this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2024
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A Boring Dystopia

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[–] [email protected] -3 points 2 months ago

What's the point of criticizing if nothing's going to change? Why not use your energy towards something that you actually have control over?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

So in the future, we pay the homeless in front of the store to get groceries for us for 5% of the price we would have to pay, with a 20% tip? Ah, wolt 2.0.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Imagine you have to always pay a certain proportion of your total wealth. Although this would literally make make the concept of money redundant.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

And now I'm stealing the product

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Let me know how well that works out for you

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago

"If you're starving, we'll use an API with your bank to charge you $10 more than your entire net worth. In that moment we'll offer you a credit card with a 37% adjustable interest rate that only adjusts up to cover the overage (but credit card takes 6-8 business days to process, so you will go over). We'll then be left with no choice but to also process an overdraft fee on your bank account with daily penalties for the overage since you are being irresponsible.

And we'll use AI to generate a picture of everyone you love in a room laughing at you, because fuck you. By overdrafting, you triggered a clause in our user agreement (that you agreed to) which states that we can charge you whatever we think it's fair for that picture. The picture will then regenerate each month, indefinitely, on an auto subscription, unless you cancel by hand delivering a paper cancellation form to our cancellation office in Guam."

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

"I will make it legal"

-Capitalists since before Reagan, but especially and most successfully during and after Reagan.

They've literally made political bribery as legal as ~~apple pie~~ assault rifles, you think some consumer protection laws will stand in the way of their greed?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

The business model for many many many businesses is to give the rich a good deal to encourage more business, and to give the poor a mediocre to poor deal, because they have less options and the volume is lower.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If corpos start dynamically charging for shit, im gonna start to dynamically disassemble they're stores with vodka, some paper and a lighter.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Then spend almost the rest of your life in prison. What a brilliant strategy.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Come on, live a little!

[–] [email protected] 38 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (4 children)

I think it's cute that people think the dynamic pricing is charging the poor less,

If you see someone shoplifting anything from Kroger or one of their subsidiaries, no you didn't. Now cause a distraction while that shoplifter does the Lord's work.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Charging the poor more is, first and foremost, stupid. Giving them bad products and/or services that will cost them more in the long run? That I can see. But you never want to charge them more upfront. You'll always want to charge the rich more, because the rich have more money and are more willing to spend it (when it benefits them), and you want them to give you that money.

Joel Spolsky wrote a great post about this two decades ago (and it's still relevant today). The idea is as follows:

Lets say you have two potential customers - one rich who can afford to buy your product for $2 and one poor who can only afford to buy it for $1. If you charge $1 you'll be able to sell it to both of them and get $2. If you charge $2 you'll only sell to the rich - also getting $2.

Joel says that if you find a way (e.g. - by creating different versions) to sell it to the rich customer for $2 and the poor customer for $1 - you'll get $3. Which is more than $2.

You, on the other hand, suggest that it's going to get offered to the rich customer for $1 and the poor customer for $2. But then the poor customer won't be able to afford it. They won't be it or maybe even steal it - either way you won't get $2 from them. You'll only get the $1 from the rich customer.

$1 is less than $3. It's even less than $1. If you want to earn money - this is the worst outcome. Why do you think capitalists hate the poor more than they love money?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Being poor is expensive as hell. Ironically being richer makes things around you cheaper.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

Which is why parents need to teach their kids about the realities of life. Modern life, specifically. And prioritize them accordingly.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Fediverse has a real Hoffman vibe sometimes and I'm here for it

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago
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