brenden2

21 ms·

181.
by brenden2 7y ago
When I said "infinite leverage", what I meant was that there is no upper limit to the amount of leverage (debt, or credit) that any one entity can have. There's also no limit on the total amount globally. The US government, f
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by brenden2 7y ago
The entire economy is based on the idea of never ending growth, infinite leverage, and assets that always inflate without increasing utility (homes for example). It works, until it doesn't. I don't know how long it will keep going
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by brenden2 7y ago
I appreciate you taking the time to try and be helpful. Perhaps I'm just not cut out for being a startup entrepreneur when there are easier ways for me to make a living.
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by brenden2 7y ago
Congrats, it sounds like you have everything figured out. I wish you the best.
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by brenden2 7y ago
Agreed, it's nuanced. I try to keep my comments on here short and easy to digest. Brevity is the soul of wit etc.
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by brenden2 7y ago
Thanks!
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by brenden2 7y ago
I wish I could say that was my experience.
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by brenden2 7y ago
It's not the money itself that matters, it's the social proof. Since I personally have no brand, and nobody knows who I am, they won't take a chance on me. Even with lots of money, nobody is going to join a startup or give yo
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by brenden2 7y ago
Ha, thanks! I try to always stay 100% honest and true to myself and others.
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by brenden2 7y ago
I don't think there's any opportunity anymore. The market is super saturated, capital has dried up, and only insiders have a shot at funding. The cards are stacked against outsiders. I've lost hope on the Silicon Valley dream
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by brenden2 7y ago
People keep comparing this to the Spanish flu, but there was a big difference between this and the Spanish flu: most people who died from Spanish flu actually died from bacterial infections and other complications. Back then, antibiotics we
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by brenden2 7y ago
Some politicians have been suggesting we could open up in May, notably the US president. Others have announced extended closures. In the US it's a state by state matter.
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by brenden2 7y ago
It's usually easy to hire/train hourly employees because they are less specialized. Hiring someone to wait tables is much easier than hiring a software engineer.
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by brenden2 7y ago
I actually live in NYC, I'm just in DC for a few weeks (have already been here a while). When I left NYC it was very quiet, not at all like it is here. I left before things got really crazy.
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by brenden2 7y ago
Idk, haven't been on freeways, but stopped by Home Depot today for some plumbing parts (curbside pickup) and I've never seen it so busy in my entire life.
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by brenden2 7y ago
I'm in Virginia right now (near DC) and most people appear to be going about their lives like nothing happened. I'm also not worried, I think the whole thing is largely mass hysteria and blown wildly out of proportion. There'
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by brenden2 7y ago
Fair enough, my assumption has always been that we'll start opening back up in May. If this drags on much longer than that, then who knows. Things could certainly fall into a depression, and that's the pessimistic view. I'm s
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by brenden2 7y ago
Retail has been dying for a while, but that just opens up opportunities elsewhere. It's kind of like the nail salon boom: retail has been dying, but nail salons have been booming (pre-shutdown)[0]. I've been noticing for a while i
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by brenden2 7y ago
Right. I've been noticing on my walks how many Amazon delivery trucks there are, how many Amazon boxes are sitting outside in the trash piles. While people certainly aren't spending money dining out, they're still going HAM w
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by brenden2 7y ago
That's funny, but it's something I've been thinking about too. When things open up I want to go see friends and catch up.
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by brenden2 7y ago
This is an unpopular opinion, but I think it's worth considering that most of these people are probably hourly wage earners, and so when things open up again, they will probably be hired back very quickly. The people aren't going
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by brenden2 7y ago
Profit above all else.
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by brenden2 7y ago
https://archive.is/cucsR
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by brenden2 7y ago
That's a remarkable lens. One thing that I think has been lost in photography today thanks to the smartphone is the value of high quality lenses. You simply can't replace great optics with software (at least, not yet). I've g
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by brenden2 7y ago
There was actually a surplus of food in the 1930s, but farmers decided to burn their crops instead of selling it at a discount. Kind of like the current situation with oil: a massive supply glut. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org&#x2
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by brenden2 7y ago
Yes fair enough. QE was a thing in 2008, but it took them a lot longer to turn on the money printers. This time they were very swift.
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by brenden2 7y ago
I was hoping the bubble had burst by now, but it sounds like it might not be there yet.
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by brenden2 7y ago
The economy only works when everyone has money to spend. If 30% of the population is broke, that's going to cause a huge drop in economic activity. Most economic activity is driven by consumer spending.
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by brenden2 7y ago
Turns out competition is good for end users.
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by brenden2 7y ago
That would be true if there was wealth distribution happening, but there isn't. Most of this money goes into the hands of the richest people.

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