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The mayor was elected by the citizens of Portland and is paid with their tax dollars. One of his primary mandates is to improve the local economy. Why should

by tapp 16y ago

The mayor was elected by the citizens of Portland and is paid with their tax dollars. One of his primary mandates is to improve the local economy. Why should Portland not use those tax dollars to cultivate its local economy if that is the goal? I am the CEO of a mid-sized, private company. I need our website updated. Should I be required to put out an RFP to source the work to the lowest bidder? By your logic, if I don't, aren't I "shielding" my internal staff from competition?

jacques_chester 16y ago
> Why should Portland not use those tax dollars to cultivate its local economy if that is the goal? The goal is a noble thing, but good intentions are not enough. "Sheltered workshop" policies lead either to feeble industries or rent-seeking or both.
- tapp 16y ago
  According to the article, the purpose of the 'dogfooding' is not providing a long term subsidy, but rather "to serve as a proving ground for the technology and a reference customer." YC provides its portfolio companies with a direct financial subsidy at a time when they are not yet able to stand on their own, and gets other YC connected companies to use their products and serve as reference customers. Is YC "enfeebling" its startups?
  - jacques_chester 16y ago
    YC (or any other commercial funding source) does not have a political incentive to keep funding failed or failing companies.
CamperBob 16y ago
private There's the rub.
- tapp 16y ago
  How so?
  - CamperBob 16y ago
    What your company does with its own capital is your company's business. What the mayor does with the city's taxes is everyone's business. Picking winners and losers on any grounds other than competitiveness isn't in the taxpayers' interest... or if it is, it needs to be very clearly justified.
    - tapp 16y ago
      What a company does with its capital is its investors and stakeholders business, and the CEO is accountable to them for same. What a city does with its capital is its citizens business (not "everyone's") and the mayor is accountable to them for same. You're assuming that the citizens of Portland want local government to exclude source/location from consideration as a factor when purchasing software services, but do you have any data to support that? (Or else you're simply assuming you know what is in their best interest better than they do which seems overly paternalistic.) From the limited amount I know about Portland, I would strongly expect the opposite to be true.
      - anamax 16y ago
        > What a city does with its capital is its citizens business (not "everyone's") and the mayor is accountable to them for same. Has Portland managed to avoid the "city money goes to insiders" problem? If not, why won't this be more of the same?

by tapp 16y ago

jacques_chester 16y ago

> Why should Portland not use those tax dollars to cultivate its local economy if that is the goal? The goal is a noble thing, but good intentions are not enough. "Sheltered workshop" policies lead either to feeble industries or rent-seeking or both.

tapp 16y ago
According to the article, the purpose of the 'dogfooding' is not providing a long term subsidy, but rather "to serve as a proving ground for the technology and a reference customer." YC provides its portfolio companies with a direct financial subsidy at a time when they are not yet able to stand on their own, and gets other YC connected companies to use their products and serve as reference customers. Is YC "enfeebling" its startups?
- jacques_chester 16y ago
  YC (or any other commercial funding source) does not have a political incentive to keep funding failed or failing companies.

CamperBob 16y ago

private There's the rub.

tapp 16y ago
How so?
- CamperBob 16y ago
  What your company does with its own capital is your company's business. What the mayor does with the city's taxes is everyone's business. Picking winners and losers on any grounds other than competitiveness isn't in the taxpayers' interest... or if it is, it needs to be very clearly justified.
  - tapp 16y ago
    What a company does with its capital is its investors and stakeholders business, and the CEO is accountable to them for same. What a city does with its capital is its citizens business (not "everyone's") and the mayor is accountable to them for same. You're assuming that the citizens of Portland want local government to exclude source/location from consideration as a factor when purchasing software services, but do you have any data to support that? (Or else you're simply assuming you know what is in their best interest better than they do which seems overly paternalistic.) From the limited amount I know about Portland, I would strongly expect the opposite to be true.
    - anamax 16y ago
      > What a city does with its capital is its citizens business (not "everyone's") and the mayor is accountable to them for same. Has Portland managed to avoid the "city money goes to insiders" problem? If not, why won't this be more of the same?