The New New Deal: The Pu Pu Platter
aka the "Official Policy Platform"
The Republic stands. (For now...)
Amazing.
As Wayne and Garth used to say…”Game on!”
Today I’d like to send along a broad list of possible policies we’ve brainstormed up for the New New Deal over here at HQ. Call it an Official Policy Plan, call it a Pu Pu Platter, the intent is the same: operationalize the concept of a “New New Deal” into a set of concrete proposals to be considered.
Each oriented as a possible solution to an existing and growing problem, and each in the interest of revitalizing the Republic. Take what you like, think about the package as a set of options to deal with these emerging internal and external challenges.
Most of these policies will be controversial. Some (maybe even many) may end up being outright bad ideas or ill-advised. So take it with a grain of sugar.
“Wet clay” as the big man used to say.
While we don't have enough time today to fully go through all of these, we're putting them out there while the Overton window is having its grand opening sale.
Last time we covered this space, I sent out one of the most potentially divisive of these policies, the 100% inheritance tax. The kind of thing that seems insane if we were to implement it tomorrow, but potentially inevitable - depending on how long your timelines are with respect to ai acceleration. Many of these ideas will feel similar.
With that in mind here are 58 potential policies to consider, as the US spends the next two months, figuring out what this software update on the Republic ought look like.
We split these into Internal and Global buckets, but please don't get too hung up on the categories. They're more about direction than destination. Think of it as a new axis on the political compass: not left/right, not auth/lib, but future/past. And we're betting on the future.
Because the next century won't look anything like the last one, and we need new ideas, new pipes, and new societal software to meet this new exciting and potentially disruptive reality.
That’s it. That’s the post.
The Republic stands, a good time to reflect on what could be.
Have a good weekend, get some sun and we can sync on Monday..
As Spock would say to Cap. Kirk, “Fascinating”.
So now coming here, what's the implicit 'bargain' you want now?
Give us 100% of your assets on death and we'll mine space rocks for your kids?
Only provocative here, because you go from a pithy encapsulation to 58 policy proposals. It's hard to comment in real time consuming the whole timeline, but what's the goal?
One way you could frame the implicit deal of the past 30-35 years post Cold War was 'lift all global boats, and we'll effectively have peace and rising markets... forever. Everyone can get rich!' That failed miserably. People *feel* worse off than their parents because wealth inequality is so much easier to see and consumed everyday. Access to cheap credit and private equity and VC opportunities was not evenly distributed - labor couldn't even come close to keeping up.
We now know how stark market failure is with rival goods, cheap credit, and large foreign investment. Pure gambling and speculation can't be the only way out for most people.
In many ways, land for hard work was a better bargain, because you had some control over your fate.
Today, it feels completely out of people's control. The "college" for "middle class life" bargain failed miserably.
So what's next?