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If only we didn't live in a world of property taxes... Wealth should not be sneered at. Wealth buys a new well for your farm. Wealth buys you tools to expand

If only we didn't live in a world of property taxes... Wealth should not be sneered at. Wealth buys a new well for your farm. Wealth buys you tools to expand your capabilities. Wealth allows you to exploit the capabilities of society to accomplish things beyond yourself. Do you want to preserve gun or property rights so you can continue to live a self-reliant lifestyle? That takes wealth(or you can cop-out and let other people do it for you). I am well aware of the saying "sell your time to buy the time that other people sold", but that cynically omits the benefits of comparative advantage. Most HN readers time is far more valuable than a plumber or carpenter.

s5300 6y ago
"Most HN readers time is far more valuable than a plumber or carpenter." I think, in the words of today's youth, the response to this is something along the lines of "Big Yikes" That's quite a staunch outlook on society. Do you like playing around in literal shit so that literal shit doesn't back up in your house? Have you automated a system to be able to do this robotically? If not, I'd suggest valuing your plumbers a bit more. Maybe somebody should be showing them these lines of thoughts so they jack up their prices for techies and extract their "value"... Jeez. I'm being snarky. But man, you're being a dick lmao.
- phobosanomaly 6y ago
  You're not being snarky. Seems pretty on the mark.
- bumby 6y ago
  I think part of the problem is we’ve confused (and society has disproportionately valued) what is valuable to the economy vs what is valuable to society. I think it was Penn Jillette who basically said we should most value those who we’d want around in the apocalypse. Farmers, doctors, mechanics would all be worth more than a financier. Maybe the irony is that in the coming decades they will have their comeuppance if their jobs are least likely to be automated away
  - PaulDavisThe1st 6y ago
    David Graeber (RIP) and others would seriously question whether the financier even does anything for the economy, let alone society.
    - bumby 6y ago
      I think the argument is they provide liquidity to an economy, but I’m not sure how that it translated to a value assessment
      - titzer 6y ago
        On one end of the spectrum, they make capital available to businesses in order for them to bootstrap and expand. They pick winners and losers and make decisions that significantly alter the course of economic development. On the other end of the spectrum, they gamble on tulips. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania There's everything in-between. Factor in the universal human tendency for self-delusion, and you got tulip pushers who think they are moving the pillars of world.
      - PaulDavisThe1st 6y ago
        The counter argument (Mariana Mazzucato in particular) is that they extract value rather than create value, and this, like all other value extraction, is a net harm.
    - WalterBright 6y ago
      A financier works to efficiently allocate resources in the economy, which is very valuable.
      - bumby 6y ago
        Right, valuable to the economy. But my original point is that “what is valuable to the economy” and “what is valuable to society” may be divergent
- srtjstjsj 6y ago
  Is it your position that plumbers charge low rates just to be nice You seem to be protecting a lot into a simple price comparison.
- closeparen 6y ago
  If you want to apply a respect/disrespect lens, "I could do that" is the disrespectful position. The respectful position is "this isn't my speciality, it's yours, tell me what you need and I'll get out of the way." "The time it would take me to acquire your skills is more valuable than what you'd charge to fix my problem" is acknowledging the plumber's value, not diminishing it.
spenczar5 6y ago
> Most HN readers time is far more valuable than a plumber or carpenter. Are you sure about that? A good plumber, here in Seattle, can cost $300/hour.
- sterlind 6y ago
  Depends on how many hours you can work, though, and how many hours you're not getting paid for.
- srtjstjsj 6y ago
  That's extremely rare in Seattle, maybe for overnight emergency, and that "hour" includes drive/admin time and overhead costs.

s5300 6y ago

"Most HN readers time is far more valuable than a plumber or carpenter." I think, in the words of today's youth, the response to this is something along the lines of "Big Yikes" That's quite a staunch outlook on society. Do you like playing around in literal shit so that literal shit doesn't back up in your house? Have you automated a system to be able to do this robotically? If not, I'd suggest valuing your plumbers a bit more. Maybe somebody should be showing them these lines of thoughts so they jack up their prices for techies and extract their "value"... Jeez. I'm being snarky. But man, you're being a dick lmao.

phobosanomaly 6y ago
You're not being snarky. Seems pretty on the mark.
bumby 6y ago
I think part of the problem is we’ve confused (and society has disproportionately valued) what is valuable to the economy vs what is valuable to society. I think it was Penn Jillette who basically said we should most value those who we’d want around in the apocalypse. Farmers, doctors, mechanics would all be worth more than a financier. Maybe the irony is that in the coming decades they will have their comeuppance if their jobs are least likely to be automated away
- PaulDavisThe1st 6y ago
  David Graeber (RIP) and others would seriously question whether the financier even does anything for the economy, let alone society.
  - bumby 6y ago
    I think the argument is they provide liquidity to an economy, but I’m not sure how that it translated to a value assessment
    - titzer 6y ago
      On one end of the spectrum, they make capital available to businesses in order for them to bootstrap and expand. They pick winners and losers and make decisions that significantly alter the course of economic development. On the other end of the spectrum, they gamble on tulips. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania There's everything in-between. Factor in the universal human tendency for self-delusion, and you got tulip pushers who think they are moving the pillars of world.
    - PaulDavisThe1st 6y ago
      The counter argument (Mariana Mazzucato in particular) is that they extract value rather than create value, and this, like all other value extraction, is a net harm.
  - WalterBright 6y ago
    A financier works to efficiently allocate resources in the economy, which is very valuable.
    - bumby 6y ago
      Right, valuable to the economy. But my original point is that “what is valuable to the economy” and “what is valuable to society” may be divergent
srtjstjsj 6y ago
Is it your position that plumbers charge low rates just to be nice You seem to be protecting a lot into a simple price comparison.
closeparen 6y ago
If you want to apply a respect/disrespect lens, "I could do that" is the disrespectful position. The respectful position is "this isn't my speciality, it's yours, tell me what you need and I'll get out of the way." "The time it would take me to acquire your skills is more valuable than what you'd charge to fix my problem" is acknowledging the plumber's value, not diminishing it.

spenczar5 6y ago

> Most HN readers time is far more valuable than a plumber or carpenter. Are you sure about that? A good plumber, here in Seattle, can cost $300/hour.

sterlind 6y ago
Depends on how many hours you can work, though, and how many hours you're not getting paid for.
srtjstjsj 6y ago
That's extremely rare in Seattle, maybe for overnight emergency, and that "hour" includes drive/admin time and overhead costs.