iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 4h

Yea, Meta is the last company in the world I'd trust with this, but at a time when the GOP is weaponizing administrative burdens to kick poor people off healthcare, having a computer that can help you navigate a hostile bureaucracy could be a big deal for a lot of people.

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Cameron 🇺🇸🗽🦅 @cameroncorduroy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

speaking of closing tax loopholes, if the IRS was able to collect all taxes owed since 2000 it could mean today's national debt would be $8 trillion lighter some new fiscal analysis from yours truly, link below

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I see people putting AI in the same bucket as NFTs (speculative technology that will go away when the bubble pops), but I think the internet is the better comp. Sure there's some early bubble-y activity, but the underlying technology is real it's going to dramatically change things.

Hand-drawn Venn diagram titled "Bubbles," with four overlapping circles: Beanie Babies, AI, NFTs, and Dot-com.

Each alone: "Gamble on plushies!" / "Gamble on LLMs!" / "Gamble on JPEGs!" / "Gamble on HTML!"

Beanie Babies + AI: "The products tend to have cutesy first names."
Beanie Babies + NFTs: "Who will own the rarest fake monkey?"
AI + Dot-com: "Genuinely important underlying technology."
NFTs + Dot-com: "This URL could be worth millions!"

Every bubble but Dot-com: "Mostly in private markets."
Every bubble but NFTs: "Good people got hurt."
Every bubble but AI: "Never threatened life as we know it."
Every bubble but Beanie Babies: "Blame Silicon Valley."

All four: "Somebody got rich, but probably not you."

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I keep expecting AI progress to plateau, but with the opus 5.5 release it seems clear that is not happening.

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

We should do a large scale in-person arts subsidy. Even AI disruption aside, it’d be worth it just to get people to touch grass more.

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The GOP cut funding to the IRS because *audits work* and they fundamentally don't believe rich people should have to play by the rules.

Line chart titled "Revenue per audit," subtitled "In-person audits, 2010-2014." It plots average revenue and average cost per audit by taxpayer income percentile, poorer to richer, from the 0–5th percentile to the top 0.1%. Source: Boning et al. 2023, "A Welfare Analysis of Tax Audits Across the Income Distribution."

Across the bottom half of the income distribution, revenue and cost track closely, both around $3,000–$6,000 per audit. Above the median, revenue pulls ahead of cost: about $10,000 vs. $5,000 near the 90th percentile, and about $17,000 vs. $8,000 at the 95th–99th. At the top, revenue jumps to about $31,000 for the 99–99.9th percentile and about $90,000 for the top 0.1%.

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

One day I hope to convince conservatives that we should enforce the rule of law, reduce the deficit, and not carelessly tear down the institutions prior generations built, but today is not that day.

First tweet:
Harry Heymann @harryh · 16h
The GOP literally cut funding to IRS enforcement so more people could commit tax fraud.
2 replies, 5 reposts, 545 likes, 13K views

Reply tweet:
Austen Allred @Austen
It cut funding to IRS because the assumption that the way to catch tax fraud is to hire tens of thousands of auditors to look through paper tax returns by hand is insane
7:18 PM · Sep 26, 2026 · 196.2K Views

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Love to see Medicare for Kids back on the menu, such an underrated path to M4A

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lauren @lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · 21/09/2026

i don't think you necessarily meant it in this way, but yes, the invention of the washing machine is one of the most liberatory moments in human history, among other time and labor-saving inventions

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

In related news, I'll be starting the Medlock sportsbook. Every line is even money, no vig, max bet $580, both sides mandatory, one visit per six months. It's time to gamble our way to Medicaid for All.

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Republicans, in their infinite wisdom, left a big gambling loophole in the Medicaid work requirements. I'm no fan of the gambling industry, but if you are on Medicaid and struggling to deal with the work requirements, taking a $580 bet on both sides of an outcome is one way of getting around them.

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Bill Kuchman @billkuchman.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

“We pay for the equipment in the gym. We pay for the art supplies. All of the things that we just built into a school budget, that’s because those are the required elements of educating the children. ... Making sure everybody’s had breakfast and lunch is just as important ...”

thebulwark.com

EXCLUSIVE: The Next Big Dem Proposal: Let Kids Eat Free

School lunches were free to all kids during the pandemic; a prominent think-tank wants to bring back the idea and make it permanent.

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

As Mike said a few months ago, everyone has an industrial policy plan until they get punched in the face by 'itty-bitty titties and a bob.'

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Missouri voters,, welcome to tax positivity

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Nothing but respect for a man who just loves to pay taxes 🫡

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Glonzo the Bureaucrat 🇬🇱 🌹 @snarkranger.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Once again, with feeling: any leftism which doesn't account for the fact that America collects fully 30% less taxes than the average OECD country is doomed to fail. And no, you can't just get it all from billionaires. Adopt @jdcmedlock.bsky.social thought or die.

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Haven't been online much lately, how are y'all doing?

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

The LA election discourse is a good reminder that Democrats are overly process focused and build well intentioned systems that move far too slowly, whereas Republicans are really stupid.

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Adam Gurri @adamgurri.liberalcurrents.com · 22/05/2026

Read @dogsinautumn.bsky.social today on why taxes are good and Democrats cannot cave to the temptation to campaign on lowering them

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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 21/05/2026

listen to Mr Medlock. what you do is tax the piss out of basically every transaction and make up for any unfairness with a super generous welfare state

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Bezos retweeted the absolute worst slop infographic I've ever seen in my life.

Screenshot of a tweet from Emad Mostaque (@EMostaque), reposted by Jeff Bezos. Tweet text reads: "A basic analysis shows that zeroing out federal taxes for the bottom half the USA would help millions, have minimal impact on tax receipts & add over $100 billion to the economy. It's easy to check this yourself with @grok & similar, great of @JeffBezos to highlight."
The tweet includes an infographic titled "A Small Tax With a Huge Drag" with the subtitle "The bottom-half federal income tax raises little, costs heavily, and much of the revenue returns through growth."
Top stats row: 76M households (AGI under $54k); $70B collected (3.3% of all income tax); $24B compliance friction burned in time, money and complexity; 600M hours lost to paperwork.
Three panels below:
Panel 1 — "The Problem: A bad trade" lists $70B collected from the bottom half, $24B burned in compliance friction, 600M hours of life lost to paperwork.
Panel 2 — "The Mechanism: The money doesn't disappear — it keeps the economy moving" shows a flow chart: Households keep more → Spend locally on essentials → Businesses see higher sales → More jobs & higher wages → Tax revenue returns. Below the flow: "$52–55B recovered across the economy through sales, payroll, corporate, state & local taxes."
Panel 3 — "The Outcome: The trade improves" lists $100–130B GDP gain from higher velocity spending, $1,200 per household per year average increase in take-home income, 600M hours returned back to families, work, and communities.
Bottom equation: $70B collected − $24B compliance friction + $52–55B recovered = ~$15–18B net public cost (≈0.3% of total US public revenue).
Footer text reads: "The question is not whether $70B matters. It's whether this is the worst way to collect it." And: "Cut waste. Return time. Grow the economy. Let working households keep more."

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Bezos says that the US has one of the most progressive tax codes. This is true by some measures. But our tax and transfer system reduces inequality far less than countries with broader tax systems. Tax cuts can't help people who don't have an income, but a generous tax financed welfare state can.

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

I think Democrats like Cory Booker should take a hard look in the mirror and consider why Jeff Bezos loves their tax cut proposals so much. Billionaires would love to see a weak state with a gutted fiscal capacity.

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Pinnacles National Park is some of our finest publicly owned land. Saw 7 condors and 3 rattlesnakes.

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Requiring the parent of a SNAP recipient to provide a written statement clarifying that a birthday money transfer was not recurring support is so dystopian.

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Based and pragmatism pilled www.californiadsa.org/voterguide

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

I've been saying we need a progressive DOGE that actually focuses on making government work well rather than undermining it. But we need a better name. So how about DOPE: the Department of Public Excellence.

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Arin Dube @arindube.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

New working paper on the California Fast-Food minimum wage (will come out as NBER WP soon but posting now). Big increase in wages. Big drop in separations. Little change in jobs. (Bonus: sheds light on QWI vs QCEW measurement of jobs.)

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The Girl of Lemongrab @mc-hesher.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

I want this as a mural in every city

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

A second extremely based AOC anti-tax-slop quote has hit the TL

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Cameron 🇺🇸🗽🦅 @cameroncorduroy.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

my newest in Liberal Currents: in celebration of Tax Day i make the case for liberals to collect more taxes, not less www.liberalcurrents.com/actually-col...

liberalcurrents.com

Actually Collect Taxes

A gameplan for turning an overlooked federal agency into a flagship of liberal governance

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Maybe can live in a society that collectively funds public goods that we all benefit from rather than giving up on governance and joining a tax cut bidding war that we'll inevitably lose to shameless republicans...

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

It's such a breath of fresh air to see @aoc.bsky.social stand against gutting our tax base.

Ocasio-Cortez isn’t convinced. She’s not sure that these are the kinds of proposals Democrats should start building an agenda around.

“When you actually look at the totality of what’s being put forward, we are seeing a total gutting of a resource base,” Ocasio-Cortez told NOTUS. “If people want to choose between whether they want guaranteed health care or a 5% tax rebate, people are going to want guaranteed health care.”

“It’s not to say that I object to any and all like tax cuts or tax rebates, right? We can help people who are struggling, but I don’t think that the biggest impact in how you help someone and how we help people make ends meet is through that avenue,” she said.

For Ocasio-Cortez, who has long been an advocate of taxing the wealthy and transforming social services, wiping out significant tax revenue goes too far.

Ocasio-Cortez said “across the board” tax cut proposals on the table amount to an “attack” on young people.

“It is a complete defunding of the world that young people will have to live in, and they are asking young people to foot the bill,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Yes, this argument drives me crazy - if you think Medicaid is corporate welfare, that would make Medicare for All the biggest corporate welfare program of them all. But neither would actually enable corporations to lower wages. Workers who are less desperate are able to hold out for higher wages.

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

*guy who mocked the pope for saying AI developers should cultivate moral discernment voice*

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

I was initially lukewarm on Steyer, but I’ve come around to the idea that it’s actively good to have a billionaire help lead the charge to tax billionaires.

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

It’s all well and good for tech leaders to endorse UBI. But it feels convenient to only focus on a distant political prospect. The GOP, right now, is doing reverse-UBI (work requirements on SNAP). It’d be nice to hear more objections to that.

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Happy tax day! This should be a civic holiday, we should have a parade and give out taxpayer awards. ruthbraunstein.substack.com/p/what-does-...

Tax law scholar Lawrence Zelenak observes, “April 15 can and should be as important a civic holiday as the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Together, the two days celebrate the fulfillment of the two great responsibilities of citizenship.”

The filing of the income tax return offers an opportunity to mark this achievement. Riffing on Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.’s famous quip, “I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization,” Zelenak calls for greater recognition of how filing an income tax return constitutes a “Purchase-of-Civilization Ceremony.”

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

I think progressives were right to be skeptical of the gig work labor model, so I’m happy to see it automated away as quickly as possible.

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James Medlock @jdcmedlock.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

DOGE turbocharged the deficit. budgetlab.yale.edu/research/wea...

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