Um, the only problem is that the "new monopolies" aren't monopolies. I'll ignore the fact that the writer doesn't seem to know the difference between a monopoly and a monopsony.
But even so, somehow in this monopsonistic market, finding talent is difficult. Salaries are moving ever upwards, and you hear nothing but complaints from participants outside the alleged monopsony about how hard it is to find people. (I'm one of them.)
That doesn't sound like a monopsony. That sounds like a competitive market where demand outstrips supply.
Demand is only outstripping supply because they aren't paying sufficiently. That's the essence of the market. If they would only pay more, then demand would certainly not outstrip supply.
Even so, the laborious market as the writer describes it would be better characterized as an olipsony, as collaboration was required to perform the action the article is speaking against.
I'm not familiar enough to speak on anything else in the article, but this in particular bothered me.
This excerpt is pretty poorly written. He makes a bunch of assertions without adding much in the way of facts. I dunno, there may be a case to make there. But he certainly hasn't made it.
This article just doesn't ring true to me at all. I am a developer in the Bay Area. I have helped recruit other developers from Google and other dominant Bay Area companies. I have not yet encountered the idea that developers ever feared career reprisals when leaving Facebook, Google, etc. Could be selection bias, I guess.
The reason why this article is hardly comprehensible is that author is reaching out to a libertarian crowd while noting a problem generally noticed by the left - labor rights.
What a lot of hot air. Silicon valley is one of the best places to work, and engineers are one of the privileged professions that are doing great even in the down economy. Even if big companies are colluding on non-poach agreements, why would that have any effect on startups? I'll poach Google/Facebook/Apple employees all day long.
Also, get a load of this:
> One team, he recounts, worked for 110 hours per week for nine months straight. But “everyone believed they were making something important.”
Bull-fucking-shit. Bullshit. You and your team did not work 15.7 hours every single day for 9 months. That's bullshit and the guy has no credibility.
Monopolies? Seriously, tech industry in general is probably one of the most dynamic market right now. Most big players secure dominance for barely 10 years, and only a select few will continue its legacy for any time longer than that. New players pop up providing new goods and services pop up all the time as well. If companies in tech industry are referred to as monopolies, there is no tangible meaning left in the term "monopoly".
The article asks a valid question: "Why aren't the employees of the cartel members baying for blood?" Presumably it is because any compensation from their employer will be more than cancelled by damage to their career, by the same employer?
There is a monopoly at work though. Since prospective employers engage data mining companies to build profiles from any and all Internet content, and there is only one Internet, the Internet has a monopoly over employee's reputations. If your reputation is tarnished on the Internet, for example, by being named as a plaintiff against your employer, it will be tarnished with every employer.
the TechCrunch link posted today shows very strong evidence of collusion and criminal conspiracy, but I'd agree that this Harpers thing builds up a whole tower of empty, meaningless nada on top of that very solid foundation.
[+] [-] yummyfajitas|14 years ago|reply
But even so, somehow in this monopsonistic market, finding talent is difficult. Salaries are moving ever upwards, and you hear nothing but complaints from participants outside the alleged monopsony about how hard it is to find people. (I'm one of them.)
That doesn't sound like a monopsony. That sounds like a competitive market where demand outstrips supply.
[+] [-] orijing|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] HPBEggo|14 years ago|reply
I'm not familiar enough to speak on anything else in the article, but this in particular bothered me.
[+] [-] tsotha|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wheremiah|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dimitar|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dasil003|14 years ago|reply
Also, get a load of this:
> One team, he recounts, worked for 110 hours per week for nine months straight. But “everyone believed they were making something important.”
Bull-fucking-shit. Bullshit. You and your team did not work 15.7 hours every single day for 9 months. That's bullshit and the guy has no credibility.
[+] [-] jsnk|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] femto|14 years ago|reply
There is a monopoly at work though. Since prospective employers engage data mining companies to build profiles from any and all Internet content, and there is only one Internet, the Internet has a monopoly over employee's reputations. If your reputation is tarnished on the Internet, for example, by being named as a plaintiff against your employer, it will be tarnished with every employer.
[+] [-] iamgilesbowkett|14 years ago|reply