3 ms·

it's just surreal how disinterested the US is at doing a good job of some things these days. big weapons systems? sure. tax cuts? sure. doing basic stuff l

it's just surreal how disinterested the US is at doing a good job of some things these days. big weapons systems? sure. tax cuts? sure. doing basic stuff like "regulating and checking up on how people move massive quantities of toxic chemicals"? no.

api 4y ago
Those things are both boring and economically stolid with no chance to make big windfall returns. How many people graduate in computers and say “now I want to go maintain 25 year old enterprise Java code for banks?” No? Same principle applies. It’s hard to get people to maintain the boring stuff in a country with so much interesting shiny new stuff going on. It doesn’t help that these industries are also low margin and are not attractive investment targets.
- AdamN 4y ago
  Buffet is a big investor in railroads and they are cash flow machines. It is true that they use very mature technology but plenty of people are train people and would get into it if there was money. Because the 4 big freight companies in the US are so large though (and have dual duopolies meaning investment isn't rewarded), only safety/environmental regulations will drive big projects and spending.
- sophacles 4y ago
  Net profit margin for 2022 was ~25%. That's on par with the oil industry.
- breakpointalpha 4y ago
  It's easy to interest people in maintenance if you pay them. A quick search shows Bank of America turned a net profit in '23 of $6.9B. It would be trivial for them to pay a fleet of engineers $250k/yr+ for Java maintenance. Ignoring maintenance is always a company choice, not a personal one.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
corbulo 4y ago
Don't mistake media braintrust opinions for Americans opinions. Local environmental hazards like this have unanimous bipartisan support for being thorough and transparent, thats how we got legislation like the Clean Air Act. How greased hands and coverup agents feel about it is a separate matter.

api 4y ago

Those things are both boring and economically stolid with no chance to make big windfall returns. How many people graduate in computers and say “now I want to go maintain 25 year old enterprise Java code for banks?” No? Same principle applies. It’s hard to get people to maintain the boring stuff in a country with so much interesting shiny new stuff going on. It doesn’t help that these industries are also low margin and are not attractive investment targets.

AdamN 4y ago
Buffet is a big investor in railroads and they are cash flow machines. It is true that they use very mature technology but plenty of people are train people and would get into it if there was money. Because the 4 big freight companies in the US are so large though (and have dual duopolies meaning investment isn't rewarded), only safety/environmental regulations will drive big projects and spending.
sophacles 4y ago
Net profit margin for 2022 was ~25%. That's on par with the oil industry.
breakpointalpha 4y ago
It's easy to interest people in maintenance if you pay them. A quick search shows Bank of America turned a net profit in '23 of $6.9B. It would be trivial for them to pay a fleet of engineers $250k/yr+ for Java maintenance. Ignoring maintenance is always a company choice, not a personal one.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

corbulo 4y ago

Don't mistake media braintrust opinions for Americans opinions. Local environmental hazards like this have unanimous bipartisan support for being thorough and transparent, thats how we got legislation like the Clean Air Act. How greased hands and coverup agents feel about it is a separate matter.