> Pix has spiced up Brazil’s fusty banking sector, but it gives the central bank a worrying amount of power
I think a largely prefer a government-run payment system than an US company monopoly.
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I think a largely prefer a government-run payment system than an US company monopoly.
There are so many powerful and influential anti/small-government that are rabidly opposing anything made by the government, and offered to the people.
The argument is always the same:
- "It will stifle innovation"
- "It is unfair to business"
- "It will make people dependent on the government"
- "It will give government more access to spy on the citizens"
and the list goes on.
For decades the American people have been told that anything the government touches will be expensive, inefficient, and lead to a more taxes. Private sector knows best, and all that.
And it is especially bad right now. You had MAGA-influencers outright rejoicing that DOGE had laid off the 18F team, spreading the gospel that free (government-run) tax tools are an abomination.
realistically, the workforce that was hired around sorting through hundreds of thousands of bureaucratic paper documents in the 70s/80s is not the same workforce that can really build new products and the feds are mostly the former.
You'd be surprised how bad FAANG is, too.
In practice, it is software consulting companies that are doing all of the heavy lifting while the federal workers largely sit back and collect their paycheck - and talented operators are extremely rare there as well.