Paul GrahamVerified account

I was talking to the CEO of a startup whose customers are local governments. Me: What features do people in local government want most? What excites them? CEO: Going home at 5.

You have such power, Paul. I wish you'd be more careful to get it right on views you spread. Maybe visit a City Hall at 8pm the night when they're crashing on an announcement?

You seem to be saying that it's bad if people only want to work till 5, and that this CEO's answer is thus a kind of slander. I disagree. Lots of people have something they care more about than work. E.g. children. Why shouldn't they leave at 5 if they want?

Your tweet suggests that people in government are lazy and are only driven/inspired by indulging that laziness. I find that offensive — but more importantly — laughably dense and demonstrably untrue.

My example was a parent who wanted to leave work at 5 so they could spend time with their kids. Surely it's more offensive of you to call that an instance of laziness.

Your tweet suggested that the thing that excited government workers most about work was the part where you get to leave. That’s certainly how I (and others) interpreted it.