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Tax dollars definitely shouldn't be spent bailing out huge, influential tech conferences. If they choose to run at such thin margins they can't survive one tai
by AlchemistCamp 7y ago
Tax dollars definitely shouldn't be spent bailing out huge, influential tech conferences.
If they choose to run at such thin margins they can't survive one tail risk event and have failed to buy appropriate insurance even after a decade of growth, they shouldn't be able to socialize their loses.
- gamblor956 7y agoAlmost all commercial insurance policies exclude pandemics and terrorist acts. Where exactly do you propose they buy this mythical insurance policy that includes pandemic coverage? (On another note, insurance is literally the socialization of losses. It's just a privately run socialization of losses with your fellow policyholders.)
- SilasX 7y agoWhen people complain about socialization of losses, they're talking about socialization across parties that did not consent to bearing those losses, which doesn't cover the privately-run case, so I don't know why you think that comment is applicable.
- grayed-down 7y agoIf I understand correctly, why do you think it's proper for the organizers and attendees of SXSW who would lose money if the event was cancelled, then be compensated for such losses by other individuals who DO NOT consent to bear such responsibility?
- SilasX 7y agoI wasn't taking a position on that, I was addressing the oh-so-clever remark that was trivializing complaints of "socialization of losses" with the argument that "duh, that's what insurance is, what's the problem?".
- grayed-down 7y agoGot it! Sorry. I thought I might not have absorbed the sarcasm.
- SilasX 7y agoMy original comment wasn't sarcastic.
- marcosdumay 7y agoInsurances that exclude high-cost low probability events... that's funny. What are they for?
- SilasX 7y agoThey exclude unmodelable high-cost low-probability events. The exist to cover modelable high-cost low-probability events.
- scarejunba 7y agoI mean if we're working on the principle that you take informed responsibility then you can just pass the entire thing onto ticket buyers who didn't even consider getting ticket insurance for their tickets.
- intopieces 7y agoDo we have a breakdown of how many tickets are bought by individuals and how many by companies, universities, and other institutions? I’m sure that one of the conferences my company bought tickets to is going to be cancelled. I don’t expect they care to pursue getting their money back.