So he should have said 'the hard problems, that are hard for non-technological reasons'? That's quibbling semantics and does not address the message of the post: that startups cannot solve certain kinds of problems.
I think an entirely reasonable response is: so what? Different companies have different purposes and there's no shame in actually tackling one problem instead of attempting to tackle some supposedly bigger/harder problem that you are much less likely to succeed in tackling and that you perhaps don't care for.
Moreover, the examples he gives may be annoying, but the cost to society, the companies involved or price people are willing to pay to have them solved may be lower than that of problems startups are addressing, so there is no ecnonomic incentive to work on them.
I think an entirely reasonable response is: so what? Different companies have different purposes and there's no shame in actually tackling one problem instead of attempting to tackle some supposedly bigger/harder problem that you are much less likely to succeed in tackling and that you perhaps don't care for.
Moreover, the examples he gives may be annoying, but the cost to society, the companies involved or price people are willing to pay to have them solved may be lower than that of problems startups are addressing, so there is no ecnonomic incentive to work on them.