4 ms·

Never. It would be like working for a big company, but more so.

by pg 16y ago

cjoh 16y ago
Two years, Paul. Come on.
- anigbrowl 16y ago
  ...after you get elected, which took a year of pandering to fools at considerable expense in dollars, dignity, or both. From an individual standpoint it just does not make snese: the absolute best you can hope for is to be called 'wonkish,' as opposed to 'autistic.' Now a Programmer Party would be a wonderful idea, at least in theory. It could run on an agenda of tidying up the laws and making them readable and responsive to people's needs. On the other hand, you only have to look at political arguments here on HN to realize that programmers are as ideologically fractured as any other social group. As soon as a question of economics or the scope of government power arose, a schism would occur. Clearly what we need is to declare a Politician class, and then create multiple objects derived from that class, taking full advantage of inheritance, polymorphism and operator overloading. This will solve all our problems, just as soon as we agree on which compiler to use...
  - cjoh 16y ago
    Eh, it's not that hard to win a Congressional seat. I've worked on and with dozens of campaigns. And only if you're in a super swing area against a well funded candidate do you have to do the cynical pandering stuff. Ultimately, shoe-leather and hard work can win elections. Plus, something tells me Paul can raise enough money to win in a few minutes.
  - anigbrowl 16y ago
    (edit timeout) I get your point cjoh - you're right, but I have real doubts about what can be achieved by an individual in a 2 year term, especially when set against the many other unrelated needs of constituents. Many countries run parliamentary systems with party lists, such that candidates for office may be experts on a narrow range of issues rather than needing to appeal to a particular geographical constituency, but the US system is structured against that. On a related note, it is interesting for those of us in California to watch how the candidacies of Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman are playing out.
    - cjoh 16y ago
      At the very least-- one of "us" in there could educate us on what's happening in there.
tansey 16y ago
Think of all the amazing campaign slogans you could have though: * "PG - He's for me!" * "Paul Graham - He's the man!" [sic] * "No more DC slackers, we want YC hackers!" * "Paul Graham: Invest in America" * "PG: Bringing the 'start' back to Capitol Hill!" Related note: I'm available for campaign management jobs. :)
- zck 16y ago
  "Garbage collect Congress!"
smackay 16y ago
Wouldn't it be like working for EVERY big company?
- fexl 16y ago
  It would be like working for a big company which collects revenue at the point of a gun.
clistctrl 16y ago
Whats the point of building an army of loyal fans (with your essays, work, and ideas) if you can't use us to gain further power in society?
- gojomo 16y ago
  Would a seat in Congress really be a step up? Who currently has more power and discretion to do worthwhile things: Paul Graham or Anna Eshoo? (Esh-who?) Could PG say "what you can't say" if running (or holding) office?
  - cjoh 16y ago
    It took an Army of Paul Grahams to overturn the Angel Investor law in the financial reform bill.
albertsun 16y ago
In stories at least, the best politicans/rulers are the reluctant ones.
aaronsw 16y ago
If you don't care about getting reelected, being a member of Congress is more like running a small company. You're given a million dollar a year budget and allowed to basically do what you want with it. There are no real requirements, although obviously there's a lot of pressure to show up for key votes. You get special attention in the media because of your position and lots of people want to sell you stuff. Getting elected in the first place is more painful, though.

Never. It would be like working for a big company, but more so.

by pg 16y ago

Never. It would be like working for a big company, but more so.

cjoh 16y ago

Two years, Paul. Come on.

anigbrowl 16y ago
...after you get elected, which took a year of pandering to fools at considerable expense in dollars, dignity, or both. From an individual standpoint it just does not make snese: the absolute best you can hope for is to be called 'wonkish,' as opposed to 'autistic.' Now a Programmer Party would be a wonderful idea, at least in theory. It could run on an agenda of tidying up the laws and making them readable and responsive to people's needs. On the other hand, you only have to look at political arguments here on HN to realize that programmers are as ideologically fractured as any other social group. As soon as a question of economics or the scope of government power arose, a schism would occur. Clearly what we need is to declare a Politician class, and then create multiple objects derived from that class, taking full advantage of inheritance, polymorphism and operator overloading. This will solve all our problems, just as soon as we agree on which compiler to use...
- cjoh 16y ago
  Eh, it's not that hard to win a Congressional seat. I've worked on and with dozens of campaigns. And only if you're in a super swing area against a well funded candidate do you have to do the cynical pandering stuff. Ultimately, shoe-leather and hard work can win elections. Plus, something tells me Paul can raise enough money to win in a few minutes.
- anigbrowl 16y ago
  (edit timeout) I get your point cjoh - you're right, but I have real doubts about what can be achieved by an individual in a 2 year term, especially when set against the many other unrelated needs of constituents. Many countries run parliamentary systems with party lists, such that candidates for office may be experts on a narrow range of issues rather than needing to appeal to a particular geographical constituency, but the US system is structured against that. On a related note, it is interesting for those of us in California to watch how the candidacies of Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman are playing out.
  - cjoh 16y ago
    At the very least-- one of "us" in there could educate us on what's happening in there.

tansey 16y ago

Think of all the amazing campaign slogans you could have though: * "PG - He's for me!" * "Paul Graham - He's the man!" [sic] * "No more DC slackers, we want YC hackers!" * "Paul Graham: Invest in America" * "PG: Bringing the 'start' back to Capitol Hill!" Related note: I'm available for campaign management jobs. :)

zck 16y ago
"Garbage collect Congress!"

smackay 16y ago

Wouldn't it be like working for EVERY big company?

fexl 16y ago
It would be like working for a big company which collects revenue at the point of a gun.

clistctrl 16y ago

Whats the point of building an army of loyal fans (with your essays, work, and ideas) if you can't use us to gain further power in society?

gojomo 16y ago
Would a seat in Congress really be a step up? Who currently has more power and discretion to do worthwhile things: Paul Graham or Anna Eshoo? (Esh-who?) Could PG say "what you can't say" if running (or holding) office?
- cjoh 16y ago
  It took an Army of Paul Grahams to overturn the Angel Investor law in the financial reform bill.

albertsun 16y ago

In stories at least, the best politicans/rulers are the reluctant ones.

aaronsw 16y ago

If you don't care about getting reelected, being a member of Congress is more like running a small company. You're given a million dollar a year budget and allowed to basically do what you want with it. There are no real requirements, although obviously there's a lot of pressure to show up for key votes. You get special attention in the media because of your position and lots of people want to sell you stuff. Getting elected in the first place is more painful, though.