It’s Time to Build • Hacker News Board

Re: It’s Time to Build

#811

Post by bigbob2 » Sun, Apr 19, 2020, 2:43 PM UTC

darkerside wrote: post #757

aguyfromnb wrote: post #713

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> GOP put party win before a nation by agreeing to nominate an unfit individual for office. They failed as gatekeepers. Why do we want corrupt politicians as "gatekeepers" to anything? The Democrats did a fine job "gatekeeping" Sanders from the 2016 and 2020 nomination, to what end? By the way, nothing will ever get done in the US until the bitter partisanship ceases. Most of what both parties do is political theatre…

In the gatekeepers' perspective, it was to postpone discussions on policies that would be extremely difficult to implement well. If the Republicans had done their job as well like usual, we wouldn't end up in this awkward situation of having an unpresidential president, but here we are. Freedom has a funny way of getting what it wants, like water flowing downhill.

From the non-gatekeepers' perspective, the difficulty of policy implementation does not matter when the policies themselves are ineffective and only serve to maintain status quo financial structures, which benefit the wealthy often at the expense of the most vulnerable.

What specifically makes the president unpresidential as opposed to other presidents? Is it removals as a percentage of the estimated illegal immigrant population? The dramatic expansion of the power of the executive branch into the realm of national security? Number of U.S. citizens executed without trial? Those are all things which happened under previous presidencies.

> If the Republicans had done their job as well like usual

Is it really fair to argue that gatekeepers are effective if they failed to do what you view as their jobs? "If it wasn't for those meddling Republicans!"

Re: It’s Time to Build

#812

Post by jonathanberger » Sun, Apr 19, 2020, 2:44 PM UTC

zachrose wrote: post #44

> 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, good both for the investor and the customers who are served. I'm not familiar with Nicholas Stern, and will look him up, but does anyone here want to elaborate as if you were talking to a five-year-old?

At this point in the essay, Andreessen is wondering aloud why more building hasn't happened in the United States to solve problems in fields like education, manufacturing, and transportation.

He asks what the reasons could be, and lists several rejecting each of them. One reason that he rejects for why more building hasn't happened is capitalism.

Andreessen thinks capitalism can't be the reason for us not building because the fields he mentions are places where it's profitable ("highly lucrative") for businesses to operate. Replacing capitalism with another system (say communism) wouldn't solve our inability to build, in Andreessen's view.

Re: It’s Time to Build

#813

Post by KirinDave » Sun, Apr 19, 2020, 2:45 PM UTC

atmosx wrote: post #726

pdonis wrote: post #505

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I doubt Marc has anywhere near enough capital to get these things done (by himself). He probably has enough to make a good start on one of them. > maybe this post is a call for help and the billionaires will unite? If enough people in his position each pick a problem and start on it, that in itself would be a big help.

If he did what he is proposing, he would be out of business quickly with no investor money to mess around. This entire post reads like a script for Gavin Belson to me.

> If he did what he is proposing, he would be out of business quickly with no investor money to mess around. This entire post reads like a script for Gavin Belson to me.

But this is sort of the central complaint, no? "These people have to want it" is a good rallying cry, but it should apply to Marc and his peers and funders. They have enormously more influence on the direction of industry and infrastructure in our countries than I do, and it'd take a revolution to change that dynamic.

Re: It’s Time to Build

#814

Post by ausbah » Sun, Apr 19, 2020, 2:46 PM UTC

jekoeoe9njdjr wrote: post #809

sanderjd wrote: post #794

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, if anything good comes from this open letter it will be from people in his own demographic (investors) reading, internalizing, and acting on it.

I’d rather he cram this letter up his arse and lead by example with a letter announcing deep investment in infra Otherwise this is just someone with the freedom to sit around rambling at length trying to look woke The model of investing he got rich on is part of the problem Is he actually going to change that or peddle warm fuzzies and never follow up? Academia knows where the problems are States know where the probl…

success in one sphere subconsciously molds people to believing their opinion matters in other spheres - even if they are completely disjoint?

Re: It’s Time to Build

#815

Post by bsanr2 » Sun, Apr 19, 2020, 2:47 PM UTC

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…

This is a much better version of what I was going to respond with, which was, "I dunno, Marc, you're the one with all the goddamn money, you fix it." I think we're on the same page.

Re: It’s Time to Build

#816

Post by boltzmannbrain » Sun, Apr 19, 2020, 2:53 PM UTC

sanderjd wrote: post #794

danimal88 wrote: post #784

I build tech enabled, innovative physical infrastructure solutions for buildings. People do want them. VCs, less so, unless it's as high margin as a photo sharing app, destructive and lucrative as consumable businesses like Kurig, etc. Consumers don't know what they want until the possibilities are presented to them. VCs are literally the gate keepers of much innovative possibilty at the early phases of enterprises.…

Yep, if anything good comes from this open letter it will be from people in his own demographic (investors) reading, internalizing, and acting on it.

They won't :(

They'll retweet to get more follows.

They'll +1 and forget about this.

They'll brag about some lab-grown meat investment that is really 0.01% of their portfolio that's chock full of productivity apps and luxury home goods.

They'll broadcast "we invest in the boldest founders changing the world with science and tech innovation", then back yet another consumer goods startup that literally perpetuates the economic challenges this article suggests to fight.

Re: It’s Time to Build

#817

Post by sanderjd » Sun, Apr 19, 2020, 2:54 PM UTC

jekoeoe9njdjr wrote: post #809

sanderjd wrote: post #794

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, if anything good comes from this open letter it will be from people in his own demographic (investors) reading, internalizing, and acting on it.

I’d rather he cram this letter up his arse and lead by example with a letter announcing deep investment in infra Otherwise this is just someone with the freedom to sit around rambling at length trying to look woke The model of investing he got rich on is part of the problem Is he actually going to change that or peddle warm fuzzies and never follow up? Academia knows where the problems are States know where the probl…

I share your cynicism, but the letter could be a statement of changed purpose which front runs exactly the kind of announcements you're looking for. And it may encourage others to start thinking along those same lines. If that is the case, then it may be a good thing.

But I agree, if we look back at this letter in six months to a year and find that he's still driving investments in more lucrative but less useful things, then yeah I agree, he can cram it up his arse.

I also think actual money-where-your-mouth-is actions like the investment in capacity to produce vaccines that Bill Gates is making are way more useful for people with these big megaphones and wallets (but apparently it also makes you a target for the currently in power political faction because the leader of that faction is actually a spineless follower of society's worst impulses, but I digress). But maybe a statement of purpose like this open letter is better than nothing...

Re: It’s Time to Build

#818

Post by bsanr2 » Sun, Apr 19, 2020, 2:56 PM UTC

vosper wrote: post #543

MattGaiser wrote: post #511

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He could call Harvard and donate a bunch of developers for a year to build that system which could educate a million 18 year olds. Harvard will certainly take his call. He couldn’t fund all the hyper efficient factories for the country, but he could build one.

Harvard could easily build that out of their own $40,000,000,000 endowment, if their first priority was actually education, rather than protecting their own prestige and the value of their credentials to the elites they mostly serve.

This is another impediment he didn't mention: a sort of regulatory capture working on the social level. Harvard's prestige begs the question of why people want to go there. None of the interested parties want to change that, because it's to their advantage. To provide a Harvard-level education to millions (not simply academically, but to open the lanes of opportunity in all ways Harvard provides) is to destroy Harvard. But then, one wonders what the utility of Harvard is to the average American.

Re: It’s Time to Build

#819

Post by jekoeoe9njdjr » Sun, Apr 19, 2020, 2:56 PM UTC

ausbah wrote: post #814

jekoeoe9njdjr wrote: post #809

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d rather he cram this letter up his arse and lead by example with a letter announcing deep investment in infra Otherwise this is just someone with the freedom to sit around rambling at length trying to look woke The model of investing he got rich on is part of the problem Is he actually going to change that or peddle warm fuzzies and never follow up? Academia knows where the problems are States know where the probl…

success in one sphere subconsciously molds people to believing their opinion matters in other spheres - even if they are completely disjoint?

Yes

See Trump & Kushner

Math models show financial success is luck and government collusion

Limbic brain function takes on a habit of connecting to facts from past success stores in the cortex, to convince the person that their literal agency will always lead to success

And society continually rewards past success even in the face of nothing but failure in other endeavors

Again, see Trump and all the CEOs and hedge funds that keep being bailed out

Re: It’s Time to Build

#820

Post by KirinDave » Sun, Apr 19, 2020, 3:00 PM UTC

BrandonM wrote: post #308

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…

If there’s anyone in finance who’s less focused on quarterly numbers than VCs, I’d love to hear about them. One of the bigger criticisms of VCs is that they encourage a high risk, high burn, swing-for-the-fences strategy, even in businesses where it doesn’t make a lot of sense. So while I agree with your sentiments overall, I wouldn’t say that Andreesen is especially reflective of the attitudes that you’re rightly ca…

My experience with fellow post-exit folks is that at around the 3 year mark everyone wants to offload you. People are citing 5 and 10 year ventures as "long-term" which really shows how incredibly eroded the concept of "long term" investments in the US are.

Revitalizing the US electrical and transit infrastructure is probably a century long project, with individual states taking anywhere from 40-75 year. But let's talk more about how Magic Leap secured a lot of debt financing, I guess?

My advice for you is that it makes absolutely 0 sense to bite the hand that feeds you right now.