[nck4222]

>Doctors and pharmaceutical companies are supposed to help you be healthy, but make more if you're ill long-term.

Which results in unnecessary procedures, and unnecessary prescriptions.

>Banks, credit card companies, and brokerages all make more money if you make poor financial decisions

Which caused the housing crisis and great recession.

>Auto mechanics and car companies make money if your car doesn't work or doesn't last past the warranty period.

Which results in some of the most untrustworthy salespeople in one of the most untrustworthy industries.

All of those industries are regulated by the government, precisely because the incentives are wrong and it causes people to do more harm than good if left unregulated.

[wuliwong]

I was able to find a trustworthy mechanic. If they did a poor job or were sabotaging my car when I brought it to them, I would choose another mechanic.

[nck4222]

My point is those fields need extra regulations because there are incentives that promote unethical behavior, and thus shouldn't be used as examples of why this websites incentives are good business practices. Not that there's no such thing as a trustworthy mechanic.

[throwawaydjdo]

HN is ridiculous. If a mechanic sabotages your car, you can sue them... you know, a service provider by the government. But what if your town has only that one mechanic? What if the mechanic is worth billions and bought the other smaller shops just to shut them down? Do keep in mind that sometimes there is no competition, or the incentives are so perverse that competition doesn’t matter. The world isn’t black and white. Despite what Ayn Rand might’ve told you, you can’t just expect competition to fix literally everything.

Hackernews is supposed to have smart people, but the pithy nonsense like the parent I’m responding to makes it abundantly clear that that’s not the case.