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Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan launches dark-money group to influence CA politics

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Re: Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan launches dark-money group to influence CA politics

#141
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd prefer to see more of them do so, personally. That said, to watch Tan wading into a local fistfight about school curriculum and housing zoning and whatnot in the age of ICE abduction, targetted political prosecution and wanton macroeconomic regulatory chaos seems... frustrating. I mean, I kinda agree with him about most of the centrist stuff. But really, Gary? This is what you need to be spending your money and t…

Garry seems motivated by being against a wealth tax and this is also likely the reason other ultra rich people will donate to his dark money fund: https://finviz.com/news/277038/y-combinators-garry-tan-warns...

Garry is chummy with musk and trump. His motivation here is to protect the pedophile class.

Re: Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan launches dark-money group to influence CA politics

#142
post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hell no, California has this and it’s a catastrophe. Prop 13 is one of the worst policies enacted by a democratic polity in the 20th century, and has been wrecking the state for decades.

Prop 13 is a nothingburger. Median homeownership period in california vs nationally is only like 2 years longer. It shouldn't be affecting costs that much in other words since median property is back to market rate every 15 years or so. And what costs are we talking about anyhow? Tax shortfalls for local government? Decades later that has been rectified through other taxes and funding mechanisms and we still get new…

That's not really the point. Prop 13 is known to be a huge disincentive to efficient transfers in home ownership - people will strenuously avoid selling their homes and buying something that's closer to the kind of shelter they actually prefer, because they might have to pay a higher assessed property tax if they did that. These effects are very real and well documented.

Re: Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan launches dark-money group to influence CA politics

#144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If rich techies had too much influence in California, the state government would not look like what it does. I mean I just don't see how you get to this opinion after any real review of the evidence.

You cherry picked California which is very much an outlier compared to the rest of the country? Are you denying the effect of money affecting political outcomes, the rich wouldn’t spend their money on media and PACs if it didn’t work would they?

> Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan launches group to influence CA politics

I'm talking about the actual issue being discussed! Garry Tan isn't launching a group to influence Wyoming politics.

Re: Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan launches dark-money group to influence CA politics

#145
post #5

I think rich people have too much influence, I probably agree with Garry Tan on a lot but we need to get money out of politics. Let’s face it we’re all meant to get one vote but rich people spend money on this stuff so that they manipulate what and who can be voted for. I do think that if this current system is the result of democracy + the internet we need to seriously reconsider how democracy works because it’s cur…

Eat the rich.

I do so by taking Jeff Bezos' money and giving him a penny. Also by not supporting restaurants that have a Wall-street ticker nor any alcohol producers that have a Wall-street ticker.

Re: Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan launches dark-money group to influence CA politics

#146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A wealth tax is not an obviously great idea. It’s worth having a better public debate on that topic.

I don't really see any other solution, can you explain it? The ultra-rich are taking too great a share of every nations wealth. And they keep taking more. Taxes are the only option to redistribute wealth. Or are you talking about enabling strong unions and anti-monopoly laws with teeth to reverse the growth? As I doubt Garry's in favour of that either.

Taking? From who? They got this money by appropriation and not by mutually agreed upon transactions?

Re: Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan launches dark-money group to influence CA politics

#147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm commenting on one such excess. Here is another: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/31/elon-musk-2026-elec... . The Nazification of X and federal subsidies for Elon's companies are another. There are many more examples. s/relations/elections/ -- because Elon et. al don't just intervene in the elections of the country they live in, but actually any country he's interested in -- and uses the U.S. as a bludgeon in…

How is Elon's editorial control of X something the government needs to (or even should have the power to) "reign in?" How is that not freedom of the press just like the owner of the New York Times having editorial control over his newspaper? Same goes for his donation to the PAC. What is the nefarious activity they are engaged in? Why are they not allowed to exercise their freedom of the press in the same way as any…

He allowed child porn to proliferate for days on the platform

Re: Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan launches dark-money group to influence CA politics

#148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not, since voluntary transactions can happen as a result of said squabbling without resorting to the violence of 'power.' Maybe we need more of that and less of ramming decisions down the throats of the powerless.

Yeah I sometimes think you could have a government you select, e.g. each state could have its own rules and laws and the federal government should not have the power to overrule them. Then you could choose if you wanted immigration or lower taxes or whatever, seems like a good system who can suggest it?

Yes the 10th amendment was supposed to ensure a lot of that that but it was largely waived away during the progressive era and in acts related to the civil war. But cuz slavery for some reason it also has to apply to all sorts of other things that have nothing to do with slaves or even civil rights (in the sense of negative rights) and you are racist or love slaves or something for pointing this out.
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