bigtimeidiot

But okay, here's how cash is more convenient: I can walk outside my office and use this dollar bill at any store anywhere around me. It has apparent value to everyone I will talk to. I don't need the internet.

If you need to "program" or "backup" your money, I guess Bitcoin is your medium. No argument there.

Without fail, during any discussion about tech and gender on these boards, "nice guys" come out of the woodwork as staunch advocates of equality in the workplace, their message couched in accusatory and bullying language.

I'll bet they're closer to being part of the problem with the industry, rather than the solution.

Why do you assume this is cause rather than effect? I find it hard to imagine we set out to define gender roles, rather than those roles evolving over a long time due to a billion factors.

Can you clarify? I mean, I agree that your diversification should extend beyond the stock market (bonds, some metals, real estate). But I'm not sure what you mean by the above.

Can you give an example of a modern economy collapsing and reverting to gold as a medium of exchange?

Only if you're a resident of an unstable country.

Can you name a crisis where having a stash of gold and silver mattered? Do you think people are going to trade valuable goods (food? water? ammo?) for your metal bars? I can't imagine the circumstances.

When SHTF the government (or someone else) will confiscate that wealth. They have in the past. Personally, I think metals will matter less in any apocalypse, because they have no practical use.

You can get close with a few ETFs: US market and bonds, Ex-US global market and bonds:

http://www.pragcap.com/a-simple-four-fund-global-financial-a...

Something tells me you don't live in Nebraska.

>Quite convenient in a city where you usually can only pay with cash...

How is it more convenient than cash?

Business failure = not serious. Got it.

>But I know some billionaires and do not envy them.

So you know multiple billionaires and think your situation is normal?

This is a natural extension of "startup founder" becoming a an aspirational occupation for kids fresh out of college. Who needs real-world experience? Disrupt!

Technology is a tool to to aid your expertise.

Using expensive precious metals in what are essentially symbolic tokens seems like a waste, but that's just me.

By anonymous posters, most likely who have never actually worked a union job and are just repeating something they've read in threads like these.

Yes, unions have dumb rules. Do you think those rules were developed before or after corporations dictated onerous policy? So who are the good guys?

What are "union rules"? Each union is free to bargain their demands collectively with the employer. If your members think such a rule is stupid, they won't demand it. But your lack of knowledge and disdain of unions is noted.

So a disclosure that they use a massively popular product is now an advertisement?

Just one time I'd like to open the comments and not have someone saying "fake news" or "this is just an ad" or "stick with the facts".

Vanguard is an interesting company doing big things. They invented the index fund. They are massive. The New York Times profiles companies like this often.

Personally I find this more interesting than a Musk tweet announcing an announcement six months in advance.

Corporations want as few people doing as much work as possible. And they will have no qualms about laying people off to achieve that (TFA). Putting absolute restrictions on tasks puts a floor on employment. It's not ideal, but somewhat effective.

Are these people clicking ads, though? I doubt it. And if not, you aren't monetizing them directly via that method, either.

They look similar to me. One has less granular data than the other. What exactly are you implying?

And with a stroke of the pen, they'll make adjustments. SS isn't a real debt obligation; it's merely a "promise".

Why is running a budget surplus necessarily a "good thing"?

Seems like if people are willing to trade real assets for paper, we should do that as long as there are willing counterparties.

Do you think the financial analysis involved with a new drug stops at "costs recovered"? Why should it?

I find it completely bizarre that, instead of getting behind the fact that the US is essentially subsidizing drugs for the 3rd world, people think rich first worlders should be paying sub-Saharan rates.

No surprise there! Look how much content on these forums is about, implicitly or explicitly, gaming coding interviews.

Why? The author clearly indicated they were stating an opinion with "something tells me". I read authors because I'm interested in their opinion. If you don't like the style, find your own source. There are many.

I get the impression there are swaths of the HackerNews audience who have no idea how "the other half" lives in places outside of the major urban centres.

I have never seen anyone "banned" from giving another person a ride. I do see restrictions on using your vehicles for commercial transport, and some have nothing to do with the government. Ask your insurance company how they feel about you running a taxi service on your personal liability policy.

I hear you, but there's usually a magnitude difference between these occupations and the highest paid CEOs.

Is this what you think drives people like Jobs? The guy who had billions, worked relentlessly, and died of Cancer at a fairly young age?

Sounds like Bitcoin is ready for the mainstream!

...trying to hide in plain sight, implemented by a major corporation so nation states cold exploit customers.

Since I see these threads regularly enough, I think it's already an unofficial tradition.