4 ms·
nah i wouldn't go that far, banking employees and shareholders of recapitalized companies in 2007/2008 privatized gains and socialized losses when they were mos
by roymurdock 8y ago
nah i wouldn't go that far, banking employees and shareholders of recapitalized companies in 2007/2008 privatized gains and socialized losses when they were mostly bailed out with taxpayer money/federal reserve credibility instead of going under, but uber/airbnb/aws are pure efficiency plays. they increase the utilization of (what used to be) private cars, real estate, and servers respectively. there are trade offs between renting and buying, and we are moving more towards a rental economy mostly because it's more efficient in many cases to just rent what you need when you need it (opex) rather than spending big on a depreciating asset (capex)
- plankers 8y agoIf uber/lyft are pure efficiency plays, then why do they have their own programs to finance the purchase of new cars just so people can drive for uber/lyft? By the same token, but much harder to substantiate, why are people buying property just to rent it out with airbnb? The negative externalities are there. You just have to know where to look.
- roymurdock 8y agoneither of those examples are negative externalities the heart and core of each company is just more efficient matching with less regulation and more technology between renters and owners of capital
- plankers 8y agoPeople buying new cars is bad for the environment. Houses being bought up solely be rented out by the day drives up housing prices for people who actually want to live in those neighborhoods. Come on, dude.
- thereisnospork 8y agoBecause the regulatory environment around taxis and hotels are so onorous that doing something a reasonable person might find absurd actually improves the efficiency of car services/boarding.