5 ms·

Free healthcare, free college, and a UBI would go a long way toward making starting a company realistic for more people.

lpolovets 8y ago
None of these things are free. Doctors, teachers, schools, and income guarantees cost money, and that money has to come from somewhere (i.e. taxes). The (unfortunate) reality is that for most people you either need a lot of savings or an investor to get a company off the ground [1]. I am skeptical that free education or a $10k/year UBI would change that. [1] One notable exception is companies that can be started on the side, but UBI would not affect those very much, either.
sturgill 8y ago
Paid for by?... I distrust free anything. VCs aren’t free money; healthcare is paid for by someone; professors have a salary even if tuition is waived; UBI requires cash to materialize from someone’s efforts... Further removing people from the most important parts of life and entrusting those to a benevolent central authority is a risk I’d personally _not_ take. The lessons I learned from the most recent US presidential election is how grateful I am for separation of powers and limits on the scopes that any one person (or branch of government) can actually impose on my day-to-day life. I’d prefer to not see UBI furloughed because two parties I’m not connected to would prefer to grandstand over a budgetary rounding error than solve problems.
- danielcarver 8y ago
  UBI needs to be furloughed. UBI aka just a scheme to keep the money flowing from the prole’s wallet into altman’s pocket. Universal basic EQUITY is a different thing. But he’s not offering that.
  - pazimzadeh 8y ago
    "I think that every adult US citizen should get an annual share of the US GDP." -Sam Altman http://blog.samaltman.com/american-equity http://blog.samaltman.com/american-equity
    - danielcarver 8y ago
      Oh fuck. I’m totally wrong. I take back what I said. My bad. Thanks for the link. Altman is a boss
niccolop 8y ago
But yet somehow Europe is a wasteland by comparison to the States for startups. In many, particularly, Northern European countries health care and college is the norm, even if UBI is further off, there are many subsidies and benefits one can have. It is the desire, hunger, and unmet needs that creates many startups.
- jonlucc 8y ago
  I don't think so; there must be many other factors. You seem to be saying that people are more motivated by not being able to afford healthcare and college for themselves or their kids, and that seems bonkers to me. If that were the motivation, people would be getting jobs at universities rather than founding startups, as most universities have fantastic health insurance and reduced tuition for employees' children. On the other hand, if I have a chronic medical condition, I can't currently leave to found a startup without risking my health alongside all the money I'm risking by quitting my job.
  - niccolop 8y ago
    No that’s the opposite of what I was saying. It is OP who suggested this. I agree of course free health etc. does not make me do a startup. Otherwise many more would exist in the Nordics.

lpolovets 8y ago

None of these things are free. Doctors, teachers, schools, and income guarantees cost money, and that money has to come from somewhere (i.e. taxes). The (unfortunate) reality is that for most people you either need a lot of savings or an investor to get a company off the ground [1]. I am skeptical that free education or a $10k/year UBI would change that. [1] One notable exception is companies that can be started on the side, but UBI would not affect those very much, either.

sturgill 8y ago

Paid for by?... I distrust free anything. VCs aren’t free money; healthcare is paid for by someone; professors have a salary even if tuition is waived; UBI requires cash to materialize from someone’s efforts... Further removing people from the most important parts of life and entrusting those to a benevolent central authority is a risk I’d personally _not_ take. The lessons I learned from the most recent US presidential election is how grateful I am for separation of powers and limits on the scopes that any one person (or branch of government) can actually impose on my day-to-day life. I’d prefer to not see UBI furloughed because two parties I’m not connected to would prefer to grandstand over a budgetary rounding error than solve problems.

danielcarver 8y ago
UBI needs to be furloughed. UBI aka just a scheme to keep the money flowing from the prole’s wallet into altman’s pocket. Universal basic EQUITY is a different thing. But he’s not offering that.
- pazimzadeh 8y ago
  "I think that every adult US citizen should get an annual share of the US GDP." -Sam Altman http://blog.samaltman.com/american-equity http://blog.samaltman.com/american-equity
  - danielcarver 8y ago
    Oh fuck. I’m totally wrong. I take back what I said. My bad. Thanks for the link. Altman is a boss

niccolop 8y ago

But yet somehow Europe is a wasteland by comparison to the States for startups. In many, particularly, Northern European countries health care and college is the norm, even if UBI is further off, there are many subsidies and benefits one can have. It is the desire, hunger, and unmet needs that creates many startups.

jonlucc 8y ago
I don't think so; there must be many other factors. You seem to be saying that people are more motivated by not being able to afford healthcare and college for themselves or their kids, and that seems bonkers to me. If that were the motivation, people would be getting jobs at universities rather than founding startups, as most universities have fantastic health insurance and reduced tuition for employees' children. On the other hand, if I have a chronic medical condition, I can't currently leave to found a startup without risking my health alongside all the money I'm risking by quitting my job.
- niccolop 8y ago
  No that’s the opposite of what I was saying. It is OP who suggested this. I agree of course free health etc. does not make me do a startup. Otherwise many more would exist in the Nordics.