Mark Cuban offers to fund former 18F employees • Hacker News Board

Re: Mark Cuban offers to fund former 18F employees

#331

Post by modeless » Sun, Mar 02, 2025, 5:39 PM UTC

consumer451 wrote: post #174

modeless wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference is private companies that accumulate too much waste and useless things can fail and be replaced. The exception is companies propped up by government regulation. The problem with modern big companies is that the exception has become the rule. Regulation is so pervasive it's become a "what the hell is water" situation. People don't even recognize that the dysfunctional companies are protected from failur…

> The difference is private companies that accumulate too much waste and useless things can fail and be replaced. The US healthcare system is evidence that this is an overly simplistic view. In a not for profit healthcare insurance system, every dollar not spent on patient care is considered waste, and we work to decrease it. In a for profit healthcare insurance system, every dollar not spent on patient care is consi…

If you think the US healthcare system is a good example of something that isn't driven by pervasive regulation, this is exactly the kind of "what the hell is water" problem I was talking about.

Re: Mark Cuban offers to fund former 18F employees

#332

Post by esafak » Sun, Mar 02, 2025, 5:40 PM UTC

sbarre wrote: post #150

esafak wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The last mile might be monopolized, but you are oversimplifying it. When implemented well, there are markets for generation, transmission, distribution, and retail, implying alternatives and resiliency. Every system has bottlenecks. This does not mean they are all equally resilient. To give a familiar example, your having one brain does not negate the benefit of having limbs in pairs.

> When implemented well Here's the important part. Regulatory capture and monopolies don't want or need things to be implemented well, because that leads to alternative options.

That is true of any complex endeavor. People have to do their jobs properly, and the system should be set up with consideration. There are no shortcuts to success. Policy needs to be bulwarked against the problems you mentioned.

Re: Mark Cuban offers to fund former 18F employees

#333

Post by unethical_ban » Sun, Mar 02, 2025, 5:41 PM UTC

mharrig1 wrote: post #106

croes wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The question is what would you do if you were Cuban?

I think it's disingenuous to see what Cuban is doing as the thing that anyone would do because I would assume most would prefer to have more wealth if they could. My issue comes from the fact that Cuban is then directly aiding and abetting the process that Musk is putting in place with DOGE, thus my concern. With that in mind, asking "Well what would you do?" to justify the actions of putting a generally well regarde…

Cuban AFAIK is not advocating for what is happening. His statement seems to acknowledge that Musk is fucking things up.

The point of asking you "what would you do in their position" is to see if you have an honest alternative for what a wealthy, high profile person could do to help the laid off 18F workers (and the country) in the short term, or if you're throwing stones at Cuban because it's an easy dunk.

I think there are good answers to the question like "Publicly fund and back anti-Trump politicians in Texas" or "Advocate for changes to the constitutional structure that enshrine the existence of independent agencies" or "buy a newspaper and go against the other demigods of America" or "buy every liberal in Texas a gun". That last one is a joke. Kinda.

Re: Mark Cuban offers to fund former 18F employees

#334

Post by ceejayoz » Sun, Mar 02, 2025, 5:41 PM UTC

dcow wrote: post #301

ceejayoz wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If someone entirely outside my chain of command demands I give them a status update, “no” is often an appropriate answer. It doesn’t mean I can’t. It means I shouldn’t.

And now they’re facing the consequences (the existence of which clearly refutes your chain of command argument). Maybe they are virtuous. Maybe they got bad advice from leadership. Either way the chapter is finished and the outcome doesn't seem positive for the insubordinate individuals.

That’s not evidence the system is supposed to work this way. That’s evidence that the system is breaking.

Re: Mark Cuban offers to fund former 18F employees

#335

Post by mindcrash » Sun, Mar 02, 2025, 5:42 PM UTC

Cuban: "It’s just a matter of time before DOGE needs you to fix the mess they inevitably created. They will have to hire your company as a contractor to fix it. But on your terms. I’m happy to invest and/or help."

Unfortunately these people (Musk and friends) are so full of themselves that it's more likely they will rather let the whole proverbial house burn down than ask for help.

It's one of many reasons why I am currently a political orphan. Absolutely sick and tired of the shenanigans of both the "left" and the "right".

Re: Mark Cuban offers to fund former 18F employees

#336

Post by modeless » Sun, Mar 02, 2025, 5:44 PM UTC

rawgabbit wrote: post #207

modeless wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference is private companies that accumulate too much waste and useless things can fail and be replaced. The exception is companies propped up by government regulation. The problem with modern big companies is that the exception has become the rule. Regulation is so pervasive it's become a "what the hell is water" situation. People don't even recognize that the dysfunctional companies are protected from failur…

In technology we see this is not true. Windows blue screens and brings the economy to a halt. Azure and windows is riddled with security gaffes. But everyone looks the other way. Google search is nothing but ads but the majority still use it. A clue to why this dysfunctional market exists is all the tech CEOs pay homage to the Oval Office and shove monies into untraceable PACs thanks to Citizens United.

See, this is exactly the "what the hell is water" problem. You think Microsoft's monopoly on Windows is a result of the "free market", and simply take it for granted when the government literally, explicitly, intentionally grants Microsoft their monopoly on Windows via copyright.

Re: Mark Cuban offers to fund former 18F employees

#337

Post by a12k » Sun, Mar 02, 2025, 5:45 PM UTC

DannyPage wrote: post #88

Mark Cuban is welcome to advocate for a wealth tax that can fund 18f and many other portions of the government, while keeping it public and free of interference from private billionaires.

18f was self funded by billing agencies for cost savings, basically. It was basically free for the gov, and made up of highly technical people, many of whom came from top flight Silicon Valley or SV-adjacent companies. That is to say, neither cost nor technical skill nor efficiency were issues for 18f, which means that this wasn’t axed because of their cost…

Re: Mark Cuban offers to fund former 18F employees

#338

Post by dcow » Sun, Mar 02, 2025, 5:48 PM UTC

sjsdaiuasgdia wrote: post #318

dcow wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it’s a brilliant and effective way to route out insubordination and dead workers.

I hope you never end up in a position of management, because it's a real shitty way to manage people.

On every team I’ve worked on there is an expectation of at least weekly updates. Usually a daily or every other daily standup. The request is not unreasonable.

I can never know what I’d do when faced with a position where I believed some of my budget was going to pay dead and inactive employees, and where members of the management chain were insubordinate and unwilling to help identify the issue and even complicit. I’d guess I’d just fire them all. Is that more humane?

Re: Mark Cuban offers to fund former 18F employees

#339

Post by notahacker » Sun, Mar 02, 2025, 5:49 PM UTC

dcow wrote: post #240

I feel like a lot of the discussion is beating around the bush or tangential. The very simple cause of this wave of layoffs is in response to the “what did you do this week?” email. If you’ve been following closely, a week ago DOGE sent an email to many people, including suspected dead government workers, asking them to list in 5 bullets what they accomplished the prior week. Some people didn't respond after having t…

> According to TFA the people let go were unable or unwilling to complete this simple task.

TFA does not say this.

Re: Mark Cuban offers to fund former 18F employees

#340

Post by dcow » Sun, Mar 02, 2025, 5:53 PM UTC

notahacker wrote: post #339

dcow wrote: post #240

I feel like a lot of the discussion is beating around the bush or tangential. The very simple cause of this wave of layoffs is in response to the “what did you do this week?” email. If you’ve been following closely, a week ago DOGE sent an email to many people, including suspected dead government workers, asking them to list in 5 bullets what they accomplished the prior week. Some people didn't respond after having t…

> According to TFA the people let go were unable or unwilling to complete this simple task. TFA does not say this.

> Those impacted in the wee hours of Saturday morning also received emails late Friday from DOGE with the subject line, “What did you do last week? Part II.”

They were asked first last last week. And then again on Friday.

——

> According to Politico, the emails — prompting employees to list their weekly accomplishments by Monday — were widely distributed across multiple agencies, including the State Department, the IRS, and the NIH.

I’m not making this shit up…