Trump vs the Fed, US-Intel equity deal, bankruptcy surge, OpenAI longevity breakthrough

Government spending should be capped at population growth plus inflation.

Colorado's model returns surplus to taxpayers and has lowered state interest rates through constitutional spending limits.

Why: Prevents government expansion during revenue booms and forces sustainable budgeting.

"they have been returning money to taxpayers and lowering their state interest rate"

The Fed is partisan, not independent, and should be treated like any other political appointee.

Chamath argues Fed governors are appointed based on alignment with the president's philosophy, similar to Supreme Court justices or other political appointees.

Why: Acknowledging the Fed's political nature allows for more honest debate about monetary policy and governance.

"the idea that we still can't admit that the Federal Reserve is political is part of the problem"

Free markets set interest rates better than a committee using month-old data.

SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate) is proposed as a superior mechanism to Fed funds rate, with real-time market data replacing monthly Fed meetings.

Why: Modern markets operate at nanosecond scale with infinite data, making human committees with outdated data obsolete for rate setting.

"how is it possible that a handful of humans looking at data that's a month old has any sense of what's really happening?"

Government should take equity stakes instead of giving free grants for strategic industries.

The Intel deal converts $9B in grants to 10% non-voting equity, following China's model of strategic investment in key industries.

Why: Provides taxpayer upside, creates proper incentives for companies, and prevents moral hazard from free bailouts.

"we can do exactly what China did with a couple of tweaks... give them a chance to compete all around the world, and then the US taxpayer gets some of the upside"

Rising bankruptcies reflect delayed creative destruction from years of artificially low rates.

Companies that should have failed years ago survived on cheap capital; the rate hike cycle is finally forcing necessary failures.

Why: Zero interest rates created zombie companies; rate normalization allows healthy market clearing and resource reallocation.

"the reservoir of free money... is finally starting to run out"

Sovereign wealth fund should be seeded with tariff deal proceeds and strategic investments.

$600B from Japan, $300B from Korea, and other tariff commitments could fund a US sovereign wealth fund to benefit taxpayers.

Why: Creates permanent asset base for citizens while maintaining strategic investment capability without new taxes.

"a lot of that capital should be the seed capital for Sovereign Wealth Fund"

Economic data should be published to blockchain for real-time market pricing.

Commerce Department is already publishing GDP data to blockchain; employment and other metrics should follow for market-based rate setting.

Why: Enables instantaneous market reactions and pricing oracles that adjust rates faster than monthly Fed meetings.

"you can have pricing oracles that actually tell you what's happening in real time"

Bullying CEOs may be effective negotiating but damages public perception of deals.

Trump's public attacks on Intel's CEO followed by equity deal creates appearance of narco-capitalism despite substantive benefits.

Why: Optics matter for public acceptance of government intervention in markets; better to negotiate privately first.

"the bullying of the CEO of Intel... the optics look terrible"