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>> That's not rent seeking. SaaS companies are quite literally charging rent for the use of software. Presumably that software does something of value, so they

>> That's not rent seeking. SaaS companies are quite literally charging rent for the use of software. Presumably that software does something of value, so they call it a "service" so people can feel like they're getting something for their money.

robertlagrant 3y ago
> SaaS companies are quite literally charging rent for the use of software That's not rent seeking either. Look up rent seeking and see if it means "charging for the thing you sell or lease". I don't think you'll find that.
- phkahler 3y ago
  You're right, I looked it up. SaaS software is essentially rented but that's not the same thing as "rent seeking" by the company. I think that's an unfortunate name for the bahavior. The examples I found sound like getting a legislated flow of money for doing nothing. In that light, lobbying for tax reductions would be rent seeking? A penny saved is a penny earned - for nothing.
  - CRConrad 3y ago
    > I think that's an unfortunate name for the bahavior. It made sense when it was coined; it's not like that was the day before yesterday. (Can't recall for sure, but I'm guessing Adam Smith, in The Wealth of Nations.)
  - robertlagrant 3y ago
    You're talking as though tax is a right of some sort. You shouldn't have to justify keeping your money. Government should justify why it needs to take it, or it's even less different to the mafia knocking on your door.
Veuxdo 3y ago
That's true if you re-define rent to mean payment for a service...
- phkahler 3y ago
  >> That's true if you re-define rent to mean payment for a service... You're paying for the use of something (software) not a service. I can rent a U-Haul by the day (rent) or I can pay for the use of some software by the day (rent). Calling the use of software a "service" was just a fancy way to disguise what's really happening to make it sound more acceptable.
  - mardifoufs 3y ago
    Rent seeking is literally not that though. The word has a definition, and if there's one thing you can't really accuse those corporations of is to basically just extract value without any investment of their own. It's the total opposite, just look at head counts, the amount of money getting spent etc. That alone is basically the opposite of rent seeking, where we expect to see wealth extraction for minimum investment/productivity(and thus, headcount)/cost More to the point, rent seeking involves taking money for something that provides no additional value in return, usually because you have a monopoly on something that isn't related to the service you charge for. For example, you own the land so you charge for passage, without building a road or giving back anything or investing any of that money back to create wealth. That makes almost 0 sense for most software corporations. Sure, they might not be profitable but SaaS is basically the opposite since you get the service or a value out of the service directly, and if you don't, there's no reason to pay for it . I can't think of a lot of cases where a SaaS product is more or less "forced" on you to the point where you continue paying for something that doesn't provide you value. Rent seeking isn't profit seeking.

robertlagrant 3y ago

> SaaS companies are quite literally charging rent for the use of software That's not rent seeking either. Look up rent seeking and see if it means "charging for the thing you sell or lease". I don't think you'll find that.

phkahler 3y ago
You're right, I looked it up. SaaS software is essentially rented but that's not the same thing as "rent seeking" by the company. I think that's an unfortunate name for the bahavior. The examples I found sound like getting a legislated flow of money for doing nothing. In that light, lobbying for tax reductions would be rent seeking? A penny saved is a penny earned - for nothing.
- CRConrad 3y ago
  > I think that's an unfortunate name for the bahavior. It made sense when it was coined; it's not like that was the day before yesterday. (Can't recall for sure, but I'm guessing Adam Smith, in The Wealth of Nations.)
- robertlagrant 3y ago
  You're talking as though tax is a right of some sort. You shouldn't have to justify keeping your money. Government should justify why it needs to take it, or it's even less different to the mafia knocking on your door.

Veuxdo 3y ago

That's true if you re-define rent to mean payment for a service...

phkahler 3y ago
>> That's true if you re-define rent to mean payment for a service... You're paying for the use of something (software) not a service. I can rent a U-Haul by the day (rent) or I can pay for the use of some software by the day (rent). Calling the use of software a "service" was just a fancy way to disguise what's really happening to make it sound more acceptable.
- mardifoufs 3y ago
  Rent seeking is literally not that though. The word has a definition, and if there's one thing you can't really accuse those corporations of is to basically just extract value without any investment of their own. It's the total opposite, just look at head counts, the amount of money getting spent etc. That alone is basically the opposite of rent seeking, where we expect to see wealth extraction for minimum investment/productivity(and thus, headcount)/cost More to the point, rent seeking involves taking money for something that provides no additional value in return, usually because you have a monopoly on something that isn't related to the service you charge for. For example, you own the land so you charge for passage, without building a road or giving back anything or investing any of that money back to create wealth. That makes almost 0 sense for most software corporations. Sure, they might not be profitable but SaaS is basically the opposite since you get the service or a value out of the service directly, and if you don't, there's no reason to pay for it . I can't think of a lot of cases where a SaaS product is more or less "forced" on you to the point where you continue paying for something that doesn't provide you value. Rent seeking isn't profit seeking.