Entropy🌻Chase

When I enjoy a piece of art, or a film, or a book, or a song, or a game, it’s extremely important to me that it is a carefully crafted, coherent design, made by a human with whom I can emotionally relate, and with whom I share the common elements of the human condition. If any of these things are purely AI generated—yes, even if superficially you cannot immediately tell—it immediately sours the experience, because I feel manipulated, not communicated with. There is no relatable higher purpose behind a scene in a painting, there is no truth in any lyrics in a song, there is no carefully designed experience intended for me by playing a game—it becomes equivalent to a slot machine, and I become the drunk zombie boomer in Vegas repeatedly pulling the lever. I don’t think this is an uncommon feeling at all, and because the economy is the cumulative effects downstream of human desire, I think there is far less demand for such things than—for instance—psychopaths in Silicon Valley would like investors to believe.

“As mayor, I believe everyone has a role to play in contributing to our city,” Mayor Mamdani said gleefully, while announcing his proposed pied-à-terre tax and singling out hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin. “And some, a little bit more than others.” Well. Griffin and his firm, Citadel, contribute much more to New York than the average citizen, though perhaps in ways that are less obvious than the creators of Amazon and Google Maps. According to a memo by Citadel’s chief operating officer, the firm’s New York employees paid $2.3 billion in city and state taxes over the past five years. A proposed $6 billion Park Avenue office project for Citadel would require 6,000 construction jobs. (And Griffin himself has donated $650 million to philanthropic causes in New York.) Moreover, like tech entrepreneurs, hedge-fund managers create value that accrues to all of society. Apart from building projects and tax revenue, firms like Citadel help to ensure that capital is allocated efficiently throughout the economy, which ultimately makes workers throughout the entire economy more productive, increasing their wages and living standards.

You always get this 'looking after pensioners' nonsense in defence of hedge funds. In fact 90% of American retirees, of which 81% receive private pensions, also require social security. Most pension payouts are tiny, so this 'do better' means virtually nothing to retired workers. The hedge fund gamblers use clients' funds mainly as a collateral cushion - they leverage in (borrow cheaply) $3 for every $1. Investment targets are selected solely for high returns. They line their pockets, nothing else matters.

It's very difficult to see how Steve's claims could be considered reasonable, even if we just consider basic facts. I wrote a quick document and quoted some basic numbers that clearly do not agree w Steve's portrayal. Link below.

Subtle but deep point here: Capitalism is driven more by the entry/exit of small central planners than it is by markets & prices.