Why I’m Not a Businessman

YC114.02.01

I call myself an industrialist, although really, I yearn to call myself a businessman.  But, a rose by any other name is still just someone who builds things.

Why am I not a businessman?  Because the powers-that-be have not given me the power to:

Invest in corporations and the stockmarket

Why can I not buy shares in Goonswarm, or even better - short-sell them and cause their market cap to plummet so bad they can’t finance a can of Quafe?

You can tell me all you like that by undercutting someone else by two cents on the cost of a Havoc missile I’m engaging in my own special brand of warfare; but to really wreak havoc - try crashing the economy of New Eden’s largest civilization, and see the blood flow.

Give me the chance to get super-rich, and go super-broke.

Form commercial deals and exclusive contracts

I produce minerals and other refined products.  I have customers who buy these exclusively from me, at established prices.  So why do I have to create a contract each time I deliver goods, and wait for these contracts to be accepted before I see a cent?

Why can’t I have a standing order, where everything I deliver up to the quota is automatically accepted?

Why can’t I make standing orders, where I buy my raw materials from others in the same manner?

See prices everywhere

The powers-that-be don’t trust me with knowledge - that’s all I can figure.  Why else can’t I see the prices in Jita when I’m in Dodixie?  Others have made this data available to me - making me jump through these hoops just make me think the powers are trying to wallpaper over the cracks in their walls.

Sure, I get in my pod so I can increase my balance.  But to call what I do business, well that would just be criminal...