Admittedly, I’m a landlord (Yes… boo, hiss!). This “system” (from policy, banking sector, entrenched real estate industry lobbying) relentlessly encourages and rewards people for investing in housing as opposed to more productive enterprises.

You know this system is broken when the price of an ordinary family home appreciates at a rate faster than what one earns in their full time job and that is before the taxman takes his take off of my full time salary in software development.

Furthermore, It is not lost on me that houses are for people to live in first and foremost. Not instruments of financial speculation based almost purely around betting on future capital gains. The current system, while not alone in being responsible, is clearly contributing to both growing and intensifying social issues we all know too well.

Sadly, None of the politicians I spoke to across the poltical spectrum in the run up to the last election seem to show any real geniune care.

Part of a series on Disdain and Dividends where I document investing (out of existential dispair) in companies that I deeply dispise as a psychological analgesic due to public apathy and the institutions who are suppose to protect us legitimize these companies’ actions through inaction.

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The situation I feared almost two decades ago has materialized.

Facebook has begun and is already replacing having a website for a lot of businesses. Often when I do a search for a business, I find they now only have a Facebook page. The issue with this is that it effectively forces people to get a Facebook account to look at their page. (Scroll a handful of posts and FB now demands you login or create an account)

I will admit to buying shares in Facebook (now Meta Platforms Inc.) as a psychological analgesic to try and take the edge off of my high disdain towards the company. The stock price has now since quadrupled.

Despite my attempts to set up alternative self hosted platforms for friends to use (this site, peak.nz originally being one of them) to try and stop Face-borg taking over in this fashion, this was ultimately in vain. In hindsight and upon blunt reflection, I stood no chance.

The old web is dead. 15 years ago I was panned for being “Oh so pessimistic” for suggesting what has now eventuated today.

Admittedly, I really dislike the “new” Internet and have responded by drastically cutting down my personal use of it

Personal opinion only as a retail investor and an ordinary member of the public.

First learned of this company, Smart Parking Ltd while trawling through the ASX company listings.

This is a company that appears to predominantly generates revenue off of identifying contractual breaches of parking conditions at various business’ private car parking (retailers, shopping centres, etc) remotely via video / CCTV and then issuing the registered owner or keeper of the infringing vehicle a “Parking Breach Notice” (PBNs) with the view of hoping the recipient will pay up without challenging it.

Disclosure / Personal analysis:

Have “pilot bought” stock (Buying an initial parcel of shares with the view of adding to the Long position) into this company to help take the edge off of my personal moral indignation towards this company (similar to what I did with Facebook, now Meta Inc. a few years ago admittedly – as a counteracting mental analgesic).

This action is based off knowing how toothless the Consumer Watchdog Agencies can be on both sides of the Tasman and globally along with the public never seemingly bothering to kick up enough fuss (nor bothering to understand the rights available to them under relevant consumer / trading laws), as such, I don’t hold much hope of meaningful action being taken to curtail this company’s activities.

While I’ve never received a PBN from this company or others like them, I have gone and reported this company (in vain admittedly) to the Commerce Commission with a screenshot of the investor presentation where they seem to promote how many PBN’s they are able to issue as their key revenue strategy, but I only expect to hear crickets frankly (I reported this company prior to buying shares).

Known trading names:
Smart Parking Ltd., Smart Parking Technology, Smart Compliance Management, Smart Comply.