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Weird how you can consider this a "clusterf%%%" as opposed to the existance of Uber itself: an unprofitable company that only barters for monopoly power while t

by yoelo 7y ago

Weird how you can consider this a "clusterf%%%" as opposed to the existance of Uber itself: an unprofitable company that only barters for monopoly power while treating everyone down the chain like shit. Not that I'm behind splitting up companies. Everything that turns into a monopoly should be nationalized instead.

merpnderp 7y ago
Nationalizing monopolies? So instead of them eventually being replaced by the market, they are forever entombed by public unions, pork, and politicians where they'd go on like rotten zombies forever? That is a horrible idea.
- zozbot234 7y ago
  Temporary nationalization is a thing. Nationalize the monopoly firm, spin off the portions that are not inherently monopolistic and can be entrusted to the private sector, and run the rest - the "platform" part, where barriers to entry are inherently high and there's thus a lot of monopoly risk - as a public utility. You basically lose out on some potential for vertical integration, but the flip side is that the enterprise neatly escapes the fate of being "forever entombed by public unions, pork, and politicians where they'd go on like rotten zombies forever".
scarface74 7y ago
How is being unprofitable different than every VC backed company - including ones backed by YC? Even Dropbox - one of only two YC backed companies to go public - isn’t profitable and has said repeatedly they have no idea when they will be profitable. I don’t know anything about PagerDuty. And what happens as soon as the other party wants to implement policy you don't like?
deleted 7y ago
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reallydontask 7y ago
> Everything that turns into a monopoly should be nationalized instead. I don't think it even needs to be a monopoly there are services that makes no sense to have companies competing to provide them. Most utilities fall under this Don't get me started on water in the UK. It's private and you get no choice of supplier, how this is not a national scandal i don't know. At least with Gas/Electricity/Broadband (Excluding virgin from this) at least there is competition if delivered through the same means. More controversially, post/parcel delivery could likely benefit from being a single company IF run properly, big if, I know.
- scarface74 7y ago
  More controversially, post/parcel delivery could likely benefit from being a single company IF run properly, big if, I know. Seeing that all of the problems with the US postal service are caused by government interference, that isn't exactly a ringing endorsement. The postal service wanted to cut delivery days to save money - but Congress wouldn't let it. Congress also forced the USPS to fund retirement pensions in excess of any private or government organization.

by yoelo 7y ago

merpnderp 7y ago

Nationalizing monopolies? So instead of them eventually being replaced by the market, they are forever entombed by public unions, pork, and politicians where they'd go on like rotten zombies forever? That is a horrible idea.

zozbot234 7y ago
Temporary nationalization is a thing. Nationalize the monopoly firm, spin off the portions that are not inherently monopolistic and can be entrusted to the private sector, and run the rest - the "platform" part, where barriers to entry are inherently high and there's thus a lot of monopoly risk - as a public utility. You basically lose out on some potential for vertical integration, but the flip side is that the enterprise neatly escapes the fate of being "forever entombed by public unions, pork, and politicians where they'd go on like rotten zombies forever".

scarface74 7y ago

How is being unprofitable different than every VC backed company - including ones backed by YC? Even Dropbox - one of only two YC backed companies to go public - isn’t profitable and has said repeatedly they have no idea when they will be profitable. I don’t know anything about PagerDuty. And what happens as soon as the other party wants to implement policy you don't like?

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

reallydontask 7y ago

> Everything that turns into a monopoly should be nationalized instead. I don't think it even needs to be a monopoly there are services that makes no sense to have companies competing to provide them. Most utilities fall under this Don't get me started on water in the UK. It's private and you get no choice of supplier, how this is not a national scandal i don't know. At least with Gas/Electricity/Broadband (Excluding virgin from this) at least there is competition if delivered through the same means. More controversially, post/parcel delivery could likely benefit from being a single company IF run properly, big if, I know.

scarface74 7y ago
More controversially, post/parcel delivery could likely benefit from being a single company IF run properly, big if, I know. Seeing that all of the problems with the US postal service are caused by government interference, that isn't exactly a ringing endorsement. The postal service wanted to cut delivery days to save money - but Congress wouldn't let it. Congress also forced the USPS to fund retirement pensions in excess of any private or government organization.