Post B3LYKIm46WIWFJIE8O by philipbrewer@wandering.shop
(DIR) More posts by philipbrewer@wandering.shop
(DIR) Post #B3JPBO89X5OILeNZia by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-14T12:30:58Z
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Lending an borrowing money is an important market service, but highly susceptible to corruption, exploitation, and may magnify instability. Lending and borrowing money is, in a way a form of gambling. Gambling itself is also highly susceptible to corruption and exploitation.Lending and borrowing money to facilitate gambling or "investment" is the nucleation point for market failures and suffering. "Innovation" in these sectors eg. klarna, kalshi, polymarket et. al are not good signs.
(DIR) Post #B3JPHeoQQHkPp78oTY by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-14T12:32:06Z
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These economic sectors should be boring "over regulated" ... stodgy and glamorous.
(DIR) Post #B3JPUgJW9T7kFEtXTk by alberto_cottica@mastodon.green
2026-02-14T12:34:25Z
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@futurebird fully agree.
(DIR) Post #B3JPjIBi8LCzlOD65w by burnitdown@beige.party
2026-02-14T12:37:03Z
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@futurebird Jesus didn't flip tables for nothing!
(DIR) Post #B3JTYrcaS5QAI142Ns by ephesossh@mastodon.online
2026-02-14T13:19:59Z
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@futurebird I cannot get over how the *primary* selling point for Kalshit seems to be "it's legal in all 50 states!"Like... that just doesn't sound as convincing as they think it does.
(DIR) Post #B3JbKbfpkP3qPMINA8 by Smoljaguar@spacey.space
2026-02-14T14:46:55Z
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@futurebird I don't really get why klarna is so reviled, it seems to me like it's just a credit card in a different shape
(DIR) Post #B3JbYzblYZomh3FifA by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-14T14:49:42Z
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@Smoljaguar Credit cards can be pretty bad, but they are better regulated than klarna due to the industry being much older and many lessons learned. Extending a line of credit at point of purchase to *everyone* is a very different. This is lending money to many people who will end up paying much much more interest than if they made the purchase with a credit card. Or they will never repay and this will make everything from rent an apartment to even getting a job harder. Many are very young
(DIR) Post #B3JeY3wOGJxvhh9Cng by dlakelan@mastodon.sdf.org
2026-02-14T15:22:58Z
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@futurebirdA lot of people think that lending money works differently than it really does. And by a lot, I mean even **most economists get this wrong**I dont k ow about Klarna etc, but Banks and Credit cards issues by banks dont "lend out money that other people have and dont need right now" and the interest isnt to "compensate people for saving and not consuming with their money today"those are standard economic arguments about money and interest.
(DIR) Post #B3JeY88wdaNujn3HvM by dlakelan@mastodon.sdf.org
2026-02-14T15:23:00Z
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@futurebirdThey are DEEPLY WRONG.Banks manufacture new money when they give loans. they dont take a little out of your checking account and all the other checking accounts and then send you an IOU hey your money went to Futurebird for a while...Futurebird takes a loan and the total amount of money in the world increases. so just keep it in mind when you think about moneylending and whether it is a legitimate activity. back in the day of all money being cash the process of lending worked
(DIR) Post #B3JeYCfhniy0mYPVXk by dlakelan@mastodon.sdf.org
2026-02-14T15:23:02Z
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@futurebirdmore like the traditional view and the process of collecting cash and arranging for it to go out for use to enable liquidity in markets and to secure the cash with vaults and all that stuff... that was real. that hasn't been a real service for at least my whole lifetime if not 100 years or more.
(DIR) Post #B3JeycMssvBO0WCbcO by dlakelan@mastodon.sdf.org
2026-02-14T15:23:04Z
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@futurebirdmoney lending today is largely a social scam, with banks manufacturing the capacity for capitalists to legally steal others assets on the basis of fake collateral inflated in stock market bubbles and such. the tech boom happened in large part because govt gave banks access to a lot of money printing power in 2010 and they collaborated with technofascists to realign the way business works into nearly pure extraction schemes.
(DIR) Post #B3JeydKRJUoyzE4ARk by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-14T15:27:56Z
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@dlakelan I think loans make sense for some large purchases. Things like a house or starting a business. If you have a lot of people in your economy who *need* to borrow money for small purchases that economy isn't working very well. These smaller loans tend to be much "more expensive."Borrow $100k pay back $140kBorrow $100 pay back $500 That's no good for anyone trying to build wealth. It prevents wealth building. But I'm convinced there are those who want everyone in debt for life.
(DIR) Post #B3JfJqcf59kOIXhmuu by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-14T15:31:47Z
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@dlakelan Historically "lending" and hold debts is a way to keep people in your power. It's a form of social control.I'd like to see a big jubilee (cancel most "smaller" debts) followed by a much more stodgy and regulated lending space. The jubilee would stimulate the economy and better spending. The stodgy lending would slow overheating and transfer wealth OUT and DOWN.
(DIR) Post #B3JfmeTBLTNH0L0R6G by emilianosandri@mastodon.bsd.cafe
2026-02-14T15:36:52Z
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@futurebird @Smoljaguar An awful amount of tech startups boils down to less regulated versions of century old businesses in a shinier package.Post dotcom Silicon Valley is more about marketing and politics than tech.
(DIR) Post #B3JkzO4E8l0LfVE3Hs by dlakelan@mastodon.sdf.org
2026-02-14T16:35:12Z
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@futurebirdI am with you when it comes to wanting to see changes. One ive often thought about is to make banks unable to manufacture money, and so make them lend out money they borrow from others (a pure intermediary).This could be done by requiring banks to sell CDs to get the money they lend (a CD is them borrowing from you). And to manufacture more money make the government give each person an equal new amount in a govt account.
(DIR) Post #B3KUrwbSRqngM39rGa by RuchiraSDatta@mathstodon.xyz
2026-02-15T01:09:21Z
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@futurebird "Lending and borrowing money is, in a way, a form of gambling." Was thinking about this very thing earlier today. Though there are certainly subtleties, it's still a good thing to remember.
(DIR) Post #B3LY4Z4PkT3M9aN6ES by erincandescent@akko.erincandescent.net
2026-02-15T12:33:36.928058Z
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@futurebird @Smoljaguar remember also that with credit cards you do not pay any interest for purchases repaid in full on the next repayment date. a substantial portion of credit card users never or only very very infrequently pay any interest
(DIR) Post #B3LY4ZjtGGEKEDmDse by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-15T13:19:59Z
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@erincandescent @Smoljaguar "a substantial portion of credit card users never or only very very infrequently pay any interest"Really? The industry regards such customers as a problem. The entire goal is to transition people from not paying interest to pay a little "just because of this circumstance just this once..." to a perpetual cycle of debt. I thought the above was a kind of comforting story that we hear. One that helps keep people silent about just how much they are paying.
(DIR) Post #B3LYElOSmkc7Gmc2E4 by Smoljaguar@spacey.space
2026-02-15T13:21:49Z
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@futurebird From what I can see, basically the same regulations seem to apply to klarna as to credit cards? Like klarna will still refuse to give out credit to some people (see https://www.klarna.com/us/customer-service/why-was-my-purchase-not-approved-with-klarna/), and have similarish representative APR to credit cards from a quick spotcheck I made
(DIR) Post #B3LYKIm46WIWFJIE8O by philipbrewer@wandering.shop
2026-02-15T13:22:46Z
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@futurebird @erincandescent @Smoljaguar I think it's true.Credit card companies make SO MUCH just from the swipe fees, that they're happy to have affluent customers who never pay interest.I mean, those customers don't pay interest, but they also don't go bankrupt owing the credit card company a bunch of money.
(DIR) Post #B3LYTUmSplIi5bratM by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-15T13:24:31Z
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@Smoljaguar Klarna is hardly screening people at all.
(DIR) Post #B3LYZaxskp2F0U73AW by DrorBedrack@mastodon.social
2026-02-15T13:25:34Z
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@futurebird @erincandescent @Smoljaguar Where I live the credit card company charges a comission from the business out of every transaction.So they dont really care much about clients being in debt or not. That's a side business for them.
(DIR) Post #B3LZ4j6oWax5F58R2e by gregeganSF@mathstodon.xyz
2026-02-15T13:31:11Z
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@futurebird @erincandescent @Smoljaguar Credit card companies make a lot of profit on merchant fees. I don't know how it compares to interest, but it's something like one or two percent on all transactions.
(DIR) Post #B3LZ5e2WrCOPoIZJmC by Smoljaguar@spacey.space
2026-02-15T13:31:21Z
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@futurebird From what I can see different US states and UK and EU all have different rules which would affect the discussion. I do agree that when they were founded it was basically a regulatory arbitrage, but think that regulators are starting to force them into being more sensible. Obviously there are reasons not to trust them, but the stats on their website are interesting to me (https://www.klarna.com/uk/wikipink/)
(DIR) Post #B3LZilVn0hguHHuQYi by kbm0@mastodon.social
2026-02-15T13:38:27Z
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@futurebird @erincandescent @Smoljaguar Here in the UK I'd say it is a widespread practice for people to use a credit card for most purchases and then pay it off 100% at the end of every month without incurring interest. Credit cards are considered safer than debit cards for things like online shopping because of the insurance protections they offer against mis-selling and the like.
(DIR) Post #B3LZsyOvwVKB9KZOFs by CowboyWho@libranigans.com
2026-02-15T13:37:48Z
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@philipbrewer @futurebird @erincandescent @Smoljaguar Swipe fees have been stupidly high for sometime. I wonder if the EU's new payment provider scheme will effect all this: https://youtu.be/rJq9QOo8Ak0
(DIR) Post #B3LZszz83Ps63sVoJM by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-15T13:39:58Z
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@CowboyWho @philipbrewer @erincandescent @Smoljaguar If government print currency why can't they facilitate transactions? Do it cheaply. Is it just because the sector is mobbed up and they can't wrestle control from the people making money from it?Why can't I have a plastic government debit card and put dollars on it at the post office and pay my taxes and such?
(DIR) Post #B3LZuxYm2dHR7T7UAa by Smoljaguar@spacey.space
2026-02-15T13:40:37Z
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@futurebird @CowboyWho @philipbrewer @erincandescent I think I read that Brazil have something like this which is very successful so clearly it is possible
(DIR) Post #B3LZyEBkfmU3YquSy8 by DrorBedrack@mastodon.social
2026-02-15T13:41:12Z
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@futurebird I think while they may seem similar because they both have a risk and payout elements, they are very different. Lending and borrowing (and investing) is an important economic tool. Gambling is for entertainment only.Some "innovations" try to blur the lines and make investment into gambling and entertainment, or make gambling seem like an investment, and that's evil.
(DIR) Post #B3LaLGeVg7yprZLb3A by futurebird@sauropods.win
2026-02-15T13:45:26Z
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@CowboyWho @philipbrewer @erincandescent @Smoljaguar I feel like someone is going to attack me for even bringing this up. But why does this have to be expensive?I'm not even talking about credit. Just letting people use their US currency for commerce.
(DIR) Post #B3LfxHmiPsDg9M8Jyi by umdze@fosstodon.org
2026-02-15T14:48:18Z
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@futurebird you're gonna flip when you find out how "kalshi" parses into lojban...
(DIR) Post #B3LgQw2XpKzNOhfupU by log@mastodon.sdf.org
2026-02-15T14:53:34Z
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@futurebird @CowboyWho @philipbrewer @erincandescent @Smoljaguar There is a significant lobbying pressure on federal legislators to demolish any legislation that would introduce government competition to industries already served by private business, even if those businesses fuck over everyone hard and a government option would be the only possible way to get unfucked. If the US Postal Service did not already exist, UPS, FedEx, DHL, et al would have killed it.
(DIR) Post #B3LgnxgxqqDfBIYqRs by philipbrewer@wandering.shop
2026-02-15T14:57:47Z
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@futurebird @CowboyWho @erincandescent @Smoljaguar Of course you can just use actual currency for transactions for free (except a tiny but growing handful of in-person shops that don't want to deal with cash). It's when you're not in-person that using currency becomes complex.
(DIR) Post #B3LgrD3bBGkthhhG8O by 5klp471@4bear.com
2026-02-15T14:58:20Z
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@futurebird @CowboyWho @philipbrewer @erincandescent @Smoljaguar Money, dear boy.
(DIR) Post #B3LhZEBmKjp3xLVpGS by llewelly@sauropods.win
2026-02-15T15:06:23Z
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@futurebird @CowboyWho @philipbrewer @erincandescent @Smoljaguar many governments do, but in the USA government, all the lobbying for facilitation has primarily favored transactions that investors love, at the expense of transactions that ordinary people need for everyday life.
(DIR) Post #B3LhaLcmArPtJ3frQO by philipbrewer@wandering.shop
2026-02-15T15:06:35Z
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@futurebird @CowboyWho @erincandescent @Smoljaguar Yes, I think this is almost entirely regulatory capture by banks.I means, Europeans have been able to make same-day payments for 30 years now, and the US only turned on FedNow about two years ago, and the banks are still being pretty slow about adopting it.The banks are having to buckle under just a bit, though. Once a few banks provide it, the rest will have to do so to compete.
(DIR) Post #B3Li7Y7Qk0lTc5qOvY by brouhaha@mastodon.social
2026-02-15T15:12:33Z
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@futurebird @CowboyWho @philipbrewer @erincandescent @Smoljaguar But...how would the banksters collect their 3% of every financial transaction?Will no one think of the banksters?
(DIR) Post #B3LiC1DiU7Nj1nupgO by saltywizard@beige.party
2026-02-15T15:13:21Z
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@futurebird @CowboyWho @philipbrewer @erincandescent @Smoljaguar the 'plastic gov't debit card' would also be a great vehicle for providing the citizenry with their universal basic income.#UBI
(DIR) Post #B3LiY1TUDgSeBhmgdM by qkslvrwolf@mastodon.social
2026-02-15T15:17:20Z
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@futurebird @CowboyWho @philipbrewer @erincandescent @Smoljaguar Honestly, I think we basically have what we need, we just need to find providers who use it:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FedNow