try-perforate

I agree. I think one thing I’ve realized is that a few thousand years isn’t really that long of a timespan. And people writing around the time of Rome and even earlier weren’t stupid like I’ve tended to think of them. I think that’s why things like philosophy have persisted through time. It’s not like humans were unable to reason about their existence in the time of Rome. If I read and think about those folks and their experience of the human condition, I am able to relate to someone who lived many generations before me, which I think is pretty incredible to be honest.

But isn't this the cause of inequality? If you can't pay commensurate with productivity, a larger share of capital flows to capital owners and you stretch out the exponential curve. There are humans on the other side of the equation and there are other costs besides labor involved with operations.

There's a reason why common good capitalism is an increasingly attractive model for a lot of folks. A society cannot maintain the maximize returns to capital model indefinitely. I think many people are realizing that Friedman's economics either cannot be sustained or lead to a place where many would prefer not to go. People, and therefore the invisible hand, are inherently flawed.

you might be interested in howacarworks.com. I stumbled across these videos on youtube earlier this year when I was researching the topic. I was unwilling to pay because it was more for my own curiosity than an actual need to learn but it seemed pretty thorough.

It sounds like HN readers could stand to spend a little time studying microeconomics.

I would love to see a Valley solution to the problem of sourcing raw materials including energy, storing raw materials, sourcing packaging, storing packaging, sourcing machine parts, storing machine parts, keeping track of vendors, machine maintenance labor, machine maintenance scheduling, cost accounting for the inputs, manufacturing and machine schedule management, demand forecasting, supply & replenishment planning, WIP inventory management, finished goods inventory management, inventory accounting, sourcing shipping, planning shipping, actually shipping, invoicing, printing invoices, printing all documents (manifest, bills of lading), extending credit, managing credit lines.....

oh yeah accepting purchase orders, making to order, promising inventory, managing inventory allocation in tight markets, managing in transit inventory, collecting payment, transferring cash, reporting all of this to the SEC and IRS so you don't get sued, remitting taxes, managing headcount, paying employees....

I probably forgot a lot of stuff and this is only for domestic sales. Export has so many other problems to solve like tariffs and duties, container management on the dock, steamship management, etc.

I'm not being sarcastic either, I would LOVE to see a solution that has a better UX than SAP that solves all of these problems.

Read an idea in American Affairs in support of taxing buybacks. The logic goes that if all companies have a fiduciary duty to shareholders because the market is the most efficient capital allocator, AND all companies are giving their cash back to shareholders, THEN it must be true that the market can not figure out how to efficiently allocate this $1T of capital. Thus, the government should have “next dibs” for items on the agenda that it knows need capital, namely infrastructure and healthcare.

Thought that was an interesting take.

Edit: here is the link but it may be behind a paywall. https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2018/12/share-buybacks-an...

It would be nice if I could hit continue from the keyboard so that I could do the whole tutorial without using the mouse.

Politics aside, I think HSAs are great. Under a single payer system I would expect payroll taxes to be significantly higher (8-10%). You pay that every month even if you don't use it. In return you get free healthcare when you do use it.

With HSAs in America, you save an amount equal to your tax bracket on expenses up to the lesser of your deductible (if plan pays 100% post-deductible) or the maximum HSA contribution (3350 for singles). You only pay this when you need care. You can also use your HSA dollars for things like glasses, pregnancy tests, and teeth cleanings.

There's added incentive for employers to offer HSAs because it reduces their payroll tax as well.

Granted this is all given that you are eligible, can afford, and have health insurance. And that your provider will cover whatever treatment you're seeking.

However, given my plan, I pay about $60/mo after my healthy life plan savings. I can take the savings from that plan and look at my budget and afford to save $100/mo in my HSA. That's $500 "lost to insurance" each year and $1200 growing tax-free given I have no medical expenses (unlikely). Compare that to a single-payer system with ~8% payroll tax. Given I make $5000 a month, that's $400/mo or $4800/yr that's "lost to insurance" given that I have no medical expenses .

I'm not a great example because I'm young, privileged, and healthy. I'm interested in the economics of this whole thing though.