5 ms·

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this person is just giving them good advice on how to run a business.

henry2023 3y ago
Of course. We live in a world that wouldn’t dare to do any actions to save itself unless it’s “profitable”. This way of thinking permeates to each fiber of our social fabric.
- kube-system 3y ago
  There is more to running a good business than being profitable.
  - Repulsion9513 3y ago
    The executives and shareholders of every large business would like to disagree.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - kube-system 3y ago
      I'd argue that many of them aren't good businesses, even if they're profitable. The opinions of shareholders are just opinions. We all have one.
      - Repulsion9513 3y ago
        You're free to make that argument, and the stock market and capital will make a different one. Using that capital, the businesses competing against you will make sure that your good business is no longer a business. At which point it will indisputably be a bad business, failing to do anything for anyone.
  - forgetfreeman 3y ago
    Private equity's track record of profitably cratering popular franchises would also like a word.
  - saulpw 3y ago
    Not since Milton Friedman won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1976.
  - henry2023 3y ago
    I agree with you, running a business used to be about providing products and services to fill your customer’s needs. Go to any place whose owner is also working there and you still feel that vibe. The satisfaction of a restaurant owner hearing that you enjoyed your meal or the proud gym owner who starts a conversation with every new face which happens to start attending for more than a few days and just wants to help. Sadly these businesses are outliners now. Nowadays MBAs are hired as CEOs and then Boeing happens in nursing homes. They are in fact bad businesses but no one seems to care. Returning to the article. The home owner didn’t care a little bit about having principles or trying to run a business that provides value to society. The argument was purely profit based. If there was a way to pre-file for eviction that was legal and costed 900 usd. They would have taken that instead of giving the 1k
    - bombcar 3y ago
      Landlording of single-family homes especially is much more akin to capital investment than small business. A landlord who lives in one unit of a 40 unit apartment building that he owns is closer to the small business, especially if he provides the maintenance. The nice thing about the small business is that the profit is practically capped - once the owner has "everything he could want" he will basically stop trying to get more. But shareholder corporations never hit that point.
- anal_reactor 3y ago
  How do you see the society being organized in a different way?
  - em-bee 3y ago
    along the lines of acting for the benefit of the community and society as a whole. i believe the purpose of life itself is to contribute to an ever advancing civilization. actions and intentions are measured against that goal.
  - hx8 3y ago
    For the vast majority of Americans social status is directly tied to income or wealth. As long as this is true the profit motive will be the highest motive for most people.
- EasyMark 3y ago
  I think it's an acknowledgement of human tribalism. We tend to take care of ourselves and our "family & friends" and let the rest of the world do the same, and one reason why capitalism and markets work better than most alternatives, they acknowledge human nature and selfishness and don't try to delve too abstractly into moral philosophy.
underwater 3y ago
It’s good, but the best possible outcome is still only moving bad landlords from being sociopathic, petty business people* to being people who impassionately make logical business decisions. Personally, I think that obtaining a secure and safe place to live, and having certainty over living conditions deserves more than that. From a renters perspective it’s not a business transaction. The stakes are incredible from an emotional and quality of life perspective. * I’ve seen enough landlord forums to conclude that there is an astonishingly high concentration of shitty people.
- vasco 3y ago
  Because normal people will own maybe 1 place and take normal decisions. I know many people that own a rental place, but I don't know anyone that frequents "landlord groups". If you're a member of a group like that you're already a sub-population that probably wants to "landlord harder".
  - hn_user82179 3y ago
    I frequent landlord groups (online) and I’ve never been a landlord. I own a SFH but could see myself temporarily moving out of state in a few years, and reading various online discussions had been super helpful for giving me an idea of all the things I should think about if I ever rent out my home. I’m sure there are a lot of people in similar boats, people who have no clue what being a landlord is like
    - vasco 3y ago
      From your comment it looks like your usage is mostly read-only so you'd have no effect on the "vibe" of said groups, which is what I replied to. A group is defined by its posters more than its lurkers.
- Voultapher 3y ago
  IMO it should be illegal to rent private homes for profit. It creates such a toxic cycle. In some places better wages in cities is completely absorbed by rent extraction. And as an area sees economic prosperity, landlords collude to extract it. It also inflates the prices of homes, where a family wanting to live in it has to compete with those that want to rent it out, maybe even turn it into an HMO, yuck. As a society we should despise landlords and make them feel like the scum they are.
s1artibartfast 3y ago
depends, there is a long term risk and moral hazard at play. there is a reason why many countries do not pay off terrorists. It encourages more terrorists. If you pay off illegal squatters and evicted tenants instead of going through the legal channels, you are encouraging and rewarding that behavior.
- bombcar 3y ago
  This is why landlords want to rent to tenants who have not been evicted before. With "good tenants gone bad" these things work, but if you regularly rent to bad tenants, then it's going to happen all the time (at which point you're implementing other things to protect yourself and recoup the costs, or selling and going home).

henry2023 3y ago

Of course. We live in a world that wouldn’t dare to do any actions to save itself unless it’s “profitable”. This way of thinking permeates to each fiber of our social fabric.

kube-system 3y ago
There is more to running a good business than being profitable.
- Repulsion9513 3y ago
  The executives and shareholders of every large business would like to disagree.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - kube-system 3y ago
    I'd argue that many of them aren't good businesses, even if they're profitable. The opinions of shareholders are just opinions. We all have one.
    - Repulsion9513 3y ago
      You're free to make that argument, and the stock market and capital will make a different one. Using that capital, the businesses competing against you will make sure that your good business is no longer a business. At which point it will indisputably be a bad business, failing to do anything for anyone.
- forgetfreeman 3y ago
  Private equity's track record of profitably cratering popular franchises would also like a word.
- saulpw 3y ago
  Not since Milton Friedman won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1976.
- henry2023 3y ago
  I agree with you, running a business used to be about providing products and services to fill your customer’s needs. Go to any place whose owner is also working there and you still feel that vibe. The satisfaction of a restaurant owner hearing that you enjoyed your meal or the proud gym owner who starts a conversation with every new face which happens to start attending for more than a few days and just wants to help. Sadly these businesses are outliners now. Nowadays MBAs are hired as CEOs and then Boeing happens in nursing homes. They are in fact bad businesses but no one seems to care. Returning to the article. The home owner didn’t care a little bit about having principles or trying to run a business that provides value to society. The argument was purely profit based. If there was a way to pre-file for eviction that was legal and costed 900 usd. They would have taken that instead of giving the 1k
  - bombcar 3y ago
    Landlording of single-family homes especially is much more akin to capital investment than small business. A landlord who lives in one unit of a 40 unit apartment building that he owns is closer to the small business, especially if he provides the maintenance. The nice thing about the small business is that the profit is practically capped - once the owner has "everything he could want" he will basically stop trying to get more. But shareholder corporations never hit that point.
anal_reactor 3y ago
How do you see the society being organized in a different way?
- em-bee 3y ago
  along the lines of acting for the benefit of the community and society as a whole. i believe the purpose of life itself is to contribute to an ever advancing civilization. actions and intentions are measured against that goal.
- hx8 3y ago
  For the vast majority of Americans social status is directly tied to income or wealth. As long as this is true the profit motive will be the highest motive for most people.
EasyMark 3y ago
I think it's an acknowledgement of human tribalism. We tend to take care of ourselves and our "family & friends" and let the rest of the world do the same, and one reason why capitalism and markets work better than most alternatives, they acknowledge human nature and selfishness and don't try to delve too abstractly into moral philosophy.

underwater 3y ago

It’s good, but the best possible outcome is still only moving bad landlords from being sociopathic, petty business people* to being people who impassionately make logical business decisions. Personally, I think that obtaining a secure and safe place to live, and having certainty over living conditions deserves more than that. From a renters perspective it’s not a business transaction. The stakes are incredible from an emotional and quality of life perspective. * I’ve seen enough landlord forums to conclude that there is an astonishingly high concentration of shitty people.

vasco 3y ago
Because normal people will own maybe 1 place and take normal decisions. I know many people that own a rental place, but I don't know anyone that frequents "landlord groups". If you're a member of a group like that you're already a sub-population that probably wants to "landlord harder".
- hn_user82179 3y ago
  I frequent landlord groups (online) and I’ve never been a landlord. I own a SFH but could see myself temporarily moving out of state in a few years, and reading various online discussions had been super helpful for giving me an idea of all the things I should think about if I ever rent out my home. I’m sure there are a lot of people in similar boats, people who have no clue what being a landlord is like
  - vasco 3y ago
    From your comment it looks like your usage is mostly read-only so you'd have no effect on the "vibe" of said groups, which is what I replied to. A group is defined by its posters more than its lurkers.
Voultapher 3y ago
IMO it should be illegal to rent private homes for profit. It creates such a toxic cycle. In some places better wages in cities is completely absorbed by rent extraction. And as an area sees economic prosperity, landlords collude to extract it. It also inflates the prices of homes, where a family wanting to live in it has to compete with those that want to rent it out, maybe even turn it into an HMO, yuck. As a society we should despise landlords and make them feel like the scum they are.

s1artibartfast 3y ago

depends, there is a long term risk and moral hazard at play. there is a reason why many countries do not pay off terrorists. It encourages more terrorists. If you pay off illegal squatters and evicted tenants instead of going through the legal channels, you are encouraging and rewarding that behavior.

bombcar 3y ago
This is why landlords want to rent to tenants who have not been evicted before. With "good tenants gone bad" these things work, but if you regularly rent to bad tenants, then it's going to happen all the time (at which point you're implementing other things to protect yourself and recoup the costs, or selling and going home).