~ Explorations ~

Policy Proposals

Specific proposals for legislative and tax policy change. These represent my personal views on what I believe would make the world a better place. They are earnest, sometimes unconventional, and always evolving.

United States Federal Legislation

Federal

Animal Welfare

  • Pass nationwide legislation to ban or restrict intensive confinement practices for farm animals in the US.
  • Impose import restrictions on animal products from outside the US that do not meet these restrictions.

Restricted Substances

  • Modifications to the Controlled Substances Act:
    • Reclassify tobacco as Schedule I or II
    • Reclassify marijuana, LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA to more lax classification or deschedule entirely

United States Sovereign Wealth Fund

  • Economists, policy experts, and political leaders would develop a detailed proposal outlining the goals, structure, and potential benefits of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund.
  • Congress should pass legislation to establish SWF, funding via debt issuance and tax revenue (as applicable).

Prediction Markets

  • CFTC to legalize prediction markets:
    • Grant no action letter to existing prediction markets
    • Amend Event Contract regulation to be less sweeping and permit more markets
    • Potentially create a new Designated Contract Market classification to govern prediction markets

California Legislation

State

Licensing

  • California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology should remove licensure requirement to operate as a barber.

Decriminalize Sex Work

  • State legislature or citizen-led ballot initiative should be created to decriminalize sex work in California.

San Francisco Legislation

Local

Public Safety

  • Expand funding for police force.

Infrastructure

  • Hamstring the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which significantly restricts new building developments.
  • Relax SF zoning code, increasing the permissions to build higher-density, larger housing structures with fewer area restrictions.
    • Eliminate single-family zoning entirely
  • Reduce or eliminate public hearings for developments that comply with zoning laws.
  • Eliminate parking requirements for buildings.
  • San Francisco Airport Commission should work at an accelerated pace to create infrastructure for self-driving vehicles.

Miscellaneous

  • SF Health Code should remove requirement for massage therapists to have California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) licensure.

Taxation

Tax Policy

General Changes

  • Direct File System: After responding to questions, the IRS should tell citizens how much tax they owe.
  • Go After Tax Fraud More Vigorously: Utilize AI and other technologies to chase and prosecute tax fraud.

Individual Income Tax

  • Universal Basic Income: Drop bottom tax rate negative, to a maximum benefit of ~$3,000 annually.
    • Doesn't phase out by income — applies to everyone
    • Provides incentive for everyone to complete tax return, providing more data
    • Decline in tax revenue offset by increases in top marginal tax rates
    • Fine with EITC as a replacement; prefer the structure of UBI, particularly as society gets more wealthy
  • Drop next several levels of tax brackets by ~50% for income under ~$100k.
  • Increase remaining tax brackets, with top marginal rate of 50%.
  • Mortgage Interest Deduction: Remove ability to write off mortgage interest expense over $25k or on 2nd homes / investment properties.
  • Retirement Accounts: Remove backdoor and mega-backdoor permissions.
Guiding Thoughts: Eliminates deadweight tax loss of job market, incentivizes making money. Individual income tax represents ~50% of government revenue, so want to be careful about dropping main income source. BUT suspect this would not change tax revenue drastically since the top 50% of taxpayers already pay 97% of income taxes. Reduces incentive for crime — you can just earn more money in a job and not worth the risk.

Corporate Income Taxes

  • Remove PTP (Publicly Traded Partnership) restrictions.

Capital Gains Tax

  • Eliminate step up in basis for heirs upon death of principal asset-holder.
  • Maybe: Index cost basis of capital gains to inflation (at least partially).
    • Would support this if new tax policy indicated it could be done simply
    • As of now it seems complicated and maybe not ideal
    • UK tried this and gave it up; Israel still does it
  • Support implementing limited tax on unrealized capital gains.
    • Only applies to unrealized gains that have held balance sheet value for 5+ years
    • Tax can be paid immediately or accrues interest rate (maybe 5%) upon realization
    • Only applies to individuals with net worth above ultra-rich threshold, like $50M+

New Ownership Tax

  • Land Value Tax.
  • Common Ownership Self-Assessed Tax (COST):
    • Only applies for assets >$100k
    • Exempts primary home below $5M, retirement accounts, essential business assets
    • Asset owner can impose reasonable restrictions on the buyer of the asset (e.g., competitive restrictions, etc.)
    • Reassessment applies annually

Consumption Taxes

  • Implement 10% VAT, excepting essential goods.
  • Implement $25 per ton carbon tax.

These proposals reflect my personal views as of February 2026. They are not financial, legal, or political advice. I reserve the right to change my mind about any of these as I learn more.