calvinbhai

That’s a great write up. Thanks

Did you think of setting up the same in Gujarat since you had to runaround so much in Sangli?

This is something that’s hard for someone like me to know (living outside India and no experience in setting up a business in India)

Does it make a difference if same party is in power in center and state?

The general consensus I see is that it doesn’t make such a big difference (everyone compares to Gujarat which is reaping the benefits of good admin over last 20 years). Current states have a lot of rot to remove and any EoDB efforts won’t be apparent. Is this a correct understanding of the situation?

That’s just the first of the what if’s I ask.

Next would be, are they up for removal of all subsidies / free programs (e.g., SNAP / food stamps)?

How can health care costs be addressed with fixed UBI?

I can see UBI succeeding or at least not failing in countries like Canada since healthcare costs are zero for individuals, no matter how poor or moneyless they are.

Without having a similar Healthcare system, how can UBI be even implemented?

Ps: I’m neither strongly for/against UBI yet, but curious to see how it can solve the problem. I just have a lot of unanswered questions when asking them to UBI supporters.

If UBI is the way, do you agree or disagree that there should be no minimum wage?

Decide minimum wage, then give UBI to adults based on that.

If $15 per hr is minimum wage, UBI should be $2600 per month.

Once someone is getting this UBI, it should be legal to have jobs that pay $1 per hr or $0.5 per hr.

My hunch:

Trump hates universities. So he’ll do anything to ensure universities are on life support. This is a great way for him to bring the uncertainties to follow his orders.

Need to go off on a tangent to reply.

Canada is showering it's unemployed citizens with something similar to $2000 per month unemployment benefits.

That's $12.5 per hr for not working, while (minimum wage in Ontario) is $14 per hr.

Why would anyone work to get $1.5 per hr extra? When you can stay home and get the free money? (in fact other provinces, $12.5 per hr is above minimum wage).

Having something like this for a month or two was probably fine, but right now Canada is paying it's residents to not work while grocery stores / warehouses are not finding enough workers.

I was tilting positive of UBI until I saw the effects of this $2K per month scheme in Canada.

To immediately solve the problem, Canada can continue giving $2K per month to those who are unemployed, but working in a necessary occupation (say grocery stores, deliveries, warehouses) wouldn't disqualify them from getting the $2K, with a caveat that there's no minimum wage. At that point it's a two sided bidding with grocery stores going lower and workers increasing their bids. At some rate (say $5 per hr or $10 per hr) there's a right balance for supply/demand of labor.

This should be next in the killedbygoogle.com entries

I agree with you about convenience of ordering. This was often the case when I was in the US. But in canada it's nice that all stores I frequent accept credit cards, and all of them work with apple pay, so no fumbling with cash.

Probably I'm not like most app users are. If I know a few different types of restaurants in the area, and I know specific items I like there, I'll just order the same thing again and again until I move elsewhere.

If I wanted a new place, new dish every time, probably Delivery apps would be a good way to discover

Love their mission. But I think Slice is more for helping non-chain pizza shops compete with Dominos/Pizza-Hut/Papa-johns.

also $1.95 doesn't include the costs of delivery (delivery is handled by pizza shops' existing delivery drivers)

The cost for Uber is to process the cc transaction, cost of transportation (the close to minimum wage "net pay" to the driver).

I agree Uber has other costs, and I'm not saying it should act like a charity and not recover those costs.

So whatever is uber's costs + profit needed, add it as a fee for using the app.

Eg: If I order a 2 large pizzas at my neighborhood pizza shop, and on their printed menu it is $40 (assume including taxes), I'd like to see the same price displayed to me. Uber can charge me processing fee and delivery fee of say $20 or $30 on top of this (to recover Uber's costs + profit).

Sadly, this is not what actually happens. Ordering the same item through delivery app, I see that each menu item is costing $1 to $5 more already (happens with Instacart too). On top of this I pay a processing fee and a delivery fee. In addition to this, the pizza shop guy pays 40%.

Obfuscating price at every step and then proclaiming to be a saviour of my neighborhood restaurants, is exactly what ticks me off.

Again, I'm not saying delivery apps should be charitable. I just want some transparency. The reason I go to a local pizza shop, (in addition to satiate hunger and enjoy tasty food) is to support the local economy.

Uber can charge the same total amount to me while providing the same service, provided they clearly show how much goes to Uber and how much goes to restaurant and delivery person.

I refuse to use any of these delivery apps, which are kind of useless already.

Here in Toronto area, most of the big food outlets are closed, because they are not able to get workers.

The ones that are open, are these mom&pop restaurants, that run on a skeletal workforce.

So with fewer restaurants operating, and delivery apps having a limited radius for delivery, I'd rather go and get the order myself, and let the neighborhood restaurer keep more of the money I give instead of losing 30%-40% of the amount as commission (I tip on top of it even though it's a pickup).

I'll use delivery apps only if: - They charge the restaurant less than 5% total fees - They charge me 5% - 10% for delivery and processing fees whatever (lets say a minimum of $5 or $10, whichever is higher).

Problem is at this rate, Uber Eats or Door Dash or GrubHub wont survive.

I understand using these apps is more of a necessity if you have kids and larger number of people at home. But this is not for me.

Uber drivers who got cars on subprime loans cannot survive with deliveries only. I'm curious to how they'll get through this storm. At least in this case, Uber has fewer liabilities (all head ache borne by the driver).

I don't like the smell when butter is turned into ghee.

But I love ghee. In fact, after a short stint on a Keto diet, looking at the results, I now understand why ghee is essential in every meal! It makes you consume less carbs.

Because of industry propaganda blaming food fat, we have been used to low fat foods. A spoonful of ghee in every meal is not bad. You just need to get used to it.

which one specifically?

4/4S/5 and the old SE are still my favourite designs / form factors (saying this despite owning 6/7/11Pro). I hope 12 will do away with rounded edges (similar to the latest iPad Pro).

what's the point of wanting this feature when it is not going to be a focus for many apps since this feature is not available in newer phones?

I think this is excellent timing.

Those due for upgrading their phones while being wary of the current state of the economy and their own cash flow situation, can just going for this phone, and not bother about upgrading for an another 3-4 years.

Also a great way for Apple to widen their funnel for first time iPhone / Apple customers!

Well, Russia and Saudi Arabia have agreed to cut oil production. OPEC+ may follow soon. Hence the markets going super green.

Most the bottom hunters are only following the Covid news. Oil prices are adding to the stock market swings big time.

Trying to wrap my head around this.

Is this different from Convertible Debt?

Also, why raise at 10% interest when interest rates are so low?

This is much worse an issue if you live in a super new apartment in the suburbs. UPS/FedEx drivers know location very well. Amazon delivery ends up in a totally different location, marking it as delivered. I dont know how Amazon makes money when 2 out of 5 deliveries to my address were being lost or mis-delivered ️

I know a few who are on a part time basis (working 3 or 4 days a week) because employer cut the number of working days for the whole company. Any idea if this affects the validity of H1b because they are not working 40 hrs a week?

Employees feel a bit of the sting Employers/investors only want the $cha-ching$

I wish I had known this. I had a few months of advanced notice, and I had no idea that commuter benefits just go poof on the last day of employment. Lost about a $1k in that.

And additional point I'd add to this list, especially for those on H1b visas, if you are not getting any severance and no notice period, then the employer is liable for your move back to home country. I didn't know about this option nor do I know anyone personally who got this. If anyone can share info on this, that'd be great.

TBH, right now any death reported in the news is equated as a result of COVID19. At least I equate it so. Hence, it is a clickbait from my POV.

Thank you for saving many clicks! Pandemics are a great excuse for clickbaits!

Could you cite more primary sources? It looks like India related entries on Wikipedia were totally hijacked by paid wiki moderators[0]. Now I cannot trust any India related entry on Wikipedia

[0]http://www.opindia.com/2020/03/delhi-anti-hindu-riots-wikipe...

agreed.

All my points assume access to decent health/medical services

For me, the critical pieces of info everyone should consider are these:

1) Washing hands often, significantly reduces chances of getting infected (because virus has a fat membrane that breaks when in contact with soap)

2) If you are under 60 yrs old, covid-19 infection becoming fatal is extremely low, which in turn means, keep older population away from anyone carrying this virus, hence self-quarantine around elders is extremely important.

3) Wear mask only if infected.

4) The virus doesn't last long on dry surfaces, hot weather (bumped up the heat in house by a few degrees, yet comfortable enough).

5) I try to eat cooked foods (no salads, no cold foods). This should further reduce the chances of getting infected

6) Follow less frequent yet more reliable sources of news (this is the hardest to achieve for most people).

(correct me if I'm wrong, or add more to it if needed)

surprising that such a long writeup about the wework debacle doesn't mention Masayoshi Son holding founders at ransom to take his Softbank money.

Why would anyone refuse such money? Not sure what's Rebekah got to do with the WeWork debacle.

(good to know all the star kids connections. IMO, most rich white people in US can do any financial crime and get away with it)

If the report is to be believed, why do these developers think so high and mighty about themselves?

If they are so concerned, team up, pool money and buy enough MS stocks (like an activist investor) and direct Microsoft's actions.

Until then, Microsoft and Satya Nadella must do what is best for their stock holders not to activists of any kind.

If any of the devs / employees are not happy with the direction MS is heading, leave the employer. If enough devs leave, MS may tweak it's approach.

I thought Disney+ rollout would have no hiccups, because I thought Hotstar (I think it is mostly India based content) owned by Disney did quite well during the cricket world cup, in terms of live streaming (which I thought is more complex than streaming movies).

My respect for Netflix goes up each time a new streaming service has a hiccup.