52 ms·

Let's, for an argument sake, believe that what Goldman Sachs does is hideous, counter-productive horseshit. Following that, let's outlaw the giant, and move al

Let's, for an argument sake, believe that what Goldman Sachs does is hideous, counter-productive horseshit. Following that, let's outlaw the giant, and move all its employees into a more productive force. What do we have? Do we have more minds working on real problems like cure of cancer? I guess not; the probable result is thousands of unemployed programmers. It's a misguided belief that we can solve more problems with more people working towards them, which reeks of the same ideology that Fred Brooks tried to acknowledge in Mythical Man-month, that it's possible to build Software faster by adding more people to the project. If there is a prevalent sentiment that too many companies are starting up in the valley with nonsensical business models, how can we say with the straight eye that more programmers are needed to be shifted to create even more companies.

optionalparens 10y ago
I agree with this and your point brings up some other implications. I especially agree that there are a lot of companies with very questionable business models. Ironically, Goldman is helping many of these companies make money and be perceived in the market as "valuable" regardless of common sense, evidence, or more thorough financial models. Most financial and economic theory seems to indicate that even moving all the Goldman employees to some other company will just result in other companies taking its place. If we put in place rules to prevent another Goldman forming, another company will find a loophole at some point or even be far worse. I'm certainly not justifying their existence, actions, or anything else. Rather, I am pointing out that the market will just swallow brain power and redistribute it some other way that isn't ostensibly any different or "better." If there is a problem that needs to be solved, it is not redistributing tech people from Goldman somewhere else, but rather fixing whatever societal, financial, economic, legal, and political conditions among other factors created the perceived evil entity swallowing the universe. If we chastise the tech people for working there or the situation itself, we should also instruct all the other people there to stop wasting their brains and apply them somewhere else.

optionalparens 10y ago

I agree with this and your point brings up some other implications. I especially agree that there are a lot of companies with very questionable business models. Ironically, Goldman is helping many of these companies make money and be perceived in the market as "valuable" regardless of common sense, evidence, or more thorough financial models. Most financial and economic theory seems to indicate that even moving all the Goldman employees to some other company will just result in other companies taking its place. If we put in place rules to prevent another Goldman forming, another company will find a loophole at some point or even be far worse. I'm certainly not justifying their existence, actions, or anything else. Rather, I am pointing out that the market will just swallow brain power and redistribute it some other way that isn't ostensibly any different or "better." If there is a problem that needs to be solved, it is not redistributing tech people from Goldman somewhere else, but rather fixing whatever societal, financial, economic, legal, and political conditions among other factors created the perceived evil entity swallowing the universe. If we chastise the tech people for working there or the situation itself, we should also instruct all the other people there to stop wasting their brains and apply them somewhere else.