The hottest Political Economy Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top U.S. Politics Topics

Jeff Bezos Just Taught Liberal Elites How Oligarchy Really Works

BIG by Matt Stoller • 67381 implied HN points • 06 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. A billionaire owner can save a newspaper one year and gut it the next, showing how wealthy owners can use media as a political or business tool and then discard journalistic capacity when it no longer serves them.
  2. Google’s adtech dominance and AI features have siphoned traffic and ad revenue from publishers, collapsing the business model that funded local and investigative reporting and forcing papers to depend on rich benefactors.
  3. This is part of a larger democratic problem: concentrated tech and wealth power is hollowing out institutions and jobs, and while antitrust and bargaining policies could help, political and corporate resistance has limited effective solutions.

Big Business Has Pam Bondi Fire Trump's Antitrust Chief

BIG by Matt Stoller • 34951 implied HN points • 13 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. Attorney General Pam Bondi fired antitrust chief Gail Slater amid internal conflict and apparent pressure from corporate lobbyists, undermining the division’s independence.
  2. Slater kept some big cases alive but failed to file new major antitrust suits. Her concessions and internal missteps show the populist right couldn’t turn anti-monopoly talk into lasting power.
  3. The firing is a win for corporate interests and weakens federal antitrust capacity under the current administration, even as state prosecutors and judges may now probe lobbyists and possible insider dealings.

To work or not to work

Global Inequality and More 3.0 • 1857 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Political Economy
  1. Many rich countries choose shorter workweeks while keeping high productivity per hour, trading some material income for more leisure and a higher quality of life.
  2. Global competition and the growth drive of market economies reward nations that work harder, so falling behind in effort can mean loss of wealth, influence, and technological edge.
  3. There are different visions of work: some hoped abundance would let people work very little, while others argue people need meaningful, self-directed work rather than enforced drudgery for true human flourishing.

The ideological implications of China’s economic success

Global Inequality and More 3.0 • 2144 implied HN points • 26 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Political Economy
  1. China’s rise relied on blending imported Marxist ideas with native Chinese traditions like Confucianism and Legalism, combined with an open, market-driven economy under party leadership.
  2. That sinified Marxism creates real tensions between Marxism’s big-picture, structural focus and Chinese moral, individual-focused traditions, yet the combination has worked in practice.
  3. The result may reshape global ideology by encouraging a Sino-Western or Eurasian fusion model that challenges the idea that Western liberalism is the only successful path.

Monopoly Round-Up: A Gunboat Oligarchy Goes After Venezuelan Oil

BIG by Matt Stoller • 29107 implied HN points • 05 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Political Economy
  1. The U.S. seizure of Venezuelan oil marks a return to gunboat-style intervention where government action is clearly serving big finance and energy interests.
  2. Widespread anger at oligarchs and weak Democratic leadership is opening space for new, populist reformers, highlighted by Zohran Mamdani’s early moves and proposals like a billionaire tax.
  3. America’s deindustrialization and China’s manufacturing rise are shifting global power, while domestic deregulation and a merger boom favor financiers and risk deeper consolidation and backlash.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

What was Drake?

Never Met a Science • 55 implied HN points • 20 Mar 26
🎭️ Culture Political Economy
  1. Drake personified a neoliberal, globalized pop‑rap: his music was made for mass consumption, unrooted in local scenes, and built around confessional, self‑aware vibes that appealed to uprooted millennial strivers.
  2. Taylor Swift models a post‑liberal, post‑authentic cultural logic by co‑creating 'subjective histories' with her fans, giving listeners personal narratives and eras to build their identities around.
  3. Both artists are vehicles of capitalism and signal a larger cultural shift: poptimism helped dissolve local music scenes into universally palatable sounds, forcing critics to develop new concepts for a post‑historical cultural landscape.

Observations on the single-family rental debate re: the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.

Erdmann Housing Tracker • 526 implied HN points • 11 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. The bill contains mostly useful housing reforms but adds last-minute rules that would likely kill the market for new single-family build-to-rent homes and sharply limit large-scale investors in existing single-family homes.
  2. Large-scale investors historically have not driven up single-family home prices; after 2008 lenders cut mortgage access for many would-be buyers, investors stepped in to buy discounted homes, while recent price increases are mainly driven by owner-occupiers and a housing shortage.
  3. Banning big investors risks cutting new rental supply just when millions of units are needed, so a better fix is to restore broader mortgage access for more families, which would reduce investor activity and help lower rents over time.

America's mayors are right to support small business

Noahpinion • 14470 implied HN points • 03 Dec 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. Small businesses are a powerful ladder to the middle class and boost economic opportunity, especially for immigrants and owner-operators who gain wealth and mobility from running firms.
  2. A dense network of independent shops and restaurants makes cities more livable and vibrant by creating third spaces, encouraging foot traffic, and supporting safer, healthier urban life.
  3. City policies that cut red tape, speed permits, reduce fees, and fund small-business support are smart investments because they strengthen local economies, broaden capital ownership, and help stabilize pro-market politics even if big chains can be more efficient.

The Plutocrats Who Rule Our World Aren't Even Enjoying Themselves

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 2491 implied HN points • 07 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. The super-rich hoard wealth and manipulate power, harming everyone else in the process. And it still doesn't make them happy.
  2. Extreme wealth breeds isolation and prevents real contentment, so billionaires can never experience the feeling of having enough. That permanent lack of satisfaction shows money alone can't buy happiness.
  3. Many wealthy elites are driven by emotional wounds and compulsive behavior rather than the common good. Letting such dysfunctional people run society is neither justified nor healthy.

A pedagogical tax

Global Inequality and More 3.0 • 1328 implied HN points • 11 Feb 26
💰 Finance Political Economy
  1. A tougher Zucman-style tax on the ultra-rich would mainly serve as a moral, pedagogical signal rather than a big revenue source, showing society objects to extreme greed and vanity.
  2. Greed (pleonexia) is driven by a need for social validation, so people keep accumulating and displaying wealth with no natural limit, which makes status-driven consumption endless and socially harmful.
  3. A social-credit-style system for billionaires could tie tax rates to behavior, rewarding decent conduct and raising taxes for abusive or unethical actions to create real accountability and reduce elite impunity.

Procurement, Capacity and Soverignity

Can We Still Govern? • 257 implied HN points • 09 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. Procurement shapes whether the state can carry out core functions. Heavy reliance on contractors can weaken government control and citizens' sense of sovereignty.
  2. Dependence on private and foreign vendors for military and digital systems creates security and supply-chain vulnerabilities. Those dependencies push allies to seek autonomy and reduce trust.
  3. Some contractors pursue ideological or political agendas and can become entrenched and hard to replace. Governments must weigh political alignment and rebuild in-house capacity, not just chase short-term efficiency, when deciding to outsource.

Why We All Care About Inequality (But Are Loath to Admit It)

Global Inequality and More 3.0 • 1479 implied HN points • 07 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Political Economy
  1. People care about inequality because other people’s incomes affect their own wellbeing through social comparison, a sense of justice, and self-worth, not just because of how much they can buy.
  2. Focusing only on poverty while ignoring inequality is inconsistent, since concern for the poorest still relies on judgments about how income is distributed and who counts as a relevant peer.
  3. Opposition to studying or criticizing inequality often protects the status quo, and people’s reactions to inequality reflect motives like fairness or disgust as well as envy.

Top Links 1024 Slashing government. Four-day Dutch. Epstein on Dalio. Keynes on sex questions.

Chartbook • 515 implied HN points • 25 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Political Economy
  1. The newsletter highlights arguments for shrinking government, focusing on debates over cutting public spending and reducing state power.
  2. It spotlights work-time reform, especially interest in a Dutch four-day workweek and its implications for productivity and living standards.
  3. It includes provocative biographical and intellectual pieces linking controversial figures and ideas, for example material involving Epstein and Dalio and writings about Keynes’s personal views.

The Attention Harvest

Anima Mundi • 185 implied HN points • 06 Mar 26
🎭️ Culture Political Economy
  1. The attention economy is an extractive industry that harvests human attention the way industrial agriculture strips topsoil.
  2. Relentless harvesting degrades our minds' ability to regenerate attention and mental resilience, creating a kind of 'Dust Bowl' of the mind.
  3. If we keep mining attention without rebuilding it, the systems that support focus and civic life could be permanently damaged, so the problem is structural and needs systemic solutions.

No Healthy Person Wants To Rule The World Or Become A Billionaire

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 2831 implied HN points • 26 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Political Economy
  1. People with empathy and a functioning conscience generally don't want absolute power or obscene wealth; those who seek those things are often deeply wounded or morally compromised.
  2. Our political and economic systems reward exploitation — from plundering resources to lobbying and war profiteering — which elevates ruthless people to positions of influence while pushing caring people aside.
  3. Resisting that dystopia and fighting for a kinder, fairer world is costly and dangerous, but it's the only way to act with integrity and create meaningful change.

Top Links 1018 The geography of US inflation. Crushing Cuba. A third industrial divide. Cornel West on Hegel.

Chartbook • 529 implied HN points • 19 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Political Economy
  1. US inflation is uneven: different states and regions are facing very different price pressures, and those geographic patterns matter for policy and everyday life.
  2. There are signs Texas could drift toward deflation, which would mean falling prices locally and unusual challenges for the state economy.
  3. The conversation links politics, industry, and ideas — from harsh developments in Cuba and a possible 'third industrial divide' reshaping manufacturing to intellectual debates like Cornel West's reading of Hegel.

Chartbook 425: War over the Fed? Is this "The Big One" or will it be another moment of American nihilism?

Chartbook • 2131 implied HN points • 12 Jan 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. Legal threats against the Federal Reserve and its chair are being used as political pressure to influence interest-rate decisions, putting central bank independence at risk.
  2. Financial markets have mostly shrugged so far — gold and silver are up but the Treasury market and big institutional investors aren’t panicking yet, though a real reaction could come if inflation forces hard policy choices.
  3. The episode is part of a broader partisan drive to weaken institutional checks and normal political restraints, and while some establishment Republicans are protesting, their ability to stop it may be limited.

In This Dystopia You Can't Vote Against Wars But You Can Gamble On When They'll Start

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 1769 implied HN points • 20 Jan 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. People are allowed to gamble on if and when military attacks will happen, even though they aren't given a real political way to vote against wars.
  2. The system legally rewards profiting from war—through prediction markets, arms companies, investments, and lobbying—while efforts to reduce violence are sidelined or blocked.
  3. The relentless pursuit of profit drives ongoing war, environmental destruction, inequality, and corruption, and meaningful change will only come if people collectively force new systems.

Yao Yang: the post-2018 evolution in China's political economy

Pekingnology • 128 implied HN points • 13 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Political Economy
  1. Since 2018 China has entered a "new era" where the government is correcting reform-era excesses. It is cracking down on corruption, deleveraging finance, shrinking property speculation, and curbing oversized platform and tutoring industries to reassert state control and redirect resources.
  2. The leadership is doubling down on manufacturing and pushing for technological self-reliance, emphasizing "zero-to-one" breakthrough innovation and building a complete, independent tech ecosystem by around 2035.
  3. Those domestic priorities are closely tied to geopolitics: China aims to win tech competition with the U.S., build military strength from industrial and tech capacity, and press for eventual reunification with Taiwan. Possible bilateral outcomes range from stabilized competition and limited investment openings to a peaceful settlement over Taiwan.

Public Choice Links, 2/23/2026

In My Tribe • 197 implied HN points • 23 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. Firms exist because centralized coordination has its own costs, but market coordination also has transaction costs, so internal management can be more efficient when that tradeoff favors it.
  2. Lobbying reached record levels in 2025 as companies spent more to influence an unpredictable federal government, and foundations/nonprofits increasingly fund projects tied to donors' ideological priorities like social justice.
  3. A universal flat Social Security benefit set above the poverty line would more effectively and cheaply reduce senior poverty, raising benefits for low earners and reducing them for higher earners, and would shift the common 'you earned it' narrative.

The singularity won't be gentle

Silver Bulletin • 800 implied HN points • 11 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. If AI even somewhat transforms work and daily life, it will change politics in deep and unpredictable ways. Expect big disruptions rather than a smooth, gentle transition.
  2. Tech elites are out of touch with the broader public and often misread political dynamics. Their concentration of power and overconfidence could provoke strong backlash.
  3. Creative and knowledge workers who shape public opinion are particularly vulnerable to AI-driven job disruption. If they or their children feel their livelihoods are threatened, that could drive substantial political pushback.

Top Links 1015 America's economic pluralism. Substack for sex. Survivors of the Light Brigade and Crisis & Critique.

Chartbook • 443 implied HN points • 16 Feb 26
💾 History Political Economy
  1. The newsletter curates top links and readings that highlight themes like America’s economic pluralism and broader debates in economics and culture.
  2. It’s a subscription-supported publication with paid posts, but it offers at least one free post and asks for reader support to keep the project going.
  3. The content blends visuals and varied topics—art, sex-related pieces, historical survivors, and political critique—showing a wide, cross-disciplinary focus.

Developing countries: A follow-up

Noahpinion • 18176 implied HN points • 14 Jul 25
🌐 International Political Economy
  1. Many developing countries are still facing challenges after the pandemic, but some are showing hope for industrial growth. Countries like India and Vietnam have potential but need to overcome significant obstacles to grow faster.
  2. Political stability is key for economic growth in developing countries. Places like Bangladesh have suffered from unrest, which hurt their economies significantly, while Ghana has remained stable and seen moderate success.
  3. Some countries have managed to rise to developed status through good policies and investment, like Poland and Malaysia. Their journeys offer valuable lessons for other nations striving for similar progress.

New Book, Founding Member Perks, and Hegelian Dialectics with Myself

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 3340 implied HN points • 19 Dec 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. A forthcoming book called Kakistocracy offers a cross-national theory of populism, arguing it has harmful effects in Western democracies while explaining why it rises and what consequences it produces.
  2. The piece explains a break with MAGA-era conservatism, claiming modern right-wing populism rewards grifters, conspiracy, and nativism and undermines serious conservative intellectual life.
  3. To fund continued independent writing, the creator is seeking more Founding Members at a raised $500 tier, promising perks like direct Signal access, a group chat, occasional meals, and extra personal articles.

The American Empire is Losing Money in Europe. Will It Abandon Europe?

Glenn’s Substack • 859 implied HN points • 23 Aug 24
🌍 World Politics Political Economy
  1. Europe is struggling because it is not adapting to the new multipolar world. Instead of building ties with other major economies, it is relying heavily on the U.S., which makes it weaker.
  2. Countries around the world are trying to diversify their economic connections to avoid too much dependence on a single superpower. Europe, on the other hand, is falling behind by sticking closely to U.S. interests.
  3. As the U.S. shifts its focus to Asia, Europe risks losing its political and economic relevance. If Europe doesn’t change its approach, it might find itself increasingly sidelined.

Moving to San Diego, Interviews, Book Reviews, and More

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 1219 implied HN points • 30 Jan 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. Pro-natalism should be pursued pragmatically by uniting people who share the goal of raising fertility and using scientific approaches, even if they disagree on broader ideology.
  2. Entitlements and the gerontocracy concentrate resources in older generations, and winning reform will likely require political framing that casts older cohorts as a privileged group rather than abstract free-market arguments alone.
  3. Mass migration to factory work in China shows how urban anonymity and wage labor upend village hierarchies and gender norms, speeding the collapse of traditional patriarchy and contributing to falling birth rates with long-term societal effects.

Response to Sunstein

David Friedman’s Substack • 269 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26
📖 Philosophy Political Economy
  1. Government should be modeled as a political market where voters, politicians, and lobbyists act in their own self-interest, so many government failures follow from misaligned incentives rather than benevolent intervention. Deliberative democracy is unrealistic because ordinary citizens often lack incentives to seek truth and get little timely feedback.
  2. Behavioral economics broadens the rationality assumption by adding attention and information-processing costs, which helps explain more real-world behavior but also makes theories more complex and sometimes less predictive. So far it hasn’t clearly improved economic prediction across the board, though it may have promise in areas like macroeconomics.
  3. Redistribution and welfare-state transfers create strong incentives for rent-seeking and can undermine the gains from free trade and open migration, since political transfers replace voluntary exchange as a way to gain. Secure property rights and reliance on voluntary transactions tend to produce healthier incentives for prosperity.

A Claude of the Seven Kingdoms

Some Unpleasant Arithmetic • 43 implied HN points • 03 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Political Economy
  1. The label 'technofeudalism' is misleading — the changes described are still capitalist in form, but the real danger is tech elites trying to fuse their economic power with state power in ways that mirror fascist dynamics.
  2. Big tech is increasingly entangled with government and civil society, creating a personalist, court-like politics where backchannels and corporate influence weaken democratic institutions and the public sphere.
  3. Rising inequality, economic dislocation, and a zero-sum 'peasant' mindset make populations vulnerable to authoritarian appeals, so the political answer needs stronger democratic protections, redistribution, and accountable regulation.

Top Links 997 AI in the bond market. How the UK ended coal. Pasolini on Gramsci and Trotsky on Europe.

Chartbook • 672 implied HN points • 29 Jan 26
💰 Finance Political Economy
  1. Big Tech’s move into AI is creating new risks for the bond market by concentrating data, models, and trading influence in a few platforms that could amplify shocks.
  2. The UK’s phase-out of coal shows how coordinated policy and market shifts can rapidly retire fossil fuel capacity and offers a practical model for energy transition elsewhere.
  3. Engagements like Pasolini on Gramsci and Trotsky on Europe show that cultural and political theory still shape how we understand national identity and continental politics, offering different lenses on power and change.

Economics Links, 2/12/2026

In My Tribe • 273 implied HN points • 12 Feb 26
💼 Business Political Economy
  1. Modern growth theory introduced formal production functions that made economic progress measurable and showed that, in competitive markets, wages tend to reflect workers' marginal product.
  2. Housing research finds house prices move with average incomes while housing supply usually follows population growth, so price–income correlations don’t prove supply restrictions are the primary cause of high local prices.
  3. New solar-driven processes to make synthetic hydrocarbons promise abundant, low‑cost energy in the future, but real‑world limits like grid integration and total system costs could slow their widespread adoption.

Top Links 1002 The ICE bonanza. The foundations of money in democratic societies. Mehrling on Rogoff on chess. Early American art museums.

Chartbook • 500 implied HN points • 03 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. A tough new immigration crackdown is creating a financial bonanza for politically connected small and mid-sized companies that provide related services.
  2. There are deep pieces about how money is built and governed in democratic societies, exploring the political foundations of monetary systems.
  3. The newsletter highlights intellectual debates—like Mehrling’s take on Rogoff framed around chess—and cultural topics such as early American art museums.

Top Links 994 Tesla's European shock. Dutch neoliberalism. Enigma & the dilemma of superior intelligence.

Chartbook • 572 implied HN points • 26 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Political Economy
  1. Tesla's European shock: Tesla's actions are producing a major shock to Europe’s auto market and policy landscape.
  2. Dutch neoliberalism: The newsletter highlights how neoliberal policies in the Netherlands shape politics, the economy, and social life.
  3. Enigma & the dilemma of superior intelligence: It explores the puzzle of superior intelligence and the dilemmas it creates, including ethical, governance, and strategic challenges.

The Craziest Thing In The World Is That We Could End Poverty, But We Don't

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 2374 implied HN points • 01 Dec 25
🌍 World Politics Political Economy
  1. We already have the technology and resources to give everyone a decent standard of living, but we don't end poverty because it isn't profitable.
  2. Capitalism's driving goal of maximizing profit causes exploitation, war, and environmental destruction while neglecting human welfare.
  3. To survive, we must replace profit-driven systems with cooperative, compassionate structures and urgently reorganize society around the common good.

Top Links 988 How Trump is victimizing America's petty bourgeoisie. The Sino-US investment reversal & Post-Russia.

Chartbook • 615 implied HN points • 20 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Political Economy
  1. Trump’s actions and rhetoric are hurting small business owners and the petty bourgeoisie, weakening their economic stability and social standing.
  2. Investment between the US and China is reversing, pointing toward decoupling and big changes in cross-border capital flows.
  3. The world is entering a post‑Russia phase that is reshaping geopolitics and markets, forcing countries to rethink alliances and economic ties.

CROSSPOST: JOSH MARSHALL: Thinking Clearly About the Global Authoritarian Movement

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality • 246 implied HN points • 12 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. A global authoritarian movement—anchored by wealthy elites, petro‑states, tech moguls, and right‑wing networks—exists beyond any single politician and aims to weaken democratic accountability.
  2. Small, membership‑funded newsrooms that treat readers as partners in reporting offer a healthier, reality‑based alternative to ad‑driven, outrage‑maximizing media.
  3. Human brains evolved for small social groups struggle inside billion‑person online feeds, producing strong parasocial ties that fuel manipulation and anger, so protecting democracy means repairing the mediasphere and supporting civic information spaces.

From under the rubble

Global Inequality and More 3.0 • 1751 implied HN points • 01 Dec 25
💾 History Political Economy
  1. Yugoslav communists faced challenges after breaking away from Soviet influence, leading them to develop a unique interpretation of socialism focused on worker management and collective ownership.
  2. Two main schools of thought emerged among Yugoslav economists: the income price school, which believed workers should prioritize their own income, and the profit school, which emphasized maximizing profits similar to capitalist firms.
  3. The discussions and debates among these economists became less relevant after the breakup of Yugoslavia, but recent research has helped recover and critique their ideas, highlighting a significant part of economic history.

Happy New Year

Points And Figures • 1065 implied HN points • 31 Dec 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. Prediction markets look mispriced on the 2026 House outcome, with Democrats possibly overrated, and state elections are becoming more nationalized than before.
  2. The economy and tech are expected to accelerate in 2026: expect tax cuts and baby savings accounts, deeper AI progress, at least one interest-rate cut, higher markets, mainstream medical and finance innovations, renewed focus on nuclear power, and a negotiated settlement in Ukraine.
  3. On the personal side, two grandchildren are due in January and February, and the cabin in Minnesota will get helical piers this summer to shore up its foundations.

Ronald Coase, Abba Lerner, and the Calculation Controversy

David Friedman’s Substack • 359 implied HN points • 06 Feb 26
💼 Business Political Economy
  1. The Lerner–Lange model tries to mimic market outcomes by having a central board set prices and firms produce where price equals marginal cost, but it runs into incentive problems because state-owned firms and workers can inflate costs when they aren’t residual claimants.
  2. Firms exist because using market prices has transaction costs like searching and bargaining, so organizing activities inside a firm can be cheaper; firms grow until rising managerial and coordination costs outweigh those transaction-cost savings.
  3. The practical implication is that neither pure planning nor pure markets are always best: mixed systems can combine the advantages of both, and centralized planning is more workable at small scales (families or communes) than across large societies.

Top Links 982 The AI boom as a socio-economic phenomenon. We need more copper. Climate shock and the French revolution.

Chartbook • 572 implied HN points • 14 Jan 26
🕹 Technology Political Economy
  1. The AI boom is not just a stock-market bubble; it's part of a broader socio-economic lurch reshaping economies and labor.
  2. Rapid technological expansion is increasing demand for raw materials, especially copper, meaning we will need much more copper to build new infrastructure.
  3. Climate shocks can trigger major political and social upheaval, as seen in the link between environmental crises and events like the French Revolution.

#30: A Plea for Silicon Valley to Enter Politics

Loeber on Substack • 651 implied HN points • 12 Jan 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Political Economy
  1. California is heading toward serious fiscal strain with big deficits and pension debts, which makes it likely politicians will try to extract more revenue from wealthy tech companies and individuals.
  2. If the state pursues heavy or punitive taxes and bad policy, highly mobile tech workers and firms will relocate, eroding the Bay Area ecosystem, shrinking tax revenue, and weakening America's AI advantage.
  3. The practical defense is for successful technologists to run for and win office at local, state, and federal levels so the industry has direct representation and can help shape smarter policy.