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Axon Spark

@axonspark.bsky.social
914 followers 330 following 639 posts

Forger of Photons, Wrangler of Bits, and All Around Odd Man.

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Reposted by Axon Spark
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
New working paper: the Norwegian wealth tax was a huge success. The "exodus" of wealthy people never happened (less than 100 individuals left). Tax revenue increased by 71.5%. No changes in business activity or investment. www.nber.org/papers/w35854
Taxing Entrepreneurial Wealth: Evidence from
Norway, 2021-2025
Marius A. K. Ring
WORKING PAPER 35854|
DOl 10.3386/w35854
ISSUE DATE October 2026
Whether imposing higher taxes on business owners adversely affects business activity by constraining investment and inducing capitalist flight is a central question in the ongoing debate on how to tax the ultra wealthy. To shed new light, I exploit a series of related Norwegian reforms during 2021-2024 that increased dividend tax rates, removed migration-related capital gains tax loopholes, and nearly doubled the effective marginal tax rate on business wealth. These reforms spurred international debate and, allegedly, an "exodus" of Norwegian billionaires (Financial Times,
2023). While I document clear effects on migration, these responses are concentrated among the top 0.1% of the wealth distribution and mostly confined to 2022 and 2023. My results indicate that at most 100 individuals left due to the reforms. I find no evidence of significant outmigration or reduced inflows of startup founders or inventors. I estimate that absent any outmigration, wealth tax revenues would have increased by 75% from 2021 to 2024. Reform-driven outmigration lowers the revenue gain to 71.5%. My findings further show that outmigrating owners' firms remain economically active and do not reduce investment. In a broader set of analyses, I examine whether business outcomes are affected, regardless of whether owners outmigrate, since firms may reduce investment both due to liquidity constraints or distortions to owners' savings decisions. I compare firms owned by Norwegian individuals subject to the wealth tax with firms owned by foreigners and other tax-exempt entities. By merging historical ownership data from Orbis with the Norwegian shareholder register, I perform these analyses on both Norwegian and foreign-domiciled firms.
Across settings, I find no evidence that Norwegian-owned firms pay out more dividends or invest less after the reforms,…
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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 16h
ALSO Justice and vengeance are two very different things. The government shouldn’t have the power to execute people, especially when our justice system doesn’t deliver equal justice. Race, wealth, and access to the best legal representation can determine who lives and who dies.
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Tammy Duckworth @duckworth.senate.gov · 10/10/2026
Putin told Iran the locations of our warships. Today, Trump rewarded him by lifting sanctions and allowing American dollars to fuel Russia’s war machine. Our troops are in harm’s way, and the President cut a deal with the adversary putting a target on their backs.
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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 18h
the SI is short for “simp”
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Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 19h
I guess we know what the “quo” is for the “quid” of Russia ostensibly supplying diesel to the U.S.
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404 Media @404media.co · 18h
Flock’s nationwide network is quickly “approaching dragnet-type law enforcement practice” and the cop should have got a warrant, the judge wrote. www.404media.co/federal-judg...
404media.co
Federal Judge Rules a Flock Search Was ‘Indiscriminate Mass Surveillance’ and Unconstitutional
Flock’s nationwide network is quickly “approaching dragnet-type law enforcement practice” and the cop should have got a warrant, the judge wrote.
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Ben McAdams (The Resurrection Arc) @purrtah.bsky.social · 20h
It’s only getting worse
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Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin @ecmclaughlin.bsky.social · 17h
The ICE agent is now in the custody of the Fresno police charged with multiple felonies. This story is one to watch.
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D. Earl Stephens @dearlstephens.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
📌Trump bowing to Russia + Russia aiding Iran = Trump once again attacking America
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Aaron Parnas @aaronparnas.bsky.social · 20h
NEWS: Elon Musk begins election interference efforts in Colorado and Wisconsin. His PAC begins dumping money to trick voters nationwide. This is important. Trump and Putin have 'love' affair. Trump calls for regime change in Ukraine. Republicans rebuke him. Senate Republicans are in trouble.
aaronparnas.substack.com
NEWS: Musk Launches Election Interference Campaign, Trump Demands Regime Change in Ukraine, Senate Republicans in Trouble
Hey everyone, it’s Saturday evening and today might have been one of the most consequential days of this entire stretch.
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Axon Spark @axonspark.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
We need to absolutely catapult this guy out of office. What a sorry excuse for an American and human being.
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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
reminds me of something an emmy-winning comedy writer said years ago in a shared group chat
I have a theory that a lot of the worst people (Ted Cruz, DOnald Trump) would not be in our hair if they had been able to be even remotely successful in the arts. I believe Elon Musk would give it all up for a couple of spots at the Comedy Store. Unfortuntely, people don't find carrying a sink funny so here we are
and if you've seen the videos of Ted Cruz "acting" in college, youd understand how running for senate was actually the only way he could get on tv
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 06/10/2026
I don't care if this is a bunch of high school football players in Idaho. Writing “Let her hang from a ligh(t) post and let the birds pick at her brain for days” and “(You) think Cornell was bad just wait for us” should be grounds for immediate expulsion and charges filed.
idahopress.com
Threats in Timberline football chat lead to police inquiry
A private Timberline High School football group chat sparked outrage with alleged death threats and sexual violence references toward a female student, prompting a Boise Police Department investigatio...
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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 06/10/2026
Not my president. Clearly, not a president for all Americans. “Let them (Iran) take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.” Then Trump called it a “small price to pay.” Millions of us dead. And his audience laughed. Reporting from my local news…
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Morgan J Freeman @mjfree.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
TEN MILLION more Americans uninsured by 2034. That’s the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” — not a Democratic campaign slogan.
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
"Driver-volunteers go to homes to drop off diapers, baby formula, toilet paper, groceries... "Drivers switch routes and cars, write addresses on paper, and carry a water bottle so they can drop the paper in water and obscure the addresses if stopped... kansasreflector.com/2026/10/02/t...
kansasreflector.com
Trump's immigration sweeps leave southwest Kansas communities looking for way forward • Kansas Reflector
DODGE CITY — Southwest Kansas communities reeling from President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown — which included random stops to check status — are looking for ways to recover as fear continues ...
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DSA-LA @dsa.la · 05/10/2026
‼️ dsa.la/voterguide ‼️ The DSA-LA voter guide is here and it’s jam-packed with information, political analysis, and lowkey, quite a lot of fun little jokes. Head to dsa.la/voterguide or the link in bio AND SHARE WIDELY!!
orange to blue gradient background. a ballot box. black print and text that says DSA-LA General Election Voter Guide 2026
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Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin @ecmclaughlin.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I just want to live in a stable country where everyone is safe and their rights are protected and we all have housing and food and healthcare. I’m really sick and tired of this shit.
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Jules⚖️📨 @northjules.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
KKK robes. Swastika posts. Group chats with Nick Fuentes. That’s not one bad hire, that’s Mike Collins’ inner circle for years. Ossoff is demanding the receipts & Collins is stonewalling. Guilty much? Georgia doesn’t reward cowards with Senate seats. #BlueWaveIn30Days #Pinks 🌊
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Chuck Wendig @chuckwendig.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
“GOTTA LEARN AI OR BE LEFT BEHIND.” Good. Fuck off! Leave me behind! Enjoy your artbarf rapture, your janky Temu future. I’ll be back here looking at real birds and writing weird, also real, books.
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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 04/10/2026
Nothing says “America First” like Trump decorating the White House with photos of himself cozying up to Xi, a communist, and Putin, an authoritarian. But he calls Dems the dangerous radicals.
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Lucien Lazare, Jewish fighter in the French Resistance, has died at 101. After fighting the Nazis, he was rejected by his synagogue later in life for translating an article saying “Israel, today, is nothing but a formless mass of corruption, oppression and injustice.” www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/w...
nytimes.com
Lucien Lazare, Jewish Resistance Fighter in Occupied France, Dies at 101 (Gift Article)
He and a small troop of French Jews worked with the Allies to distribute supplies and fight the Nazis, ambushing a German train and liberating a city in the south.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Part of why I don't like the AI-or-bust economy is the constant flopsweat of people on the news who say this HAS to work. Quit making everyone so anxious. Goddamn. If this is the next Google then why are you acting like this? I don't remember being told to buy an iPhone at gunpoint.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The Atlantic spoke with more than 40 sources: Weeks before the midterms, Kash Patel is desperate to help Trump's Justice Department deliver numerous indictments on Trump's 2020 election lies just to please Trump. In meetings, Patel has expressed frustration that there have been no new findings.
theatlantic.com
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Axon Spark @axonspark.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Gee whiz, a whole $100 (or I guess “nearly”)! JFC, this guy has no idea what healthcare costs.
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Jules⚖️📨 @northjules.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
You went to the protest. Great. That took courage. Fascism is not stopped by people who show up for one march and skip the next election. Fascism is stopped by people who register, vote, and bring their friends along to. #LetsGetVoteReady #Pinks 🌊
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ACLU @aclu.org · 02/10/2026
“I hope the judge sees I’m a person. I’m just a girl trying to have a life like everybody else.” Our client Dakota and all trans and intersex people in Kansas deserve to go about their days without this bill's punitive dehumanization.
washingtonpost.com
Trans people, anguished by Kansas driver's license law, go to court
Plaintiffs are expected to testify this week about the negative effects of carrying identification that doesn't match how they look and feel.
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Axon Spark @axonspark.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
#AbolishICE And criminally prosecute every single person responsible for this disgusting injustice and cruelty.
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Jules⚖️📨 @northjules.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The Constitution says Congress, not the president, decides how your tax money is spent. Trump canceled $810 million Congress approved by running out the clock and the independent spending watchdog calls it illegal. Trump treats your money like it’s his. #PayToPlayPresident
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Courtney Milan @courtneymilan.com · 01/10/2026
This is part of a series of terrible arguments that people make that they think are real gotchas. Yesterday, someone said "I get why women would choose the bear, but then why haven't they? Why haven't all women walked into the woods?"
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Democracy Docket @democracydocket.com · 01/10/2026
EXCLUSIVE: The Trump administration quietly removed resources from a voter assistance guide that previously helped U.S. citizens living abroad determine their voter eligibility in each state. The move could make it harder for these Americans to understand their rights and restrict ballot access.
democracydocket.com
Exclusive: Trump administration removes resources to help U.S. citizens born abroad vote
The move could make it harder for a small but significant group of American citizens abroad to understand their voting rights. It’s part of a sweeping attack by the administration on access to the bal...
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Katie Phang @katiephang.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The NY Times has obtained more than 1,000 pages from Cornell’s Title IX investigation into the 2024 alleged gang rape of Jane Doe. Those documents include interviews of 6 of the 7 fraternity brothers. I bring you the latest on this investigation and what to expect next. youtu.be/xwA2mCsX_sM?...
youtu.be
WOW! BOMBSHELL Documents REVEAL NEW Details Of Cornell ASSAULT INVESTIGATION
YouTube video by Katie Phang
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Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin @ecmclaughlin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Nothing I have to say about this is good.
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Axon Spark @axonspark.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
MAGA’s tiny minds are just tornadoes of hatred and fear.
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Miaganga @miaganga.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
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Axon Spark @axonspark.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Great. Just great…
static.klipy.com
Picard Facepalm
ALT: Picard Facepalm
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George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Hahahahahahahaha this ad is awesome
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The Stranger @thestranger.com · 29/09/2026
A group of local Seattle artists and cultural workers have drafted a letter to Mayor Wilson requesting that the city divert funds away from SPD and redirect it towards the arts. The main argument? Arts activations and cultural programming should be considered a form of public safety infrastructure.
thestranger.com
Why Can’t Seattle Fund the Arts Like It’s FIFA Every Year? - The Stranger
There’s a draft of an open letter to Mayor Katie Wilson and the Seattle City Council that’s been making the rounds on social media and racking up signatures over the past few days. The request: divert $8 million from SPD’s $68 million proposed budget increase and give that money to the arts. The reasoning? Art […]
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The arguments you've heard against California's billionaire tax are utter BS. Here to debunk them — and explain why you should vote YES on Prop 40 — is renowned economist @gabrielzucman.bsky.social
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 28/09/2026
New @jamestalarico.bsky.social ad just dropped.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 28/09/2026
"Most presidents engage in diplomacy in order to advance the interests of the United States and/or their political standing and that of their party. Trump, though, mostly seems to chase the narcissistic thrill of standing on the world stage and feeling important."
publicnotice.co
Trump loves Xi because he wants to be him
Kowtowing to tyrants makes him think he’s strong.
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Múmer @mumermao.eurosky.social · 28/09/2026
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House Democrats @housedemocrats.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Nothing says “golden age” like record high gas and grocery prices.
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
"The U.S. and Russian teams also removed a provision requiring that humans review military targets developed by AI before a strike..." www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
washingtonpost.com
U.S., Russia stripped human oversight from global AI weapons pact
The two nations weakened a range of safeguards in a landmark U.N. effort to try to regulate the use of lethal autonomous weaponry. The global negotiations earlier this month marked the furthest progre...
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Axon Spark @axonspark.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Why the hell is this delusional asshole wearing a crown now?
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Adam Cohen (My Personal Views Only) @axidentaliberal.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
We cannot let ICE hide their crimes behind the anonymity of masks and cover-ups by the Trump administration Any citizens or immigrants harmed by DHS agents deserve justice-with both civil remedies and criminal prosecution, if applicable And we must rid the country of these bloodthirsty thugs
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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 28/09/2026
ICE IS ABOUT TO MAKE YOUR GROCERY BILL EVEN WORSE Cattle groups in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas say ICE raids are creating a “massive chilling effect” on legal, documented workers, disrupting meatpacking and delaying the processing of thousands of cattle. They’re reporting millions in losses.
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emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Now would be a good time for @pallone.house.gov to send Fox a letter promising an investigation into why they accepted this ad and how much they got paid to run it.
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Hourly Cosmos @hourlycosmos.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Life in the Milky Way Galaxy - From Bill (ridingrobots.bsky.social) - flic.kr/p/2roeDrA
Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah
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CHIRLA @chirla-org.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
ICE raids continue in our communities. If you see immigration enforcement in your neighborhood, report it by calling the LA Rapid Response Network! #SomosCHIRLA #StopTheRaids
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