nickpp

37 ms·

541.
by nickpp 3y ago
The reason investment are taxed as they are is to encourage them. Society as large gains much more from what Bezos did than Bezos himself. However, were we to discourage his entrepreneurial act 30 years ago (and others entrepreneurs as well
542.
by nickpp 3y ago
Now compute all the value Jeff Bezos added to our society. It’s the sum of the value each Amazon customer/seller/employee/investor extracted by using it. I bet it’s an order of magnitude larger. What a tremendous deal we got:
543.
by nickpp 3y ago
Thanks for providing your perspective! It’s incredibly frustrating to keep reading from people whose hospitals look like 5* hotels coupled with the Space Station praising a system they never used and have no idea how bad it can be. Just bec
544.
by nickpp 3y ago
Here in Eastern Europe we are thankful for private healthcare every day - the state-run socialized healthcare literally kills. Recently there was a case of a senior citizen left without a simple oxygen tank until he was braindead - just bec
545.
by nickpp 3y ago
> American memes aren't accurate history sources. I speak from my personal experience of being born and living the first part of my life under the horrors of communism.
546.
by nickpp 3y ago
> "slices" are taken by owners and banks It is quite trivial to become owner today. All you have to do is buy a share (or even a fraction of it!), and you can do it from your very phone - the wonders of Capitalism. > huge c
547.
by nickpp 3y ago
Sure but what would they have to steal from the Soviets?! I mean the West had A/C, cars, color TV, computers and so on while USSR was struggling to feed its people. Reminds me of the old Soviet joke brilliantly included in the Chernoby
548.
by nickpp 3y ago
Soviet spies were quite active and accomplished at stealing technological advancements from private firms in the West.
549.
by nickpp 3y ago
Capitalism encourages generating wealth since people get to keep a slice of it, instead of being all looted by the state. The productivity gap is huge between the two systems. This is why communist societies struggle to even provide the bas
550.
by nickpp 3y ago
Belief systems can all be attractive in theory but you can compare their merits by simply looking at the actual results in the life of people adopting them. Since you are aggressively pushing yours onto others it would be interesting to kno
551.
by nickpp 3y ago
Loss leaders, price dumping and price wars are as old as the world and free markets are perfectly capable to deal with them. Here's how how Dow Chemical fought the German bromine cartel's price dumping at the beginning of the last
552.
by nickpp 3y ago
Please don't put words in my mouth. Government's role in a free market economy is quite essential: upholding rule of law (specifically contract law) and taxing externalities. Overreach is the problem though (like regulating the ch
553.
by nickpp 3y ago
Imagine how many civilians the purveyors of 9/11 would’ve killed if the USA wouldn't have spent a trillion dollars on the military.
554.
by nickpp 3y ago
Of course you do. But, please indulge me, I am curious: how is this mindset serving you? Are you a happy person? Are you a balanced person? Are you a successful person? Do you have everything you need? How long have you been thinking like t
555.
by nickpp 3y ago
PG's been writing these essays long before HN or YC. Actually those essays in the beginning made him known and helped him attract the first batches of founders. Those founders (and subsequent ones) have done incredible things. They hav
556.
by nickpp 3y ago
Loved that essay back in 2005, you know. PG and YC were just starting then, no? But, since then, I watched in awe what they built and how their work touches and improves my life every day. Maciej? He's writing about how we shouldn&#x27
557.
by nickpp 3y ago
For all my life (and I am not spring chicken) I noticed one thing: criticism, cynicism and pessimism sell. They are attractive. They compel us, because they are easy and cheap. There is no cost attached in becoming a victim. No cost in sayi
558.
by nickpp 3y ago
His advice in the last 20 years worked for plenty of us. How about your advice?
559.
by nickpp 3y ago
Indeed, maybe Microsoft would’ve created an even better smartphone, putting us today in a position with 3 major competing mobile platforms! And just imagine what else after that…
560.
by nickpp 3y ago
It’s not possible to know what other factors would’ve or wouldn’t have come into play, who would’ve done what else in this alternate history of yours. It’s just speculation.
561.
by nickpp 3y ago
Apple survived thanks to Steve Jobs and Steve Jobs alone. He could've built his vision in any company or startup though, when he took over Apple was a few weeks away from bankruptcy.
562.
by nickpp 3y ago
When you book a hotel do you base your decision on reviews from other customers or other hotel owners?
563.
by nickpp 3y ago
> who then manipulates pricing to prevent competition How exactly? Reducing profits defeats the purpose of becoming a monopoly, while any sliver of profit is the startup's opportunity. To create a monopoly you need to restrict compe
564.
by nickpp 3y ago
Nobody said anything about not having governments. Rule of Law is required for societies to even exist. Read some more on the robber baron era - you'll find out Standard Oil was already losing to competition before government action. F
565.
by nickpp 3y ago
Government's action did had zero effect against Microsoft. Slap on the wrist. Their monopoly was naturally made irrelevant by the market moving onto the next tech frontier: mobile & cloud. The free market lead to that. Countless st
566.
by nickpp 3y ago
Incumbents, of course. The ones holding the largest interest in preserving the status-quo and freezing competition. Professional organizations needing power to preserve the barrier of entry. Huge, trans-national Unions. But other power brok
567.
by nickpp 3y ago
Countless ways. From sheer governmental incompetence like when regulating the competition out of markets. To simply not understanding second order effects when “helping markets” with patents and humongous copyright terms. To not understandi
568.
by nickpp 3y ago
Point me to a resistant monopoly or cartel and I will show you a government granted/supported one. Free markets are naturally resistant through free competition (startups!) and, you know, laws.
569.
by nickpp 3y ago
> Some of us do Almost every single one of us does. The great, huge, gigantic majority of us does. Few realize it though.
570.
by nickpp 3y ago
Of course, people in USSR were starving while free markets were making Westerners fatter and fatter.

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