Do we have to litter the frontpage with articles about how the american economy is going to hell?<p>You get the impression the world is going under.<p>Sure this is a startup-forum so it effects funding etc but still.<p>We are the guys and girls that solve this, not the people that whine about it, right?
Sorry to disagree with you. All the articles concerning this crisis I have read linked from here were really interesting, unlike those other sites (you know, digg/slashdot/reddit/etc) where half the posts are crap.
There is no solution to resources which were already misallocated. The best we can do is to 1) not missallocate more resources (via a ballout) and 2) end the system that credited the debt bubble. Here's how to do that:<p>End Fractional Reserve Banking<p>Allow banks only to lend their deposits. This also eliminates the need for central banks - let people use 100% deposit banks when they want deposit security. This will prevent large debt bubbles (speculative investment bubbles) and the resulting massive misallocation of resources.
End Inflationary Monetary Policies<p>Never print more money. Period. Use smaller denominations as slow deflation occurs due to an increasing population. This will keep prices in line with value and allow people to save without making high risk investments.
Do we have to litter the frontpage with articles about what kind of articles we should have on the front page?<p>You get the impression the site is going under.<p>Sure this is a forum so we're interested in what's on the front page etc but still.<p>We are the guys and girls that <i>vote on which articles are good</i>, not the people that whine about it, right?
It affects funding, revenue, and side-employment (relevant if you're self-funding), IPO share price, and a host of other startup-related things. In addition, this is a news event of immense scale. The global economy is probably melting down.<p><i>We are the guys and girls that solve this...</i><p>That depends, I guess, on if we're the kind of people who keep others in houses, lend to banks, evaluate debtor's credit rating, produce the things people need in order to live, or have the intellect and authority to make the right policy decisions in this frankly harrowing time.<p>If a meltdown really happens, starting up will be a whole different ball game. Changing currency valuations will strongly influence things like who gets to be an industrial economy vs. who gets to be a service economy, who gets to have functioning infrastructure and who doesn't, and who can afford food and energy.<p>Though we are all a little disaster-fatigued, the global financial freeze-up that could wreak havoc on our abilities to make a living surely warrants attention on the front page.
"Sure this is a startup-forum so it effects funding etc but still."<p>It affects just about everything. I remember during the last big downturn, there was a piece on the BBC about a couple who had lost everything they had, in part because she had been a Herbalife [v. big in the 80s] sales person, and (as she put it) "when people are feeling the pinch the first thing they can do without is a herbal dietary supplement." Her business died almost overnight.<p>Now, maybe your startup idea is about something which gives real value and reduces costs of some vital business process. But if it's not, this will bite you very hard indeed. And even if it is, you might still find your potential customers are very cost-averse.<p>Personally, I see this downturn as a big opportunity, but it will be accompanied by plenty of pain first.
We haven't had a single quarter of negative growth, unemployment is at 6%, and people are calling it a "depression". +1 point for the sensationalist media.
> We are the guys and girls that solve this, not the people that whine about it, right?<p>I don't know about you but I don't have a trillion dollars. And I bet most readers here have debt due to funding their startups and not having a safe job.<p>This is a case of renegotiating the best you can and trying not to pass forward whatever pain you get. If you do so, you'll be as good as dead in startup-land when this recession is over.
My Solution to the financial crisis -<p>I read an article on diamond synthesis posted here recently. Now as the president, I would order a silent meeting with the head of the companies leading the diamond sysnthesis industry - Gemisis and apollo. Their work is synthesizing the gemstone into identical physical makeup as natural diamonds. The benefits for superconductors and microprocessors are tremendous as well as the impact of the diamond as a commodity trade. Some think it could well replace steel.<p>That being said, I would murder the ceo's replace them with body doubles, close their companies and destroy any evidence of their technologies.<p>Then make the find of the century....the largest diamond mine in the world located right under alaska. build a mine, staff it, then back the dollar with diamonds.<p>The dollar would be worth substance again and the significance would be huge around the world...
We are definitely the people who will dig out of the hole. Well, at least the people who will design better shovels :)<p>Even so, it's good to know what you might be facing.
no, we are not the ones to "solve" it, because there is no button to push, method to be invented, or novel approach to making everyone solvent with web technology.<p>what we are, we're the people who will live with reduced wealth for decades to come. debt must be unwound and asset prices reverted to the mean. there is no shortcut. regimes that have taken shortcuts have ended violently. for example, monarchist france and weimar germany.<p>we are, ONCE AGAIN (like 2002), attempting to put off (inevitable) deflation with hyperinflation. or do you think pumping like $3 trillion globally into markets will have no impact on currencies? the dollar will not make it to 2025