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Is there any chance of a systemic failure that would affect the entire economy caused by Silicon Valley? I am not talking about some shares losing value but wit

Is there any chance of a systemic failure that would affect the entire economy caused by Silicon Valley? I am not talking about some shares losing value but with the Credit Crunch, we had thousands of average Joes in above their head in debt which couldn't be refinanced while the value of their home crashed.

nickpsecurity 10y ago
I don't know that they've made anything that important. I'm up for feedback from anyone on something irreplaceable and necessary for consumers or businesses everywhere. Those that did are really old, established firms that actually sell product for a profit. Different model. ;)
aboonaboo 10y ago
No not really it would just make the bay area housing bubble burst won't really affect the country
- shostack 10y ago
  I'm not even convinced it would do that. I'd love to get my hands on employment numbers of VC funded startups that aren't profitable vs those of big established tech giants like Google, FB, Apple, Adobe etc. with strong revenue streams and billions in the bank to weather whatever comes. My hypothesis is that the former group are a small enough number where they might shake up confidence in the housing market temporarily, but would ultimately not sufficiently dent demand. Big companies might go on a hiring spree for cheap talent and the housing market continues as it has been. China money drying up could also be a catalyst or a natural disaster like a major earthquake could be another.
jackcosgrove 10y ago
Silicon Valley is not like Wall Street in that way. If quantum computing breaks public key encryption the world is in deep doo-doo though. It is like Wall Street back in the 00s in that it attracts greedy people as well as people in it for the love of it. I predict the greedy people will ruin this iteration of Silicon Valley, if they haven't already. It also has a savior complex that is convinced Silicon Valley is "doing God's work". In other words drinking the Kool-Aid. "Do well by doing good" is a bit self-serving to me. It's a big warning sign when an industry constructs a mythology around itself. First, it's used as a psychological reward for employees that allows employers to suppress wages. Second, like any moral framework it makes ends-justifies-the-means rationalization easier. It's just commerce! Get over it.
gaius 10y ago
Yes. The NASDAQ meltdown in the dotcom crash affected everything. Arguably the economy never recovered, and just papered over it with a housing bubble instead.

nickpsecurity 10y ago

I don't know that they've made anything that important. I'm up for feedback from anyone on something irreplaceable and necessary for consumers or businesses everywhere. Those that did are really old, established firms that actually sell product for a profit. Different model. ;)

aboonaboo 10y ago

No not really it would just make the bay area housing bubble burst won't really affect the country

shostack 10y ago
I'm not even convinced it would do that. I'd love to get my hands on employment numbers of VC funded startups that aren't profitable vs those of big established tech giants like Google, FB, Apple, Adobe etc. with strong revenue streams and billions in the bank to weather whatever comes. My hypothesis is that the former group are a small enough number where they might shake up confidence in the housing market temporarily, but would ultimately not sufficiently dent demand. Big companies might go on a hiring spree for cheap talent and the housing market continues as it has been. China money drying up could also be a catalyst or a natural disaster like a major earthquake could be another.

jackcosgrove 10y ago

Silicon Valley is not like Wall Street in that way. If quantum computing breaks public key encryption the world is in deep doo-doo though. It is like Wall Street back in the 00s in that it attracts greedy people as well as people in it for the love of it. I predict the greedy people will ruin this iteration of Silicon Valley, if they haven't already. It also has a savior complex that is convinced Silicon Valley is "doing God's work". In other words drinking the Kool-Aid. "Do well by doing good" is a bit self-serving to me. It's a big warning sign when an industry constructs a mythology around itself. First, it's used as a psychological reward for employees that allows employers to suppress wages. Second, like any moral framework it makes ends-justifies-the-means rationalization easier. It's just commerce! Get over it.

gaius 10y ago

Yes. The NASDAQ meltdown in the dotcom crash affected everything. Arguably the economy never recovered, and just papered over it with a housing bubble instead.