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Comment by xur17 | Hacker News Reader

I agree that there's a ton of money floating around / frothiness, but what's inherently wrong or ill-advised about investing in future cashflows of a person. Assuming you diversify across a bunch of people in a bunch of fields, this actually sounds better than some of the stuff people are investing in in the stock market.

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Because having a share in an individual sounds very much like slavery?

So does usury.

You loan someone $40000 @ 5% APR and he spends it on education. If the loan is to be paid back in a decade, he has to cough up $416 per month. Unlike a mortgage, he can't foreclose on his education.

Since he doesn't have any assets to sell, and is by law unable to get out of them through bankruptcy, his only choice is to work some amount of hours every month to pay off the loans.

If that is not slavery, then surely ISAs are fine too? And if that is slavery, then how are ISAs any worse?

Small nitpick, if you're diligent with the paperwork and aren't a victim of some of the recent loan servicing scandals then the (federal) loan will eventually be forgiven so long as you pay a percentage of your income (which can be as low as $0). Functionally student loans are a lot like a typical ISA with a longer period (and comparable max total payments) which can't be discharged.

but it's not like slavery because you can quit at any time. Outside of blockchain contracts should be considered 'Slavery' because an 18 year old can take out a loan that ruins his whole life because he is forced to pay back the loans by some outside entity. Investing in an individual via the blockchain makes it so you are investing because you believe in the individual, but at any time the individual can simply stop working, stop earning and enjoy a simple life without any repercussions. This makes the investment more risky for sure, but stops it from being slavery because a.) the individuals don't have to be worried about some gun forcing them to do something b.) i can sell my tokens at any time.

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