4 ms·

"What if we took money from the people that have provably used it to create more value and instead gave it to drug addicts who shit on the sidewalk? I know SF

"What if we took money from the people that have provably used it to create more value and instead gave it to drug addicts who shit on the sidewalk? I know SF already spends 100k/yr per homeless resident, but we really need to push that up." This whole line of thought is absurd, you're in a bubble.

speakfreely 4y ago
"The patient is not improving. Let's keep doubling the chemo until we see improvement."
artsytrashcan 4y ago
"Value."
- amanaplanacanal 4y ago
  I’m sure all those ads have made my life better, somehow.
  - alex_sf 4y ago
    You are literally reading and posting on an ad for Y Combinator. Everything that you use every day that you don't pay for is a direct result of ads. Yes, they definitely have made your life better.
    - oefnak 4y ago
      No no no! Ads are terrible! Marketing is lying! If there were no ads, people would judge based on the quality of products, instead of being manipulated to buy things. I obviously block ads. I understand that lots of things would cost money that currently are free, but many things would still be free. The old internet consisted mainly of free things and was not infested with ads. Please, tell me one positive effect that ads have on society as a whole. (So not for you personally, because I know they make money)
- alex_sf 4y ago
  Again, this is your bubble talking. Look around you, and compare your life to any human 50 years ago, or anyone outside a first world country today. You are outrageously privileged entirely because of that very real value generated.
  - artsytrashcan 4y ago
    The vast majority of the net value present in my life compared to a like individual from 50 years ago is attributable to 1) gay and black civil rights advocates, 2) university researchers, and 3) Japanese and Chinese/Taiwanese manufacturers, in that order. I can also confirm that there are millions of Chinese and Indians living better than me, if only because their countries have a functional (if corrupt) college-placement-test-score-to-comfortable-employment pipeline. As for bubbles, I would hazard that your accusation is a confession.
    - alex_sf 4y ago
      Your evaluation of yourself and your position in the world is apparently solely informed by what Twitter tells you to think and the availability of gadgets around you. And clearly not informed by ever actually having visited China or India, or having formed any significant friendships with people there. To think the 3rd most significant source of value in your life is cheap microcontrollers is.. wild. Indoor plumbing? Refrigeration? A health department that ensures you aren't eating food fried in gutter oil? You are taking these entirely for granted, because everyone has those, right? This is a great example of what privilege actually is. Let's make this simpler for you. Your original proposal is that, of course, the wealthy (read: anyone that makes more than you) have too much, the homeless have too little. So, like a child faced with this problem, you surmise we should take things from the wealthy and give them to the poor. SF spends $100,000 per year, per homeless resident, on 'fixing homelessness'. Exactly how much more should they be spending, and why would that change anything?
      - ESTheComposer 4y ago
        Good luck, this kind of logic doesn't seem to work too much with people who don't think too far ahead about the economics or don't want to think too much about it. Throwing more money at things usually doesn't solve it and taking it from others for reasons(?) doesn't either. Had someone like this tell me Venezuelans should be supporting Democratic candidates...like what. A country whose people are so poor a lot of them wonder what they're going to eat next should be focusing on another country's politicians?

speakfreely 4y ago

"The patient is not improving. Let's keep doubling the chemo until we see improvement."

artsytrashcan 4y ago

"Value."

amanaplanacanal 4y ago
I’m sure all those ads have made my life better, somehow.
- alex_sf 4y ago
  You are literally reading and posting on an ad for Y Combinator. Everything that you use every day that you don't pay for is a direct result of ads. Yes, they definitely have made your life better.
  - oefnak 4y ago
    No no no! Ads are terrible! Marketing is lying! If there were no ads, people would judge based on the quality of products, instead of being manipulated to buy things. I obviously block ads. I understand that lots of things would cost money that currently are free, but many things would still be free. The old internet consisted mainly of free things and was not infested with ads. Please, tell me one positive effect that ads have on society as a whole. (So not for you personally, because I know they make money)
alex_sf 4y ago
Again, this is your bubble talking. Look around you, and compare your life to any human 50 years ago, or anyone outside a first world country today. You are outrageously privileged entirely because of that very real value generated.
- artsytrashcan 4y ago
  The vast majority of the net value present in my life compared to a like individual from 50 years ago is attributable to 1) gay and black civil rights advocates, 2) university researchers, and 3) Japanese and Chinese/Taiwanese manufacturers, in that order. I can also confirm that there are millions of Chinese and Indians living better than me, if only because their countries have a functional (if corrupt) college-placement-test-score-to-comfortable-employment pipeline. As for bubbles, I would hazard that your accusation is a confession.
  - alex_sf 4y ago
    Your evaluation of yourself and your position in the world is apparently solely informed by what Twitter tells you to think and the availability of gadgets around you. And clearly not informed by ever actually having visited China or India, or having formed any significant friendships with people there. To think the 3rd most significant source of value in your life is cheap microcontrollers is.. wild. Indoor plumbing? Refrigeration? A health department that ensures you aren't eating food fried in gutter oil? You are taking these entirely for granted, because everyone has those, right? This is a great example of what privilege actually is. Let's make this simpler for you. Your original proposal is that, of course, the wealthy (read: anyone that makes more than you) have too much, the homeless have too little. So, like a child faced with this problem, you surmise we should take things from the wealthy and give them to the poor. SF spends $100,000 per year, per homeless resident, on 'fixing homelessness'. Exactly how much more should they be spending, and why would that change anything?
    - ESTheComposer 4y ago
      Good luck, this kind of logic doesn't seem to work too much with people who don't think too far ahead about the economics or don't want to think too much about it. Throwing more money at things usually doesn't solve it and taking it from others for reasons(?) doesn't either. Had someone like this tell me Venezuelans should be supporting Democratic candidates...like what. A country whose people are so poor a lot of them wonder what they're going to eat next should be focusing on another country's politicians?