Re:Where Each U.S. State Gets Its Tax Revenue From
by abtinf on Friday November 06, 2026 @12:34PM
(#50395505)
Off topic: I’ve never seen a flywheel analogy that actually understands what a flywheel is. People love to use it to describe a forever growing thing, when it’s actually just a buffer.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:Where Each U.S. State Gets Its Tax Revenue From
by tylermk04 on Friday November 06, 2026 @12:40PM
(#50395588)
Ah yes, I too have noticed the "prevalence of flywheel-analogy-misuse" flywheel.
Re:Where Each U.S. State Gets Its Tax Revenue From
by antisthenes on Friday November 06, 2026 @12:42PM
(#50395617)
In this case, the flywheel analogy only demonstrates is that there is low friction in the legal system aspect.
If we are talking about a flywheel as an energy storage, low friction is a key component of its ability to store energy as a buffer. If this was not the case, the flywheel would lose its energy quickly on its own and the buffer would be gone.
> People love to use it to describe a forever growing thing, when it’s actually just a buffer.
A thing has other characteristics other than its intended purpose. Your assumption that you need to use intended purpose for a successful analogy is false.
Re:Where Each U.S. State Gets Its Tax Revenue From
by abtinf on Friday November 06, 2026 @09:01PM
(#50400937)
The parent was not making an argument about low friction.
Re:Where Each U.S. State Gets Its Tax Revenue From
by stackbutterflow on Friday November 06, 2026 @02:36PM
(#50397272)
I was about to comment on this too. Isn't what the parent comment describes a virtuous circle?
A quick online search returns mostly business related articles so I guess it's some corporate analogy.
Re:Where Each U.S. State Gets Its Tax Revenue From
by NekkoDroid on Friday November 06, 2026 @07:36PM
(#50400433)
> Isn't what the parent comment describes a virtuous circle?
I'd rather call it a positive feedback loop.