3 ms·

> “collective supervisory failure,” > “the longing for a digital national champion,” Ultimately, you get what you incentivize. The German tax regime is not f

> “collective supervisory failure,” > “the longing for a digital national champion,” Ultimately, you get what you incentivize. The German tax regime is not friendly to start-ups and entrepreneurs, to put it very mildly, and infrastructure is lacking. Fertile ground it sure isn't. (There are other issues, like a digital economy that's not concentrated in one region but is diffuse around the entire nation -- and public attitudes, which are best described as being "staid," and favor employment at large existing firms or at research institutions.) Legitimate entrepreneurs -- especially the good ones with foresight and low time preference -- will leave for greener pastures. And you can bet your last Euro that many of those who remain are grifters merely preying upon “the longing for a digital national champion.”

zwieback 4y ago
Ok, so it seems like the German preference for stability over risk-taking is still the same as when I left Germany in the 90s. I only worked at a few startups and have been at a stable company for 20 yrs now. What I'm noticing is that we buy a lot of German motors, valves, optics, automation equipment. Even things like terminal blocks, hand tools, etc. etc. We all prefer them even to American brands, much less Asian. My well-off coworkers drive German cars unless they are pickup truck guys. Maybe it's good to have a high-power economy based on conservative tech alongside our US high-risk but ultimately amateurish approach. Best of both worlds. Having said that I would never consider going [edit: move] back to Germany, for different reasons.
- jaspa99 4y ago
  May I ask the reasons why you will not set foot in Germany again?
  - zwieback 4y ago
    Oh, I visit regularly, should have clarified, but would not move back there. I very much enjoy the lack of bureaucracy and the amount of open space here in the NW of the US.
- Kalium 4y ago
  If I might offer a nuanced take? Risk-aversion and risk-friendliness are tools. They solve specific problems. They have to be judged by how well they solve the problem at hand, or else you wind up judging a drill by its ability to hold a joint in place. Being risk-averse is, perhaps, exceptionally valuable when you are concerned with fine-tuning production of hellishly expensive factories producing precision-engineered physical goods. Tolerances are tight and error is the enemy because the cost is so high. Risk-friendliness, on the other hand, addresses a different problem. When new things can be made quickly, iterated rapidly, and each round is cheap? You can prioritize avoiding failure, but you can afford to fail. These categories map pretty well to manufacturing and software, respectively.
trylfthsk 4y ago
> Ultimately, you get what you incentivize I've already claimed this for my tombstone

zwieback 4y ago

Ok, so it seems like the German preference for stability over risk-taking is still the same as when I left Germany in the 90s. I only worked at a few startups and have been at a stable company for 20 yrs now. What I'm noticing is that we buy a lot of German motors, valves, optics, automation equipment. Even things like terminal blocks, hand tools, etc. etc. We all prefer them even to American brands, much less Asian. My well-off coworkers drive German cars unless they are pickup truck guys. Maybe it's good to have a high-power economy based on conservative tech alongside our US high-risk but ultimately amateurish approach. Best of both worlds. Having said that I would never consider going [edit: move] back to Germany, for different reasons.

jaspa99 4y ago
May I ask the reasons why you will not set foot in Germany again?
- zwieback 4y ago
  Oh, I visit regularly, should have clarified, but would not move back there. I very much enjoy the lack of bureaucracy and the amount of open space here in the NW of the US.
Kalium 4y ago
If I might offer a nuanced take? Risk-aversion and risk-friendliness are tools. They solve specific problems. They have to be judged by how well they solve the problem at hand, or else you wind up judging a drill by its ability to hold a joint in place. Being risk-averse is, perhaps, exceptionally valuable when you are concerned with fine-tuning production of hellishly expensive factories producing precision-engineered physical goods. Tolerances are tight and error is the enemy because the cost is so high. Risk-friendliness, on the other hand, addresses a different problem. When new things can be made quickly, iterated rapidly, and each round is cheap? You can prioritize avoiding failure, but you can afford to fail. These categories map pretty well to manufacturing and software, respectively.

trylfthsk 4y ago

> Ultimately, you get what you incentivize I've already claimed this for my tombstone