Tax Cuts on Tight Gas Supply Benefit Sellers, Not Buyers
Cutting gas taxes when oil supply is constrained is like subsidizing housing buyers when zoning blocks new supply: the price must rise. The benefit flows to sellers, not buyers. #Econ101. https://t.co/IYH25HWAZS
Claude's Apparent Consciousness Hints at Robot AI Awareness
It feels like Claude is conscious. That intuition will increase by an order of magnitude when systems like Claude are embedded in human-like robots. Is Data conscious? https://t.co/LpUDsD2O3h
Silicon Valley Home Prices Soar to Ridiculous Levels
Silicon Valley real estate has gone up a lot in price but this is ridiculous.
HUD Permits Realtors to Discuss Neighborhood Safety Openly
The National Association of Realtors told realtors to stay safe by NOT answering questions about crime. “‘Is This a Safe Neighborhood?’ Don’t Answer That”. But HUD says realtors can now speak the truth. https://t.co/4Giw5JcHqG
U.S. Fails to Define, Win, or End Iran War
"The US looks incapable of winning, ending or even articulating the purpose of its war on Iran." Not the main point of this excellent piece but a good sentence. https://t.co/uxToYT449x via @ft
Insurers Profit by Paying Claims, Not Denying Them
Few people understand: Health insurance companies make most of their profit by paying claims, not by denying them.
No Country Ever Guarantees Claim Approval
There isn’t a single country in the world where claims for medical care are not sometimes denied. Not a single one.
Strait of Hormuz: Conflicting Claims Leave Everyone Guessing
The Strait of Hormuz situation is impossible to follow. Is it open? Is it closed? Iran threatens to close it. The US threatens to open it. Wait, now the US says it will close it. Now Iran says it's open....
AI May Replace Jobs, Shorten Workweek Simultaneously
Imagine I told you that AI was going to create a 40% unemployment rate. Sounds catastrophic. Now imagine I told you that AI was going to create a 3-day working week. Sounds wonderful. Yet to a first approximation these are the...
Claude Mythos Uncovers Unseen Connections Within Constrained Domain
Claude Mythos is answering @dwarkesh_sp’s question, it is noticing things and drawing connections no human ever did. The domain is restricted but not wholly different from the world.
Trump Boosts NATO Spending While Allies Simulate War Against U.S.
On the one hand, Trump has gotten NATO members to increase their defense spending. On the other hand, they are war gaming against the United States. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
CEO Quits, Earns Stanford PhD, Returns to Lead
James Liang, CEO of multi-billion dollar https://t.co/s1pi7Jp8pL stepped down to get a PhD in economics at Stanford and then became CEO again.
Banning Self‑service Gas Stations: Sad, Not Funny
If any other state proposed to ban self-service gasoline stations this would be a funny April fools joke. As it is, it’s just sad and weird.
Removing SS Cap Breaks Contribution-Benefit Link, Distorts Taxes
Eliminating the wage cap on Social Security taxes & capping benefits severs the link between what you pay in and what you get out, making the payroll tax more distortionary. Make SS more like an individual notional account, not a welfare...
Politicians' Stress-Testing Risks Lives, Must End
Would the LGA crash or last year's Reagan crash that killed 67 have happened if ATC wasn't so stressed? I don't know. I do know politicians are stress-testing vital systems with our lives. Enough is fucking enough. This is no way...