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Startups are in the US because of a long chain of decisions and network effects that ultimately come from US military spending in the 60s. > I quit my job and
by pbiggar 6y ago
Startups are in the US because of a long chain of decisions and network effects that ultimately come from US military spending in the 60s.
> I quit my job and thanks to the insurance changes in the US a few years ago
So you're saying that you were able to take the chance to build a startup because of the safety net?
- griffinkelly 6y agoYeah, had President Obama not made that change and extended health insurance to 26, I would have thought harder about quitting my job.
- refurb 6y agoSure, a safety net paid for by employers, not the gov’t.
- pbiggar 6y agoOnce you agree a safety net is a net positive, then it comes down to implementation. In this case, the employer is the parent's employer. Which means that the people who can take the risk to create startups is limited to "people whose parents have health insurance". Which excludes a large section of society, including for example poor people. (also--and this might be a bit of a jump for someone just learning about inequality of opportunity--but a fun thing to research online is "why is the US the only country with employer-based health insurance", especially once you discover the answer is "slavery")!
- erik_seaberg 6y agoDuring World War II, the US government imposed price controls to prevent the market from reflecting the reality of shortages. Employers started competing by offering health insurance because they were barred from raising wages.
- pbiggar 6y agoThanks for the correction! I actually confused my facts here - it's tipping I was thinking of that comes directly from slavery. Employer-paid health care just _continues_ because of racism, as opposed to being created by it.