Damus
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nostrich
Read about the 30 maidens of Geneva.

Quite remarkable. However stupid you think the bureaucrats running your life are, they'll struggle to compete with late18th century France.

It's actually a perfect model of why adversarial thinking matters. In the absence of an adversary, choosing the price of the annuity for the average buyer (age 50) is an efficient decision.

1
Leo Wandersleb · 8w
Context: The background: In the 1770s–80s, the French crown, desperate for cash, sold life annuities. You paid a lump sum, and the state paid you a fixed income for as long as the named person (the "life") survived. Crucially, under finance minister Necker, the price was flat, the same regardless...