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This is the kind of portfolio you get when you have zero faith in free enterprise. They trust cold, dead gold more than they trust work and creativity. This is

by beat 13y ago

This is the kind of portfolio you get when you have zero faith in free enterprise. They trust cold, dead gold more than they trust work and creativity. This is my core question for self-styled libertarians anymore... if government regulation is so problematic for people, isn't that just a market opportunity for entrepreneurs? Those of us who think in terms of finding problems and creating solutions for them for money, see a big problem as a big opportunity.

jsnk 13y ago
>if government regulation is so problematic for people, isn't that just a market opportunity for entrepreneurs? Yes it is. We have litigious/defensive corporate lawyers working for companies solely mitigate law suits and shut down competitions on regulation violations. We have multibillion dollar accounting industry who is paid to maneuver through impossibly complex tax code. We have millionaire lobbyists whose sole purpose is to influence politicians to create rules and regulations that favours certain companies or industries.
loqi 13y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window
dr_doom 13y ago
I think all libertarians would answer yes to your question. For example, public transport and housing is terrible in the Bay so private buses are all over SF now.
- beat 13y ago
  My whole economic worldview changed when I read the works of Hernando de Soto Polar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_de_Soto_Polar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_de_Soto_Polar). He demonstrated that a huge free market economy of honest, legitimate work (like private buses) exists completely outside the law, technically illegal, all over the world. The more restrictive the regulations, the more free enterprise pops up. There are two problems with this. First, those entrepreneurs lack protection of the law, so they are vulnerable to losing their livelihoods due to crime or motion of power. Second, this shadow economy is simply not measured by mainstream economics, so in countries where the shadow economy is large, our perception of their relative economic status is skewed. It's sobering stuff for a libertarian to read.
BrianEatWorld 13y ago
I imagine most do have faith in free enterprise, but I don't think they have faith in free enterprise being a safe investment when government regulations come into play. Taking AirBnB, Uber or even Tesla as an example. It is clear that there is an issue with the industries in which they operate, whether government imposed or new tech shifting paradigms, and those issues make for an opportunity. The problem is that, while the idea makes for a fairly sound investment, regulators greatly increase the risk involved. What comes of Tesla if their "stores" idea is ruled illegal? The same with AirBnB or Uber and their uses of private property? Unless the return compensates for the increased risk, rational investors will stick with ones that do.

by beat 13y ago

jsnk 13y ago

>if government regulation is so problematic for people, isn't that just a market opportunity for entrepreneurs? Yes it is. We have litigious/defensive corporate lawyers working for companies solely mitigate law suits and shut down competitions on regulation violations. We have multibillion dollar accounting industry who is paid to maneuver through impossibly complex tax code. We have millionaire lobbyists whose sole purpose is to influence politicians to create rules and regulations that favours certain companies or industries.

loqi 13y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window

dr_doom 13y ago

I think all libertarians would answer yes to your question. For example, public transport and housing is terrible in the Bay so private buses are all over SF now.

beat 13y ago
My whole economic worldview changed when I read the works of Hernando de Soto Polar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_de_Soto_Polar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernando_de_Soto_Polar). He demonstrated that a huge free market economy of honest, legitimate work (like private buses) exists completely outside the law, technically illegal, all over the world. The more restrictive the regulations, the more free enterprise pops up. There are two problems with this. First, those entrepreneurs lack protection of the law, so they are vulnerable to losing their livelihoods due to crime or motion of power. Second, this shadow economy is simply not measured by mainstream economics, so in countries where the shadow economy is large, our perception of their relative economic status is skewed. It's sobering stuff for a libertarian to read.

BrianEatWorld 13y ago

I imagine most do have faith in free enterprise, but I don't think they have faith in free enterprise being a safe investment when government regulations come into play. Taking AirBnB, Uber or even Tesla as an example. It is clear that there is an issue with the industries in which they operate, whether government imposed or new tech shifting paradigms, and those issues make for an opportunity. The problem is that, while the idea makes for a fairly sound investment, regulators greatly increase the risk involved. What comes of Tesla if their "stores" idea is ruled illegal? The same with AirBnB or Uber and their uses of private property? Unless the return compensates for the increased risk, rational investors will stick with ones that do.