this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2024
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[–] [email protected] 75 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

I think the whole system of venture capital might be garbage. We have bros spending millions of dollars like gif sharing while the oceans boil, our schools rot, and our infrastructure rusts or is sold off. Or, I guess I'm just indicting capitalism more generally. But having a few bros decide what to fund based on gutfeel and powerpoints seems like a particularly malignant form.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

You think it might be??

Bro say that shit with some confidence.

Venture capital does not contribute beneficially to society.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 weeks ago

Say it with your whole chest and both feet. Cuz it's true.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Venture Capital is probably the best way to drain the billionaires. Those billions in capital weren't wasted, that money just went to pay people who do actual work for a living. What good is all that money doing just sitting in some hedge fund account?

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I don't think it's the best way out of all possible options. Even if it does "create jobs", a lot of those jobs aren't producing much of wider value, and most of the wealth stays in the hands of the ownership class. And a lot of the jobs are exploitive, like how "gig workers" are often treated.

Changes to tax law and enforcing anti-trust stuff would probably be more effective. We probably shouldn't have bogus high finance shenanigans either. We definitely shouldn't have billionaires.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago

Oh sure, I was mostly being flippant. My response to the article is basically that billionaires losing billions is a good thing. I don't feel optimistic enough to say we'll get around to taxing them but yes, that would be ideal.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

I think you have a point here. Venture capitalists buy in the primary market. They are directly impacting innovation.

Fund managers (both hedge and long only) merely help capital markets to be liquid. Their money doesn't directly go to anyone actually creating something.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 weeks ago

The situation where it's still profitable to invest this way means that there's some cross-flow of value from real to this which shouldn't exist.

I dunno which. Maybe government handouts to corps, for example.

Or ads revenue from any engaging activity, not only good, made huge because of oligopolies.

Or closing holes with currency emission.

It shouldn't be possible otherwise.