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America's new millionaire class: Plumbers and HVAC entrepreneurs

(www.wsj.com)
185 points hhs | 1 comments | 13 Oct 24 15:35 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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elawler24 ◴[13 Oct 24 22:07 UTC] No.41832117[source]▶
My dad bought a failing HVAC business 30+ years ago, then made it profitable over the years and sold it back to his employees last year. He had the option to take a few highly lucrative PE deals, but it was clear they would squeeze the life out of the employees and customers he had worked hard to support over many years. I can’t imagine how low quality this kind of trade work will become if PE owns them all. It will be similar to vet, dentist, and dermatology clinics which now feel like factories that don’t care about the humans on the other end - often employing fear tactics and sales quotas to incentivize upsells.
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1. jongjong ◴[13 Oct 24 23:07 UTC] No.41832549[source]▶
In a way, our current system has similar kinds of incentives as Communism. The core incentive is to avoid suffering. There is no upside, only downside protection.

The secondary incentive is usually to sabotage every aspect of the work that the boss isn't paying attention to because 'hidden dirt' is the only way for an employee to gain leverage over their employer.

Unlike in communism, labor is not associated with any higher social ideals. There is literally zero reason for anyone to do things right.

This is why we have enshitification. The system needs goodwill in order to function well. Without goodwill, we get piles upon piles of hidden dirt which accumulate. We end up with products and experiences which seem great superficially, but only so long as you don't do anything unexpected like peeking under the carpet.