5 ms·

Pareto's observations back in 1896 about land ownership in Italy still hold true...

by IndexCardBox 5y ago

JoiDegn 5y ago
Yeah I think this is not really surprising. Why would bitcoin be any different than e.g. wealth more generally.
- zepto 5y ago
  It wouldn’t be, but you wouldn’t know that from the hype.
  - exporectomy 5y ago
    Really? Can you point to any hype from the last, say, 5 years that even hints at thinly spread mining or ownership? Individuals were mining on their PC in its first couple of years, but that ended long ago.
    - zepto 5y ago
      That’s a straw man. The hype is all about how it’s distributed and nobody controls it, when in practice it’s not much different from conventional money except that those with power are even more hidden.
      - exporectomy 5y ago
        Its distributedness is still worth something even if only a small number of people control most of it. If they go rogue or get stopped by the government, others can take over. That's quite unlike any centralized system.
- arcticbull 5y ago
  My understanding is it expends unbelievable quantities of resources pretending otherwise.
  - mechanical_bear 5y ago
    What is “it” in this case?
    - DSingularity 5y ago
      Isn’t it obvious?
    - nabakin 5y ago
      Bitcoin
      - mechanical_bear 5y ago
        Bitcoin is not a unitary rational actor, exhibiting thought or action.
  - anonporridge 5y ago
    Where are people pretending that bitcoin will fix wealth inequality?
    - asdff 5y ago
      In the thread about Bitcoin and Costa Rica posted a few weeks ago.
    - frankbreetz 5y ago
      I hear this presented as a by-product of bitcoin all the time. People also say it will create world peace. Here are the first two google searches: https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinrivers/2021/06/15/how-bitcoin-can-fix-global-inequality-one-developing-nation-at-a-time/?sh=4c4f679b2aa5 https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinrivers/2021/06/15/how-bit... https://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-how-bitcoin-can-end-income-inequality-in-2020 https://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-how-bitcoin-can-end-...
    - m0zg 5y ago
      As an asset not really subject to inflation (AKA tax on the poor), it could be helpful for those of moderate means to protect themselves against losing what little they have. I've experienced hyperinflation first hand some 25 years ago - it's not fun. I protected myself somewhat by buying (and then gradually selling) dollars, but that won't work if the dollar starts circling down the shitter, which it might. Going into foreign currencies is also not ideal because they are not legal tender, so you'll have to exit into your local currency, and to protect _themselves_ against inflation the currency exchanges pretty dramatically increase the spread, so you lose some money converting back and forth. BTC is not legal tender either, but it could be used "under the table" in lieu of cash if shit hits the fan, much like silver, gold, or ammo. With a modicum of lawmaking it could also be used for payments between companies, which in hyper-inflationary economy based on fiat currencies make inflation even worse, because there's a latency between the time the company gets supplies and the time it ships product, and the company must be able to afford the new batch of supplies, so they eyeball what the prices will be, say, 2 weeks from now and set their prices accordingly (and sandbag on top of that as well). Do this 10 times through the supply chain and you get eye watering prices for final product on the shelves. BTC would fix that. It did not exist at the time, so people would barter instead, but that's pretty horrible, since you don't always have the stuff the other side needs, so you end up with horrendous chains of exchanges which fall through from time to time, causing a cascade of problems. TL;DR: BTC could come in handy when printer goes brrrr.
mpfundstein 5y ago
haha. i feel like everywhere i look, i see the power law in action.

Pareto's observations back in 1896 about land ownership in Italy still hold true...

JoiDegn 5y ago

Yeah I think this is not really surprising. Why would bitcoin be any different than e.g. wealth more generally.

zepto 5y ago
It wouldn’t be, but you wouldn’t know that from the hype.
- exporectomy 5y ago
  Really? Can you point to any hype from the last, say, 5 years that even hints at thinly spread mining or ownership? Individuals were mining on their PC in its first couple of years, but that ended long ago.
  - zepto 5y ago
    That’s a straw man. The hype is all about how it’s distributed and nobody controls it, when in practice it’s not much different from conventional money except that those with power are even more hidden.
    - exporectomy 5y ago
      Its distributedness is still worth something even if only a small number of people control most of it. If they go rogue or get stopped by the government, others can take over. That's quite unlike any centralized system.
arcticbull 5y ago
My understanding is it expends unbelievable quantities of resources pretending otherwise.
- mechanical_bear 5y ago
  What is “it” in this case?
  - DSingularity 5y ago
    Isn’t it obvious?
  - nabakin 5y ago
    Bitcoin
    - mechanical_bear 5y ago
      Bitcoin is not a unitary rational actor, exhibiting thought or action.
- anonporridge 5y ago
  Where are people pretending that bitcoin will fix wealth inequality?
  - asdff 5y ago
    In the thread about Bitcoin and Costa Rica posted a few weeks ago.
  - frankbreetz 5y ago
    I hear this presented as a by-product of bitcoin all the time. People also say it will create world peace. Here are the first two google searches: https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinrivers/2021/06/15/how-bitcoin-can-fix-global-inequality-one-developing-nation-at-a-time/?sh=4c4f679b2aa5 https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinrivers/2021/06/15/how-bit... https://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-how-bitcoin-can-end-income-inequality-in-2020 https://www.businessinsider.com/this-is-how-bitcoin-can-end-...
  - m0zg 5y ago
    As an asset not really subject to inflation (AKA tax on the poor), it could be helpful for those of moderate means to protect themselves against losing what little they have. I've experienced hyperinflation first hand some 25 years ago - it's not fun. I protected myself somewhat by buying (and then gradually selling) dollars, but that won't work if the dollar starts circling down the shitter, which it might. Going into foreign currencies is also not ideal because they are not legal tender, so you'll have to exit into your local currency, and to protect _themselves_ against inflation the currency exchanges pretty dramatically increase the spread, so you lose some money converting back and forth. BTC is not legal tender either, but it could be used "under the table" in lieu of cash if shit hits the fan, much like silver, gold, or ammo. With a modicum of lawmaking it could also be used for payments between companies, which in hyper-inflationary economy based on fiat currencies make inflation even worse, because there's a latency between the time the company gets supplies and the time it ships product, and the company must be able to afford the new batch of supplies, so they eyeball what the prices will be, say, 2 weeks from now and set their prices accordingly (and sandbag on top of that as well). Do this 10 times through the supply chain and you get eye watering prices for final product on the shelves. BTC would fix that. It did not exist at the time, so people would barter instead, but that's pretty horrible, since you don't always have the stuff the other side needs, so you end up with horrendous chains of exchanges which fall through from time to time, causing a cascade of problems. TL;DR: BTC could come in handy when printer goes brrrr.

mpfundstein 5y ago

haha. i feel like everywhere i look, i see the power law in action.