JerkTech for the Nouveau Rentiers

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Great little article on a techie site

http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/03/go-disrupt-yourself/

Stop The JerkTech
Posted Jul 3, 2014 by Josh Constine (@joshconstine)




“Go disr*pt yourself” is what I have to say to founders of startups like ReservationHop and Parking Monkey.
They’re emblematic of a compassionless new wave of self-serving startups that exploit small businesses and public infrastructure to make a buck and aid the wealthy. Let’s call these parasites #JerkTech. It’s one thing to outcompete a big, stagnant company with new technology. It’s another to screw over the little guys just because you can sell what’s usually free….

[Slimprofits]

Re: JerkTech for the Nouveau Rentiers

Great little article on a techie site

http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/03/go-disrupt-yourself/

Disruption is now defined as inserting oneself as a middleman into a perfectly good commercial transaction. I ******* hate middlemen.

[BK]

Re: JerkTech for the Nouveau Rentiers

I'm no expert. But something tells me this is what you see near market peaks.

My favorite new app company....Washio...wash and fold has a global app....
There is a new company that allows you to rent toys and some VCs just invested $7 million.

Lunacy??

[dcarrigg]

Re: JerkTech for the Nouveau Rentiers

I'm no expert. But something tells me this is what you see near market peaks.

My favorite new app company....Washio...wash and fold has a global app....
There is a new company that allows you to rent toys and some VCs just invested $7 million.

Lunacy??

It might not be lunacy. What if the big 30-year scale went like this?

Step 1: 1950 - pay middle class wages, create middle class

Step 2: 1980 - pay less than middle class wages, make up the difference with consumer debt

Step 3: 2010 - pay less than middle class wages and max out consumer debt, make up the difference by turning former ownership property of the middle class into rental property.

In a world where the median citizen cannot afford a home or a lawnmower or a table saw or a car, she can probably afford to rent these things sometimes.

This could be lunacy or it could be the next great step in the dissolution of the middle class and re-imposition of a two-class system with a greater roll for rentiers and inherited capital.

Why sell them stuff when you can own it and charge them rental fees and interest forever?

Car buying -> car financing -> car leasing -> monthly zipcar plan -> ????

Financialization hit a wall in 2008. The only way forward is to financialize more stuff. We need to sell derivatives on the car in your driveway. We need to securitize your couch. We need to auction off that parking space you just found. We need to turn the fish in the ocean into an allocatable and transferable property right. And then we need to sell futures on that. We need to rent out that ladder in our garage.

Rent, rent, rent - financialize, financialize, financialize.

If that is the new name of the game, they will find a way to commoditize, trade, and rent air soon enough. That's kind of what CO2 cap and trade markets are anyways.

Think about it? How much less could you pay middle class workers if they never owned anything, but only rented them on demand? And how much more could you bilk out of them in rents over the course of their lives? Maybe double or triple what you could get off interest from mortgages and credit cards and student loans in this low interest environment? Can you repackage and re-securitize this stuff on the back-end and gamble on it in between and going forward? If so, it's a goddamn goldmine in our brave-new-financial-free-for-all we call capitalism in the 21st century.

Screw hard work, building products, and selling them to make margin. Take something that was free and charge the maximum amount you can for it. I learned that quote from Matthew Lesko - he basically went onto grants.gov, copied and pasted free information into a book, dressed like the Riddler from Batman, and sold it for maximum cash.

[shiny!]

Re: JerkTech for the Nouveau Rentiers

Thank you, dcarrigg.

[dcarrigg]

Re: JerkTech for the Nouveau Rentiers

Thank you, dcarrigg.

Thanks, shiny!. I missed you. I've been scarce around here these last few months. It's good to know people appreciate the contributions. I've found yours to be invaluable - we all forget what's really important form time to time. You have an incisive way of reminding us of the truth behind the truth. For that, I've been grateful for several years.

[shiny!]

Re: JerkTech for the Nouveau Rentiers

You're too kind, dcarrigg. This is an economics forum and I just suck at math is all. But thank you for your kind words.

I'm glad you're back. You have an ability to pull the signal from the noise and explain things simply, without oversimplifying. I really appreciate that.

[Fox]

Re: JerkTech for the Nouveau Rentiers

Financialization hit a wall in 2008. The only way forward is to financialize more stuff. We need to sell derivatives on the car in your driveway. We need to securitize your couch. We need to auction off that parking space you just found. We need to turn the fish in the ocean into an allocatable and transferable property right. And then we need to sell futures on that. We need to rent out that ladder in our garage.

ya and nobody sees the fundamental problem with this?

What keeps people honest? The thought of losing what they have if they don't behave. If you don't have anything, why should you care about that hard working middle class guy's car you just rented? After all, its just a rental anyways; he has insurance.

Renting out your couch to a stranger? Ya nobody is going to end up in the morgue over that idea.

Nope, I'm with BK it's lunacy and the sign of the blow-off top.

Lots of tech and capital floating around looking for the next big idea. However a high IQ is useless with out experience and wisdom. It some cases it can be worse than useless, it can be dangerous. Iraq is an extreme example of when the smart asses at the top think they know it all.

As for Jerktech, it'll stop when the current bubble pops

[lektrode]

Re: JerkTech for the Nouveau Rentiers

You're too kind, dcarrigg. This is an economics forum and I just suck at math is all. But thank you for your kind words.

I'm glad you're back. You have an ability to pull the signal from the noise and explain things simply, without oversimplifying. I really appreciate that.

+2

[lektrode]

Re: JerkTech for the Nouveau Rentiers

ya and nobody sees the fundamental problem with this?

What keeps people honest? The thought of losing what they have if they don't behave. If you don't have anything, why should you care about that hard working middle class guy's car you just rented? After all, its just a rental anyways; he has insurance.

Renting out your couch to a stranger? Ya nobody is going to end up in the morgue over that idea.

Nope, I'm with BK it's lunacy and the sign of the blow-off top.

Lots of tech and capital floating around looking for the next big idea. However a high IQ is useless with out experience and wisdom. It some cases it can be worse than useless, it can be dangerous. Iraq is an extreme example of when the smart asses at the top think they know it all.

As for Jerktech, it'll stop when the current bubble pops

OTOH, would have agree with this: things that are 'free' have no value - just exactly as we saw in the aftermath of the 'great society' buildout - whereupon those who got housing essentially for 'free', then proceeded to destroy it, one building, one block, one city at a time - with DETROIT as the 'capitol' example of what i'm referring to.

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: JerkTech for the Nouveau Rentiers

OTOH, would have agree with this: things that are 'free' have no value - just exactly as we saw in the aftermath of the 'great society' buildout - whereupon those who got housing essentially for 'free', then proceeded to destroy it, one building, one block, one city at a time - with DETROIT as the 'capitol' example of what i'm referring to.

And just that quick we hear the problem is President Johnson, welfare, and those awful people living in Detroit.
Somehow this is the root cause for smartphone apps that poach reservations at expensive trendy restaurants in the Bay Area.

[lektrode]

Re: JerkTech for the Nouveau Rentiers

And just that quick we hear the problem is President Johnson, welfare, and those awful people living in Detroit.
Somehow this is the root cause for smartphone apps that poach reservations at expensive trendy restaurants in the Bay Area.

ok T&B, i'll bite.

i admittedly used a politically-charged reference as an example of what mr Fox was getting at when he essentially said what i typed: that things that are 'free' have no value.

but methinks its just a bit of a reach to make that statement

adding: eye also expect to see - any second now - about how i'm somehow a racist for even hinting that city is an great example of exactly what Mr Fox is alluding to, in reference to 'jerktech for nouveau rentiers'

adding further - that i also like dc's take on this... and the more of the jerktech phenom we see develop, the more likely those scenarios will happen - since i happen to also believe that with near all of this 'lek-tech/social-media' junk thats been foisted upon us lately - is NOT making life better any more - just more 'profitable' for some -

its kinda like most of the latest software bells-n-whistle 'features' (and the 'great society')
read: JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN DOESNT MEAN THEY OUGHT TO

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: JerkTech for the Nouveau Rentiers

ok T&B, i'll bite.

i admittedly used a politically-charged reference as an example of what mr Fox was getting at when he essentially said what i typed: that things that are 'free' have no value.

but methinks its just a bit of a reach to make that statement

adding: eye also expect to see - any second now - about how i'm somehow a racist for even hinting that city is an great example of exactly what Mr Fox is alluding to, in reference to 'jerktech for nouveau rentiers'

Sorry, lek, I was overly sharp.
I hope you know I find you a fascinating and insightful person.

Still, we seem to learn more from each other when we drop our gang affiliations and leave our "colors" at the door.

I think, perhaps, you mean to explore the economic concept of "the tragedy of the commons".
If so, I agree it is central to this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

[lektrode]

Re: JerkTech for the Nouveau Rentiers

its OK, T&B - will also admit to being a bit too quick on the draw, at times, with my.... uhhh... colorful comments.

and yes, will also agree with you on the 'tragedy' - quite appropriate an obs.

[jk]

Re: JerkTech for the Nouveau Rentiers

It might not be lunacy. What if the big 30-year scale went like this?

Step 1: 1950 - pay middle class wages, create middle class

Step 2: 1980 - pay less than middle class wages, make up the difference with consumer debt

Step 3: 2010 - pay less than middle class wages and max out consumer debt, make up the difference by turning former ownership property of the middle class into rental property.

In a world where the median citizen cannot afford a home or a lawnmower or a table saw or a car, she can probably afford to rent these things sometimes.

This could be lunacy or it could be the next great step in the dissolution of the middle class and re-imposition of a two-class system with a greater roll for rentiers and inherited capital.

Why sell them stuff when you can own it and charge them rental fees and interest forever?

Car buying -> car financing -> car leasing -> monthly zipcar plan -> ????

Financialization hit a wall in 2008. The only way forward is to financialize more stuff. We need to sell derivatives on the car in your driveway. We need to securitize your couch. We need to auction off that parking space you just found. We need to turn the fish in the ocean into an allocatable and transferable property right. And then we need to sell futures on that. We need to rent out that ladder in our garage.

Rent, rent, rent - financialize, financialize, financialize.

If that is the new name of the game, they will find a way to commoditize, trade, and rent air soon enough. That's kind of what CO2 cap and trade markets are anyways.

Think about it? How much less could you pay middle class workers if they never owned anything, but only rented them on demand? And how much more could you bilk out of them in rents over the course of their lives? Maybe double or triple what you could get off interest from mortgages and credit cards and student loans in this low interest environment? Can you repackage and re-securitize this stuff on the back-end and gamble on it in between and going forward? If so, it's a goddamn goldmine in our brave-new-financial-free-for-all we call capitalism in the 21st century.

Screw hard work, building products, and selling them to make margin. Take something that was free and charge the maximum amount you can for it. I learned that quote from Matthew Lesko - he basically went onto grants.gov, copied and pasted free information into a book, dressed like the Riddler from Batman, and sold it for maximum cash.

i found this post incisive enough for me to send to a number of friends. well said.