I’m a fan of the idea of government/citizens directly sharing profits from tech research (e.g. the internet) they fund, as Mariana Mazzucato advocates in Mission Economy and The Entrepreneurial State. So this seems to me like a *good* (unique?) smashing of norms by Trump. For instance, Nvidia…. 1/2
Ok, but AMD? If you have a royalty policy for government subsidy receivers, it needs to be consistent & internally coherent. & Tesla isn't mentioned here. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD
….Nvidia got DARPA money to research energy-efficient computer architectures, and Energy Department grants to research super-powerful “exascale” computing. And Tesla in 2010 got a $465 million loan from the DOE And federal funding underlies almost every new pharmaceutical. Etcetera, etcetera. 2/2
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/t...
Surprised by this framing of yours for what is clearly just a mob-style shakedown by the gangster in chief. Yes taxes are a social good, but that's not what's going on here. I mean, have we forgotten the Big Beautiful Bill? Just raise taxes. This kind of targeting is about influence and power.
Of course it's a shakedown. Of course HE'S a crook. But lmy point: ike other of his norm breakings and precedent settings, the idea could outlive him and open the way for sensible virtuous leders to use the new powers for good.
I think the overwhelming problem with U.S. tax policy is not that administrations haven't been picking and choosing specific entities to tax, but rather that income tax on the wealthy is way too low, there's too many legal avoidance schemes, and corporate taxes are on a worldwide race to the bottom
Agree. But what I’m talking about isn’t a tax, it’s us citizens, via the federal government, sharing in big profits of companies we invest in early, as private investors do.
you like the idea of random "deals" decided by dictatorial fiat, not law, applied evenly? lick that boot harder then
Of course not. Its crude and he’s dumb and corrupt. But this norm-breaking (like all the bad ones) can outlast him.
this is like “well one great thing about rfk jr is he’s gonna ban food dyes!” i want food dyes banned bc i’m allergic to several of them but that doesn’t mean i’m ever gonna say “gotta hand it to em” because the way they’re doing things i like is deeply wrong and contrary to predictable RULE OF LAW
the norm this breaks isn’t “companies don’t owe americans” it’s “the dictator can attack or benefit random corporations based on whim” which is the definition of corruption and favoritism, kind of thing that breaks the economy
No taxation by Presidential decree is a good smashing of norms.
That’s not Socialism?