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

Post by kadabra9 » Thu, Feb 12, 2026, 1:20 PM UTC

johnnyanmac wrote: post #305

kadabra9 wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re discussing raising corporate or individual income tax rates. I’m discussing a proposed broad wealth tax on unrealized gains and assets. The tax rates of the 50s were high, but were filled with loopholes and deductions in that the effective tax rate that was actually paid was much lower. There are arguments to be made how much those policies contributed to the boom of that decade, but those are separate to argu…

>but were filled with loopholes and deductions in that the effective tax rate that was actually paid was much lower. Yes, thanks for reiterating my main point. Now if we use that same mindset and apply it to a wealth tax... Hence my main point. Taxes aren't all about extraction of money, they also help to nudge people to do things they normally wouldn't do. So nudging them to actually help the area they are in is rea…

Post by kadabra9 » Thu, Feb 12, 2026, 1:23 PM UTC

trymas wrote: post #309

kadabra9 wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And where will we get the money to fund this fantasy land in 8 months after the government runs out of money and we’ve already stolen all the billionaires assets? Should we move on to anyone with a net worth over $1M and start stealing their assets too?

> And where will we get the money to fund this fantasy land ... What are you talking about? Current administration is doing exactly that. Cutting taxes for the wealthy and adding all those loses to national debt at record level increments. No fiscal responsibility at all. Total fantasy and essentially poor and middle-class funds the rich through their taxes (and government money printer), not to mention how mega comp…

Post by terminalshort » Thu, Feb 12, 2026, 1:50 PM UTC

sa-code wrote: post #310

terminalshort wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want to do some improvements on my house. So I take out a home equity loan. Oops! Actually since my house is worth $500K more than when I bought it, now I have to pay $100K to the government since the gain is now realized by using the asset as collateral!

You get points for effective use of rhetoric, but it's more of a solvable challenge and not a deal breaker. The goal of a borrowing tax would be to prevent someone with a a $200 mil stock portfolio living off the "buy, borrow, die" strategy and not home equity loans on mere middle class millionaires. Capital gains, for example, on a primary residence already have an exclusion of a certain amount. There's no reason a…

Post by josefresco » Thu, Feb 12, 2026, 1:56 PM UTC

echelon wrote: post #13

xmonkee wrote: post #3

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> Garry Tan, the local venture capitalist who has for years railed against progressive politicians on social media You mean Garry, who has protested the dumbing down of schools? Garry, who protests removing math from the curriculum? He's "railed against progressive politicians" by supporting education and high achievement? You know China and Asia are laughing at us, right? They do schooling right. We are so backwards…

Post by mothballed » Thu, Feb 12, 2026, 2:23 PM UTC

oulipo2 wrote: post #313

mothballed wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of billionaires should probably be at the hague. But we should be glad if people can become billionaires because they are generating that much value of both parties being better off, without imposing externalities on others. Yvonne Chouinard came close to this ideal, I think. If someone can genuinely generate billions in value, not just by imposing externalities on others that they then reallocate to themselves,…

No we shouldn't be "glad that people can become billionaire". We should be glad that people can get reasonable wealthy, say, $100M net worth would be more than plenty, and would ensure that: people who worked hard got a lot ($100M!!), but nobody alone or in very small numbers can try to destroy the fabric of society Is that hard for you to understand? The fact that at your age you're still mistaking "generating billi…