x-naval

A post criticizes Ro Khanna's proposed billionaire wealth tax, describing it as an annual asset seizure that would apply to individuals worth $50 million or more, and warns the policy could eventually target ordinary retirement accounts like 401(k)s.

A post from Naval (retweeting Beff/e/acc) argues that tech founders would be forced to leave a state under proposed tax policies targeting wealth over $50 million, calling for resistance against such measures.

Naval announces a new podcast with Garry Tan, Farbood, and Daniel Francis titled "Live in the Future," covering topics such as AI, technology, investing, and writing. The goal is to capture authentic conversations among founders.

A viral post interprets the U.S. national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner" as a question—"Is it still there?"—reflecting the fragility of American freedom and the need for constant defense. The author argues that the anthem's interrogative form embodies the ongoing struggle to preserve the nation's ideals, framed as a patriotic reflection on America's 250th anniversary.

Naval celebrates America's birthday and urges protection of the First, Second, Fourth, and Ninth Amendments, stating that freedom—both in America and globally—depends on them.

Naval argues that recognizing a fundamental truth permanently changes one's perspective, making it impossible to revert to a prior state of unawareness.

The pain of losing a parent is tempered by the natural asymmetry of love between generations; if a child loved their parents as intensely as parents love their child, the loss would be unbearable.

Naval argues that the market isn't truly capitalist but a mixed economy "gamed" by governments through zoning, monetary policy, subsidies, and regulatory capture—not by consumers.

Zcash's formal verification efforts have eliminated undetectable counterfeiting bugs from the new Ironwood pool, ruling out such vulnerabilities up to the underlying cryptographic assumptions, as part of Project Tachyon.

A social media post argues that communism and socialism are the same, dismissing distinctions between them as lies. It compares "Democratic Socialist" to "National Socialist," claiming socialism is a deceptive cover for authoritarianism. The post is a retweet of a reply to an article about media fact-checking claims that Democratic Socialism differs from communism.

Roman Storm warns that the legal theory in his case could set a precedent making open-source developers liable for how others use their code, potentially criminalizing the mere publication of privacy, messaging, or crypto tools. He notes that developer Michael Lewellen cannot publish lawful code due to prosecution fears, and argues this chilling effect extends beyond any single case.

The post argues that the anti-capitalist left opposes extreme wealth for business leaders because they don't understand entrepreneurship and value creation, but accepts it for artists and athletes whose success they attribute to luck or talent. It contrasts tolerance for wealthy entertainers with criticism faced by business executives.

Zcash testnet is updating for Ironwood with two independently developed consensus implementations, one by Valar Group (in audit) and another by the Zcash Foundation. Users can try a desktop wallet fork with migration code, and Keystone dev device users can update firmware to test signing 11+ transactions with a single QR code.

A Twitter user argues that innovations improving daily life—such as medications, streaming services, and smartphones—are products of capitalism, not socialism, in response to a statement from the Democratic Socialists of America.

A post ranking responsibility for potential malaria deaths if Elon Musk stops aid: mosquitoes, then local governments and families, and lastly people elsewhere. The author expresses disbelief that this clarification is necessary.

A critic argues that journalist Nicholas Kristof's emotional, anecdote-driven advocacy for international public health aid is counterproductive. The author claims Kristof's tactics are manipulative and out of touch, and that blaming Elon Musk for aid cuts overlooks the flawed design of the programs themselves, which are said to be intertwined with political and dark-money interests.

A user argues that taxing illiquid stock holdings of founders with high-valuation companies would destroy America's entrepreneurial culture, noting that most founders work long hours for modest pay and would face bankruptcy or exile under such a tax. This is a response to Gavin Newsom's call for a national billionaires tax, citing wealth inequality and a broken system.

During the 1960s-1970s, many NYC landlords abandoned buildings because rent controls made them unprofitable, they couldn't evict tenants, and no buyers existed. Some resorted to arson as the only legal way to break leases, leaving vacant lots. Large areas of the city became devastated, resembling a warzone.

Naval argues that the debate over whether Elon Musk "killed" millions through his actions reflects the flaws of raw consequentialist reasoning, which assigns infinite moral culpability and paralyzes decision-making. He asserts that no one actually lives by such logic, making the entire debate irrelevant.

A satirical Twitter thread imagines a 2027 where human users must pass a retinal identity check at a government DMV (Department of Model Variance) to access advanced AI models like GPT-7.1. The story touches on themes of AI wrappers, government restrictions on AI access, personalized services, and geopolitical tensions around model ensoulment and national security.

In a January interview, a16z's Ben Horowitz argued that California's proposed wealth tax is the most effective strategy he has seen to dismantle Silicon Valley. He cited Norway's unrealized capital gains tax as a cautionary example, noting it drove tech entrepreneurs and talent out of the country, leaving almost none behind.

Naval argues that as established elites are pushed out of both major U.S. political parties, the primary political divide is shifting from Republicans versus Democrats to a new alignment of Nationalists versus Socialists.

Naval retweets Hunter Ash, arguing that America's industrial leaders must take politics seriously because there is no automatic corrective mechanism if property confiscation is ordered, and urging immediate drastic action.

Naval argues that if artificial intelligence is used to generate written content, it should also be responsible for consuming and processing information on behalf of users.

The post argues that New York City's unaffordability stems from an expensive public sector, not housing supply shortages. It claims the city benefits fiscally from the ultra-rich and private sector workers, while describing certain NGO and "wordcel" professionals as a net fiscal negative who advocate for policies—like seizing housing in desirable neighborhoods—to benefit their own class interests.

The tweet argues that great products are more about discovery than invention, suggesting that successful products are found by recognizing existing needs or opportunities rather than being purely created from scratch.

Naval states that the political landscape moving forward will be defined by a conflict between nationalists and communists.

Naval argues that the responsibility for political outcomes lies with voters rather than politicians.

Mike Solana argues that repeatedly criticizing Ro Khanna online is insufficient, and that a well-funded plan is needed to protect the country from what he describes as parasitic fraud and its congressional supporters.

A developer spent Sunday hacking non-custodial payment links in Vizor Wallet. The links self-encode all details to make ZEC available to recipients without centralized infrastructure, custody, or loss of privacy, operating asynchronously.