@austincampbell Not surprised that was your takeaway. Funny how bureaucracy is just “accountability” when poor people have to prove they need help, but it becomes government incompetence and a civil rights violation the minute the rich are asked for some basic documentation.

BREAKING: President Trump has been floating the idea privately to senior aides that he's willing to "walk away" from the Iran War without a nuclear deal should Iran fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, per WSJ. Details include: 1. This objective reportedly became "more difficult" yesterday when Iran insisted on its highest price yet for reopening the Strait of Hormuz 2. Iran is now seeking billions of dollars in US payments, the removal of US troops from the region, among other things to reopen Hormuz 3. US officials said Trump is patient and expected to ride out the latest developments as long as gas prices remain where they are 4. Trump has reportedly told senior aides that Iran is likely unable to revive its nuclear work during his presidency The Iran War negotiations are becoming increasingly complicated.

"Criminals use crypto!" Consider : criminals take risks (incl. testing new tools & tech) Why? High stakes. No do-overs. No rule-of-law to protect them. 📺WATCH (~10 mins): Perena's "But Why" Episode 2 - "Crypto" with @austincampbell and Anna Yuan

My new company tried promoting me two times already this year. I declined both times. First time was into management, second time was into a lead role. Here's why: 1. I work off commission mostly. So within reason, I get to control my time & income. I already hit my yearly quota, and I usually hit my KPI metrics by Thursday, meaning I can take it easy on Friday's. That all goes away when I'm responsible for other people. 2. Top producers in our industry typically make more than managers. I'm on pace to surpass the raise proposed by next year, and I still have a ton more upside. 3. I have enough problems of my own. I want nothing to do anyone else's. As a leader, not only are you responsible for their production, but often times they bring their extra baggage to make your problem too. At this point of my life, all I want to do is worry about myself. As many of you know, I've dealt with a lot of loss this past year with my Dad and Auntie as well as my Mom 11 years ago. What matters most to me is doing my job well, and as I get ahead of the game, reinvest time saved to spend with my family. I don't want to worry about have to take that extra time and worry about other people at work. Even if they proposed an even higher TC arrangement (which they hinted at), I would still decline. I've been fortunate to have made a ton of money in my career, invested it well, and don't need to optimize for every penny at this point of my career. Now I can just optimize for time, freedom, and peace of mind. And if I keep up this pace in a few years I can go out on my own, set up shop comfortably without any financial pressure.

Testifying before @SenFinance today, AARP's @NancyLeaMond calls on Congress to shore up Social Security’s finances in an open process. Echoing a position held by a majority of older Americans: No cuts. Period.

The conservative WSJ Editorial Board just published a piece beating up the Clarity Act, writing that the crypto market structure bill “needs changes to reduce risks to the financial system” At issue: stablecoin yield and illicit finance

TradFi has Ledger hell. 📊 Securities on one. 🏦 Deposits on another. 🏠Houses on a third. Commodities on a fourth!? @austincampbell : Fragmentation on fragmentation. With blockchain? One omni-ledger.

Crypto latest: There is a clear consensus among Senate Democrats right now that — without movement on ethics, illicit finance and stablecoin yield — a cloture vote this week on the Clarity Act will fail. Democrats won’t be moved by crypto cash at this point.

I have spent about 10 minutes flipping through this, but wow, when did Bloomberg become the agitprop wing of the DSA? First impressions (there may be more): - Deferring not eliminating taxes isn’t the 0% they brazenly put in their graphic (they even modify the zero immediately in the explaining text to “near zero” which it’s also not — do they even have compliance there @MikeBloomberg?). - Tom Steyer, give back all the money you apparently think you stole based on the carried interest exemption before you say a damn word (an exemption which hedge funds mostly don’t get btw: Or were you just “following the law”? Does that reason work for everyone Tommy? Also, as a personal message from me to you, kiss my ass you desiccated 5x loser. You found you couldn’t suck up to the DSA enough to get elected huh, so you desperately try to stay relevant this way. Oh, and Morris Pearl, whoever the hell that is, late of Blackrock, with his Patriotic Millionaire bullshit (non-binding virtue signaling crap from mostly a bunch of vicious personal tax optimizers) might want to scroll here to find “long-short tax aware investing”: - Lots of quotes out of context. As usual the left (and I’m talking to the left who both wrote and consume this BS) loves to take jokes and make them sound real when they don’t like someone invariable viewed as being on the other team (amazing they didn’t quote me saying there are “fine people” on both sides of the tax debate). When I wrote “only death is certain now” it was whimsical. But when your class enemies use whimsey you pretend it was real and attack right? Because you’re “journalists.” Also when you are honest with the world, as right or wrong anyone following me knows I have been for 35 years in this business, they make it a gotcha when I, on my own, share a funny self-deprecating story with the world. I joke about this one with self-deprecation ( but the “journalists” will seize on it like they ferreted it out like Woodward and Bernstein. Yeah, I punched a computer monitor, 18 years ago, and I’ve written about it and joked at my own expense (i.e., the monitor was embarrassingly unhurt). You guys got me good! The tattoo however is real. Got me. It’s going away though. That is not a fun process and they lie to you about how many painful sessions it will take. Kids, stay in school and don’t get tattoos. - A subtle one. I gave kudos to him because I read Rob Arnott’s paper on taxes eating your alpha back in 1993 (when the NY Rangers had still gone 53 year without a Stanley Cup). They make it sound like I was a silent movie mustache twirling villain waiting 20-25 years since then to finally pounce. Again, journalism. - Most importantly, the moral issue, and there is one here just not the one these MS NOW aspirants highlight, is that of working in your clients interests. We use the same pre-tax alpha models for all our investors, taxable and non-taxable (non-taxable is where we started and still manage > 100B). Now, if you manage for both, how do you not, within the law (and it’s well within the law for any administration despite that slimy backhanded quote), minimize or defer the tax burden on your taxable clients to the best of your abilities and still think you’re remotely acting in their interests? Remember post GFC when it was all the rage to insist managers act in their clients interests (we always did)? Apparently that’s suspended, and is actually immoral, when it’s a successful hedge fund manager managing for taxable people of means (and, again, pre-tax for pension funds and charitable endowments and mutual fund investors etc.). Oh, and while most things you took out of context and with prejudice, which is shameful (do you think you are down the middle journalists?). The one you got right is my comments on Mamdani. In context. I take back not a word of that. Otherwise you guys did really well.