ACC Friday Edition
DeSantis/Newsom: The debate no one asked for, Illinois can't stop being corrupt, Santos is out, Why boycott Musk when your company is still on TikTok?, Joe Rogan talks central banking, Plus More...
DeSantis and Newsom have a debate for some reason
I mean, we’re all for debate. But, at this point, why?
Santos is gone
That this guy ever got into Congress is amazing. On the other hand, as wacky as he is, there are a whole bunch of other congresspeople who should be packing bags too.
How does corruption impact democracy? Take a look at Illinois
Again, we ask, why stay in Illinois? You can go to lots of places that are warmer, less corrupt, less taxed.
Illinois residents can now report government corruption, online
Bill Ackman on Musk: " (He) is entirely correct that he and @X are treated unfairly and inconsistently by advertisers."
"Musk is targeted because the other media organizations view @X as a competitor and any time his name is in an article about controversies, it draws clicks. MSM is incentivized to attack him as it actually drives attention to their sites and therefore more revenues. It is these attack articles by other media organizations that put pressure on the @Disney's of the world to stop advertising on X," the billionaire said.
As Ackman explained, perhaps Disney's Bob Iger should "carefully examine the facts" and not cave to public pressure. He said, "Meanwhile, Disney invests heavily on TikTok, likely alongside videos of kids teaching other teenagers to be anorexic and worse."
Boy is Ackman (someone with whom we have had issues in the past) right on that last point.
FBI hiding the ball on communications with Twitter
The fact that the old media really has refused to cover the Twitter Files is nuts. Many people have no idea still of the extent of what happened. Laundering censorship by government is still censorship. And we’re not supposed to do that in this country.
Pot legalization timeline by state
Maui wowie! Recreational weed is still illegal in Hawaii. That, is, surprising.
David Stockman: The Destruction of the American middle class
…during the last 22 years the median real annual wage, as tracked by Social Security payroll tax records, has risen by only 14.5% or just $235 per annum. And, no, we didn’t omit any zeros from that figure. These piddling gains amount to just $4.50 per week on average.
These annual inflation-adjusted gains in the median wage compare to real net worth gains of nearly $1 million and $4 million per annum for the top 1% and top 0.1%, respectively. In relative terms, these annual wealth gains for the top 1% were 4,250X larger than the median real wage gain and 17,000X larger for the top 0.1%.
Needless to say, outsized gains at the top of the economic ladder are not owing to a superior growth of national income, which, in turn, might have been reflected in higher capitalized values for financial assets. Instead, the bulk of these gains are attributable to valuation multiple expansion. Thus, the net worth of the top 1% computed to 135% of GDP in 2000, but now stands at 207%. Likewise, the net worth of the top 0.1% rose from 50% to 85% of GDP during this 22-year period.
I am proud to note that Mr. Stockman did some of the praise for my book, Politicos, Predators, Payoffs, and Vegan Pizza many years ago.
Indonesia’s anticorruption chief Firli Bahri faces extortion charges
Indonesia? Nooooo.
Remember when Americans used to think that they were really above this kind of thing? Granted in the US it’s usually more subtle.
Joe Rogan and Dave Smith talk hyperinflation and central banking
Two of my favorite topics, but you’ll probably like this conversation too.
Dow 36,000
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