The market IS very good at that, what it's not good at is handling externalities for citizens of a country that arise from taking the most efficient market path.

Cool theory. But there are confounding factors: H1B employees get exploited like a species of indentured servants. Lazy managers like that they are compliant and happy to implement stupid ideas.

> we don't need a central planning committee

Ironic phrasing, as in my experience the steelman argument in favor of these companies is "The customer is really bad at thinking through their own requirements."

Then let that customer fail, and others prevail.

:D That customer is most customers.

Is it though? Markets may be perfect, but humans are not. There’s plenty of laziness, incompetence and corruption, even in capitalism.

I guess it’s the least worst option we’ve found. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t need any guardrails at all though.

I always marvel how “hacker news” is so pro capitalism and pro billionaire class. Site should be named “silicon valley hub” or something.

Late stage capitalism is a scourge for humanity.

Sir, this is HN, not Reddit.

Could have fooled me, especially with completely useless comments like the one you just posted.

Hey man, I don't bite the hand that feeds me.

> we don't need a central planning committee.

That is an ideological creed, not a fact. It might be true, but you're just smuggling in your priors with no evidence.

I agree that we don’t need a central planning committee.

But if you’ve ever worked with the public, you know there is almost no cultural onus on nontechnical people to properly hire or contract technical people for technical tasks.

So…no: The market isn’t very good at this - yet.

When was the last time the federal/state government failed to collect taxes? Or disburse social services? When did your bank not credit your interest?

This stuff is all contracted or subcontracted to these sorts of companies. You don’t need technical geniuses. You need good enough at the lowest cost.

The IRS getting okay work out of a contractor is not the same as a random food manufacturing or trucking company trying to contract work out.

Consulting companies, especially the largest ones, are known to employ more hacks than competent folks - because they can. (This is the “lowest cost” you mentioned.)

Just read the stories here about the big names.

Succeeding in not being sued - most of the time - doesn’t mean you’re doing good work or good business.