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0 pointsdietr1ch1y ago0 comments

> I like apples and I like being able to buy them any day of year, even out of season. The only reason I can do so is because there is an entire industry of people who manage the inventory, distribution, try to predict supply and demand, and take on a risk doing that.

This has been the case for well over 200 years and is not done by the same kind of people that modern finance/fintech employs.

Imagine the world 150 years ago and imagine were you'd allocate the smart people that's the highest paid these days. They'd be doing science and developing technology instead of doing finance. Why is finance that much more important now? (is it just because it makes rich people richer?)

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mlyle1y ago

I do think finance is important in making markets more efficient, predictable, and liquid. In turn, this improves the amount of capital available and also improves the efficiency and availability of international trade.

It's also a sophisticated "export" product itself.

However, I think there's a point where, absent sufficient regulation, it overshoots and most of the effort goes to squeezing nickels out of everyone else in underhanded ways. I feel like we could get 90-95% of the benefits with a finance industry that's half the current size, and also avoid a whole lot of indirect costs that come with an oversized finance industry.

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0 pointsdietr1ch1y ago0 comments

This has been the case for well over 200 years and is not done by the same kind of people that modern finance/fintech employs.

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mlyle1y ago

It's also a sophisticated "export" product itself.

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