Wealth and power, it's all relative. And the competition only becomes fiercer as those measures increase (the top performers being the most competitive).
The person with $5B is not thinking in terms of "enough." Their sights are set on surpassing the $6B guy.
Gotcha. I think the indie community could find it fun and useful - reminds me of a single spot that aggregates those occasional HN posts: "what are you using to build your 1-person startup, hobby, side project?"
However, if you're planning on monetizing: the competition is fierce. The industry is called Technographics. For example, Wappalyzer can segment millions of companies using thousands of tools (here's their list: https://www.wappalyzer.com/technologies/). You'll see 40 A/B testing tools, 104 Live Chat tools, 63 Issue Trackers. It's intense.
Edit: I just saw Twelve.Tools. Even though you didn't know the websites I mentioned, it's clear you DEFINITELY know technographics! Great site.
I wouldn't call it morally indefensible for companies to make layoffs after the hiring irrational exuberance that occured in 2021. They're trimming fat.
I would use that label for a Private Equity firm leveraged buyout, followed by a complete gutting of employees, then a quick flip for profit.
In-office employers are raising compensation to compete against remote companies. Especially in tech, they need to up the ante if they're going to attract top talent.
Stock market: investors like that companies are correcting for the over-hiring that peaked in 2021 - lower costs & higher productivity.
Housing prices: have barely increased since late 2022 in most major cities (falling in cities like Austin). Still, you're right, they're unreachable for most.
Gold: it's not the traditional safe haven investment it used to be. Its correlation with stock prices is much higher than it was in the old days.
It's a nightmare for less savvy (generally older) people to evaluate any product, due to the proliferation of SEO tactics. It's especially harmful in cases where the price is tied to the complexity of the product.
For instance, my parents click sponsored Google results all the time. Sure, part of it is naivete, but it's also avoidance of the mental gymnastics necessary for the non-digital native generation to understand the constantly evolving SEO game.
Sadly, I'm both grateful & frustrated that my brain only excels in rote memorization.
I have no critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
I didn't fully realize the repercussions until interviewing for management consulting jobs; it was humiliating. I became a CPA in my first career, which aligned much more smoothly :)
My brother-in-law earned his degree at a top Liberal Arts college and I witnessed what it means to actually be taught "how to think." He's an interesting case to me, however - a genius at that thinking style, but merely above-average in rote memorization.