where the better paying jobs are. And the jobs that are high paying are not the jobs they built their lives on. There's some texture and nuance to this statement. I remember on NPR, they interviewed a lady whom mentioned similar sentiments; her and her husband had built a family, worked in the blue-collar industry…

> Mobility and a willingness to learn new skills seems to prevail. It's what other generations have done, millions of immigrants (my parents included).

Yeah, but after all the moves I've done in the last 10 years, I'm starting to realize that the cost of moving isn't just the cost of a U-haul truck. The cognitive load of finding new grocery stores, new dentists, new mechanics, a new social scene, a new favorite restaurant, navigating a new city, working with new utility companies...

It's really a lot. It's more than I realized the first time I changed cities at age 17. That time, I thought I was depressed. Actually, it just took me a couple of years to achieve the stability that I had when I lived with my parents. I couldn't take on more cognitive load until I dealt with the basics, so stuff like relationships, socializing, and advancing my career all went really slowly at first. The second time I moved cities I also moved countries. I'm older now and much better mentally equipped to handle these problems, but I also notice it a lot more than I used to. Moving is _hard_. I don't expect to have a healthy social network for at least another year. My relationship seems to be standing up to the pressure, but trust me, there has been pressure.

The effort was worth it, but the cost is very real. If I could have avoided paying it, I would have.

Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble

#335

Post by Domenic_S »

throwanem wrote: post #304
josiahpeters wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is a really bizarre assertion: my bubble is such that I've literally never met someone (that I'm aware of, just as with your claim) who _doesn't_ pay their credit cards off in full each month. I'm probably halfway in between the working class and the tech bubble. In fact I grew up near the poverty line. I have a lot of lower class "technical debt" that I am still working to replace. Most recently my wife and w…

I'd love to find a time series of those proportions; my sense is that 29.7% is wildly overestimated, but it has been a very long time since I was in that business myself. Curious whether the proportions have changed, or whether my perspective at that time was skewed by the nature of my tier 1 customer service role.

I'm sure it also depends on who you worked for. My unscientific instinct is that you're substantially more likely to see someone carry a balance on a Capital One or Target card then on an Amex or Costco visa because of the demographics.

Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble

#336

Post by richardknop »

bmelton wrote: post #257
koonsolo wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you totally mis the point. It's not about education, it's about a system where you can't opt out of in US. What is your credit score? If you are from US, you probably know. If you are from somewhere else, you are probably staring at your screen saying "what???". Shops giving out their own credit cards... crazy.

You can always choose to pay cash for everything you want, and eschew credit altogether, it's just so much harder to muster up the cash for big-ticket purchases like homes and automobiles that it's easier to game the system for credit building than it is to save for decades for a home to own. It's not that you can't do it, but that trading potential future earnings for money now is so damned practical that it's hard…

I'm planning to do that. I am 2 thirds on my way to buy house with cash. No need to borrow any money. That will be my dream!

Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble

#337

Post by throwanem »

Domenic_S wrote: post #335
throwanem wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love to find a time series of those proportions; my sense is that 29.7% is wildly overestimated, but it has been a very long time since I was in that business myself. Curious whether the proportions have changed, or whether my perspective at that time was skewed by the nature of my tier 1 customer service role.

I'm sure it also depends on who you worked for. My unscientific instinct is that you're substantially more likely to see someone carry a balance on a Capital One or Target card then on an Amex or Costco visa because of the demographics.

MBNA, a few years prior to the BofA acquisition. The company mostly issued affinity cards, of which it was the largest US issuer (I want to say largest globally, but not sure, whereas US I am certain about) at the time. You got to see a pretty good cross-section.

Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble

#338

Post by roymurdock »

dragonwriter wrote: post #235
roymurdock wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are strong and opposite forces at work. Hyper-capitalism in the form of efficiency gains made possible by software-driven matching algorithms in markets that, when productivity is higher, don't need/warrant these efficiency gains. Such as the formalized platforms for the micro sharing of cars (Uber), personal living spaces (Airbnb), and labor (TaskRabbit, Mechanical Turk, Fiverr, etc.). We currently do more eff…

> the Federal Reserve is an independent, non-government entity. Its a self-funded government entity created by law. > But it certainly feels like hyper-socialism because it undermines of the organizing principle of a democratic society - citizens should have both the right and the duty to elect officials to act on their behalf, and hold them accountable. Like many government entities, it's officials are appointed by…

I respect your comments and breadth of knowledge, but wish you would take things a bit less literally and argue/reason at a higher level. I noted all of your points in the comment's [1] footnote - I'm aware of the technicalities, but am making a broader argument. But don't just take it from me, here's an ex-president of the Minneapolis Fed making the same point: https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-08-07/maybe-cen...

Do you feel like you are adequately represented in government, and that you can trust elected officials to appoint staff those who will make decisions in the best interest of you, your family, your city, state, nation, etc.?

Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble

#339

Post by edem »

rayiner wrote: post #217
unknown_apostle wrote: post #60

Working class people are being subjected to ultra efficient hypercapitalism, as in Uber drivers discovering they worked for free when they need to purchase a new car. Meanwhile Wall Street has been bailed out 2 times in the last 15 years alone with monetary policy. How many people went to jail? (And they haven’t learned a thing, on the contrary and quite spectacularly so.) If you want to know where the tech bubble co…

It's interesting that you identify ultra efficient hyper capitalism as the problem, then point the finger at Wall Street traders betting on mortgage backed securities. They really have nothing to do with each other. To the extent you can blame anyone for ultra efficient hyper capitalism, blame programmers. It's programmers that allowed Uber to turn the inefficient and leisurely taxi industry into the Uber/Lyft rat ra…

It is like calling your gun a killer when you pull the trigger. Blame the bosses of the programmers. We just try to make a living like everybody else.

Re: Annual note to self: most of the world exists outside the tech bubble

#340

Post by DubiousPusher »

gaius wrote: post #306
DubiousPusher wrote: post #12

I can't take this kind of piece seriously anymore. The decrying of an out of touch elite is a cliche. This problem isn't getting any better because 1 it's a hard problem and 2 political gridlock keeps us from modernizing economic policy one way or another. Most the people in the tech bubble I know are keenly aware of their relative advantage. They want something done about income inequality. A lack of awareness is no…

They want something done about income inequality. Something that doesn't involve them paying any (more) taxes, tho'. Just "someone" to do "something".

I think many of us are willing to pay more taxes and I think we show that by voting pretty overwhelming Democrat and or progressive.
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