4 ms·

lol, why buy them out? They made money for decades. It's alright to hang up a successful business after a good run imo.

tablespoon 4y ago
> lol, why buy them out? They made money for decades. It's alright to hang up a successful business after a good run imo. Come on, put yourself in their shoes. It's a small business. They made money, but probably not tons. Their personal capital is tied up in an obsolete business, which has had its value drop due to technology changes, so they probably can't sell it for whatever they expected. They'll probably see large personal losses, and it's never easy transitioning to a new line of work. Thought experiment time: say you're a 40 year old software engineer, and some new AI gizmo comes out an obsoletes your career and all your work experience. You're going to have to start at the entry level in some new industry. On top of that, the gizmo can out-compete all those tech stocks you invested in, so your net worth is down 50%. You've got a family and 25 years left in your career. Should I be like "LOL. You made money for decades. It's alright to hang up a successful career after a good run imo"?
- mitchdoogle 4y ago
  I absolutely think there should be a social safety net, more widely available than what we've got now, but people with failed businesses shouldn't get any special treatment beyond what anyone would get.
- mywittyname 4y ago
  This has happened to basically every single "mom-and-pop" retailer out there. Gas stations aren't special, they are normal.
  - tablespoon 4y ago
    > This has happened to basically every single "mom-and-pop" retailer out there. > Gas stations aren't special, they are normal. So? Other people were treated callously, so it's fine to treat these people callously too? Personally, I'd be pretty happy if that kind of treatment stopped being "normal."
    - wollsmoth 4y ago
      The only way this makes sense to me is if government action is the cause of their business failing. I'm sure some of these mom and pop gas station owners will pivot into being more general stores, restaurants. Maybe even fast charging stations or some other thing. The ones who can't can try to sell the business or liquidate the assets and move on. If there's a gov doing otherwise then maybe I'd reconsider but I think this is just how running a business works.
- triceratops 4y ago
  > Should I be like "LOL. You made money for decades. It's alright to hang up a successful career after a good run imo"? I mean...yeah that's exactly what would happen. Who are we kidding?
  - tablespoon 4y ago
    > I mean...yeah that's exactly what would happen. Who are we kidding? I know that's what would happen, because many people are callous jerks. However, I'm (probably foolishly) hoping the people who tend to say things like that may have at least a little change of heart if they imagine themselves in a similar situation.
- wollsmoth 4y ago
  Things change. People pour capital into small businesses all the time only to have them fail. If a company is able to run for a time until facts change and their business is no longer viable then that's a very similar thing. Having your business fail sucks, no question. But generally I don't think we need to compensate every failed business. I don't see why it matters if the business failed after running for 6 months vs 60 years. I definitely sympathize and maybe there's some other use they can get out of their investment but that's a business problem for them to solve.
- vineyardmike 4y ago
  > Come on, put yourself in their shoes. It's a small business. They made money, but probably not tons. Their personal capital is tied up in an obsolete business, which has had its value drop due to technology changes, so they probably can't sell it for whatever they expected. They'll probably see large personal losses, and it's never easy transitioning to a new line of work. Yea but think of all the other small businesses not getting this extra help. This bill is meant to stop restaurants from using EV charging as an incentive for people to spend money. It’s well discussed that gas stations make money from the convenience store not from gas. A restaurant that gives away free EV charging is essentially the same idea, except electricity is so cheap they don’t bother selling it to you at cost. Why should we be thinking of the gas station owner selling a toxic fuel destroying the planet instead of the local restauranteur thoughtfully adding a hook to her sell. Besides, what ever happened to the free market? If we stop subsidizing gas and people go to gas stations less, then I’d be sympathetic to the gas station owners. But I still wouldn’t want it to come at the expense of other businesses! I would much rather support and pass laws that help restaurant and shop owners than gas station owners. PS I Think a healthy welfare system that supports the gas station owner and her family would also be a good thing.

> lol, why buy them out? They made money for decades. It's alright to hang up a successful business after a good run imo. Come on, put yourself in their shoes. It's a small business. They made money, but probably not tons. Their personal capital is tied up in an obsolete business, which has had its value drop due to technology changes, so they probably can't sell it for whatever they expected. They'll probably see large personal losses, and it's never easy transitioning to a new line of work. Thought experiment time: say you're a 40 year old software engineer, and some new AI gizmo comes out an obsoletes your career and all your work experience. You're going to have to start at the entry level in some new industry. On top of that, the gizmo can out-compete all those tech stocks you invested in, so your net worth is down 50%. You've got a family and 25 years left in your career. Should I be like "LOL. You made money for decades. It's alright to hang up a successful career after a good run imo"?

mitchdoogle 4y ago
I absolutely think there should be a social safety net, more widely available than what we've got now, but people with failed businesses shouldn't get any special treatment beyond what anyone would get.
mywittyname 4y ago
This has happened to basically every single "mom-and-pop" retailer out there. Gas stations aren't special, they are normal.
- tablespoon 4y ago
  > This has happened to basically every single "mom-and-pop" retailer out there. > Gas stations aren't special, they are normal. So? Other people were treated callously, so it's fine to treat these people callously too? Personally, I'd be pretty happy if that kind of treatment stopped being "normal."
  - wollsmoth 4y ago
    The only way this makes sense to me is if government action is the cause of their business failing. I'm sure some of these mom and pop gas station owners will pivot into being more general stores, restaurants. Maybe even fast charging stations or some other thing. The ones who can't can try to sell the business or liquidate the assets and move on. If there's a gov doing otherwise then maybe I'd reconsider but I think this is just how running a business works.
triceratops 4y ago
> Should I be like "LOL. You made money for decades. It's alright to hang up a successful career after a good run imo"? I mean...yeah that's exactly what would happen. Who are we kidding?
- tablespoon 4y ago
  > I mean...yeah that's exactly what would happen. Who are we kidding? I know that's what would happen, because many people are callous jerks. However, I'm (probably foolishly) hoping the people who tend to say things like that may have at least a little change of heart if they imagine themselves in a similar situation.
wollsmoth 4y ago
Things change. People pour capital into small businesses all the time only to have them fail. If a company is able to run for a time until facts change and their business is no longer viable then that's a very similar thing. Having your business fail sucks, no question. But generally I don't think we need to compensate every failed business. I don't see why it matters if the business failed after running for 6 months vs 60 years. I definitely sympathize and maybe there's some other use they can get out of their investment but that's a business problem for them to solve.
vineyardmike 4y ago
> Come on, put yourself in their shoes. It's a small business. They made money, but probably not tons. Their personal capital is tied up in an obsolete business, which has had its value drop due to technology changes, so they probably can't sell it for whatever they expected. They'll probably see large personal losses, and it's never easy transitioning to a new line of work. Yea but think of all the other small businesses not getting this extra help. This bill is meant to stop restaurants from using EV charging as an incentive for people to spend money. It’s well discussed that gas stations make money from the convenience store not from gas. A restaurant that gives away free EV charging is essentially the same idea, except electricity is so cheap they don’t bother selling it to you at cost. Why should we be thinking of the gas station owner selling a toxic fuel destroying the planet instead of the local restauranteur thoughtfully adding a hook to her sell. Besides, what ever happened to the free market? If we stop subsidizing gas and people go to gas stations less, then I’d be sympathetic to the gas station owners. But I still wouldn’t want it to come at the expense of other businesses! I would much rather support and pass laws that help restaurant and shop owners than gas station owners. PS I Think a healthy welfare system that supports the gas station owner and her family would also be a good thing.