4 ms·

This seems like a somewhat unexpected result from the growth of the internet. At first glance, it seems like the internet should allow for a more geographicall

This seems like a somewhat unexpected result from the growth of the internet. At first glance, it seems like the internet should allow for a more geographically distributed economy, and make it easier to get a job regardless of where you live. Instead, the internet has concentrated jobs in cities by making it easier for a few companies to sell services to 'everyone'. Instead of going to a local store or even a local Walmart, people purchase from Amazon. Instead of doing taxes with a local accountant, more people use TurboTax. Instead of a local lawyer, there are services like legalzoom. This centralization is likely a big part of what is causing this. This effect will probably continue unless the large internet companies move to a more geographically distributed workforce.

thatoneuser 8y ago
Well if we’re waiting on a geographically distributed workforce then I can see two extremes which will force that. 1 The tech giants need to many employees/tech giant cities become too overpopulated for the move to Bay Area it similar isn’t feasible even for software engineers, causing the tech giants to submit to remote work. 2 We get to a point of automation where we have way fewer jobs than people. Don’t mean to be absolutist or anything, but as long as the tech giants can afford to fly candidates on site and throw buckets of money at them to move to ever increasingly high COL areas, I only see this trend continuing. Despite the technical ability to work remotely, most companies seem like they’d rather perish (or shove their talent into tighter and tiger corrals) than have people work from their own location. And I don’t see these giants trying to create new hubs in places that aren’t already established, as that’s a long term wager and why delay gratification like that?
haidut 8y ago
...or more likely (and scarier) answer is that there has been NO net growth for the country in the last 3 decades, and all we are seeing is redistribution of wealth. Add up the growth numbers (in dollars) of the counties mentioned in the report as growing and then subtract the dollar amounts of economies that shrunk. Are you getting the same number as I am? Mine is negative, and when adjusted for inflation is really scary. No wonder SEVENTY EIGHT percent of working Americans live paycheck to paycheck. And non-working ones? Well, you can guess yourself. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/24/most-americans-live-paycheck-to-paycheck.html https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/24/most-americans-live-paycheck...

thatoneuser 8y ago

Well if we’re waiting on a geographically distributed workforce then I can see two extremes which will force that. 1 The tech giants need to many employees/tech giant cities become too overpopulated for the move to Bay Area it similar isn’t feasible even for software engineers, causing the tech giants to submit to remote work. 2 We get to a point of automation where we have way fewer jobs than people. Don’t mean to be absolutist or anything, but as long as the tech giants can afford to fly candidates on site and throw buckets of money at them to move to ever increasingly high COL areas, I only see this trend continuing. Despite the technical ability to work remotely, most companies seem like they’d rather perish (or shove their talent into tighter and tiger corrals) than have people work from their own location. And I don’t see these giants trying to create new hubs in places that aren’t already established, as that’s a long term wager and why delay gratification like that?

haidut 8y ago

...or more likely (and scarier) answer is that there has been NO net growth for the country in the last 3 decades, and all we are seeing is redistribution of wealth. Add up the growth numbers (in dollars) of the counties mentioned in the report as growing and then subtract the dollar amounts of economies that shrunk. Are you getting the same number as I am? Mine is negative, and when adjusted for inflation is really scary. No wonder SEVENTY EIGHT percent of working Americans live paycheck to paycheck. And non-working ones? Well, you can guess yourself. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/24/most-americans-live-paycheck-to-paycheck.html https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/24/most-americans-live-paycheck...