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I strongly take issue with this approach. Politics are one thing, but as a site somewhat devoted to startups, an article on the economy, vapid or precise, cert

I strongly take issue with this approach. Politics are one thing, but as a site somewhat devoted to startups, an article on the economy, vapid or precise, certainly has a place. If people didn't want to read it, they would not vote for it.

jcl 17y ago
How about this, then: The article defies logic. There are a couple reasonable connections given between Rand and the modern world (e.g. the note about the doctors), but the rest of the connections are so tenuous or ill-framed, she might as well be explaining the economic genius of The House at Pooh Corner. Merely listing a character name followed by a real-life name doesn't cut it. By 2000, that 1 percent was paying 37 percent, and "Atlas Shrugged" sales were at 120,000. By 2006, the top 1 percent carried 40 percent of the burden. Obviously, increased sales of "Atlas Shrugged" leads to legislation increasing taxes on the rich, because Randian lobbyists are at home, reading. Or -- just guessing, here -- this correlation is meaningless and should be omitted? This one takes the cake: Of all American governors, Arnold Schwarzenegger of California is the one who most resembles Rand’s outsized characters. [...] Yet Schwarzenegger seems to be missing the Rand gene. His policies are all pain and no growth. Either he resembles something in the book or he doesn't. Why claim both?
- erlanger 17y ago
  Like I said: Don't vote it up then. Deleting it accomplishes nothing.
  - davidw 17y ago
    What it accomplishes is making a clear statement that this sort of material does not belong on this site, and people who are only interested in politics, economics, and similar topics (rather than hacking/startups) would do well to find another place to chat about them.
Retric 17y ago
Just talking about the economy also has almost no place on HN. As a bassic rule of thumb if you see the same thing on CNN or FOX then it has no place here. The goal is to avoid becoming Redit / Dig / Slashdot and the fastist way to let that happen is to constantly talk about Politics or the Economy. They might be News, but they don't really have a significant impact on startups. Most small company's don't care about the larger economy at all. It's just not important when all you need to do is find 100,000+ of revenue each month to thrive. Exeptions would be a law that is going into effect that chaning the rules for becoming startups or some such. PS: Ok, talking about what exit number you need to retire based on X income tax would be a good and usefull article, linkbait that's talking about politics belongs somewhere else.

jcl 17y ago

How about this, then: The article defies logic. There are a couple reasonable connections given between Rand and the modern world (e.g. the note about the doctors), but the rest of the connections are so tenuous or ill-framed, she might as well be explaining the economic genius of The House at Pooh Corner. Merely listing a character name followed by a real-life name doesn't cut it. By 2000, that 1 percent was paying 37 percent, and "Atlas Shrugged" sales were at 120,000. By 2006, the top 1 percent carried 40 percent of the burden. Obviously, increased sales of "Atlas Shrugged" leads to legislation increasing taxes on the rich, because Randian lobbyists are at home, reading. Or -- just guessing, here -- this correlation is meaningless and should be omitted? This one takes the cake: Of all American governors, Arnold Schwarzenegger of California is the one who most resembles Rand’s outsized characters. [...] Yet Schwarzenegger seems to be missing the Rand gene. His policies are all pain and no growth. Either he resembles something in the book or he doesn't. Why claim both?

erlanger 17y ago
Like I said: Don't vote it up then. Deleting it accomplishes nothing.
- davidw 17y ago
  What it accomplishes is making a clear statement that this sort of material does not belong on this site, and people who are only interested in politics, economics, and similar topics (rather than hacking/startups) would do well to find another place to chat about them.

Retric 17y ago

Just talking about the economy also has almost no place on HN. As a bassic rule of thumb if you see the same thing on CNN or FOX then it has no place here. The goal is to avoid becoming Redit / Dig / Slashdot and the fastist way to let that happen is to constantly talk about Politics or the Economy. They might be News, but they don't really have a significant impact on startups. Most small company's don't care about the larger economy at all. It's just not important when all you need to do is find 100,000+ of revenue each month to thrive. Exeptions would be a law that is going into effect that chaning the rules for becoming startups or some such. PS: Ok, talking about what exit number you need to retire based on X income tax would be a good and usefull article, linkbait that's talking about politics belongs somewhere else.