[mcculley]

I've thought about it quite a lot and discussed this with some of the delivery people I see on the street and in my building. I have enjoyed these elevator discussions about the economics of feeding the lazy. Many of them are also surprised that people will pay them to deliver a Jimmy John's sandwich.

[SketchySeaBeast]

Every level of civilization is built not on laziness but on convenience and the additional freedom that convenience brings. I'm sure at some point someone was complaining that people were eating bread from grain they didn't grow themselves.

[mcculley]

There's a difference between economies of scale and technological advances enabling the leverage of comparative advantage and the situation with Uber Eats. Uber Eats is just VC cash being burned to employ human labor to hand-deliver fast food to the lazy and gluttonous. It's not appealing to me. I understand some people will enjoy it while it lasts.

[colinbartlett]

If one can bill their time at $200/hour and it takes 30 minutes to go get a sandwich, is it lazy to pay someone $10 to do it for them or just good economics?

[mcculley]

I have often (pre-COVID) employed my comparative economic advantage and had other people make meals for me in a restaurant. I have occasionally had my assistant pick up a meal when I am working. I still don’t see the appeal of having two other legal entities involved in a fast food transaction.

[shermanyo]

You have an assistant though? How is my uber eats driver any different in that case?

[mcculley]

Do you trust your Uber Eats driver? As I said, I understand the appeal of the occasional food delivery. I don't understand how delivery of fast-food at such scale can be sustainable. Right now it is making it possible to have cheap fast food delivered. I don't see how that works once the VC cash is all burned up. That is, until it is fully automated.

[smabie]

Who cares how many entities are involved? Why does it matter?

[mcculley]

It really doesn't matter to me what random person delivers my Amazon package. I care about what I eat.

The fact that it is fast food is what surprises me. There's so little value added for so much money. I'm sure it appeals to other people. I ride elevators with Uber Eats drivers delivering a Subway sandwich. That's a ridiculous investment for such a terrible meal.

[skj]

> feeding the lazy

To avoid that group, I suppose you have to cook all your food yourself?

As a society, we take on different specializations and, as a result, increase overall efficiency. No reason to call this specialization out as something that only serves the "lazy".

[mcculley]

Maybe it is mean of me to consider the consumption of fast food as lazy. I did eat fast food myself frequently when I was younger and I consider that version of myself to be lazy. Nowadays I know I can wait to have a proper meal in almost all occasions. Regardless, if do decide I can't function without a Chick-Fil-A sandwich, I won't have it delivered by a middleman.