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> were most jobs are bullshit, but they are necessary purely to distribute wealth. Got a source on this? I know a lot of burgeoning fields (bureaucracy, law, a
by zanny 13y ago
> were most jobs are bullshit, but they are necessary purely to distribute wealth.
Got a source on this? I know a lot of burgeoning fields (bureaucracy, law, advertising, rent seeking) are all either zero sum or negative drains on society for the most part, but most people are still doing something marginally useful, even if it isn't worth paying them minimum wage for it.
- mcv 13y agoIf they're zero sum or a drain, how are they useful? The article mentions tax consultants, which is a really nice exampe of a totally useless job. We need a certain amount of tax revenue in order to pay for collective stuff. But nobody wants to pay more than they have to, so they hire a tax consultant. End result: society still has to pay the same amount of taxes (because they get adjusted so revenue still matches the need), plus the cost of these tax consultants. With an easier tax system and no consultants, we'd all be cheaper off.
- zanny 13y agoThey can act as a net negative, but localized positives, and if it is positive for someone with capital to spend on it and they benefit from it, then they could care less usually about the negatives. So that is why you have tax consultants and an absurdly complex tax system - niche benefits profit, and invest to keep it that way (ie, lobby, ie bribe).
- mcv 13y agoExactly. And that's the problem. It's a race to the bottom: people are rewarded for something that in the end benefits no one.