This week: powerful vibes at the defense tech hackathon; NY outlaws real estate development

Powerful vibes at the defense tech hackathon

A bunch of smart young techbros got together in El Segundo this weekend to perform a truly beautiful LARP of midcentury American dynamism.

They curled 70lb dumbbells, carried their babies around, dreamed about nuclear power, and pledged allegiance to Metacontinual Hyperamerica.

Having spoken to a handful of these guys, I don’t believe they’re actually so naive to think that they’re building for The Good Guys — but by simply ignoring the last 50 years of American history and pretending that they aren’t building for captured institutions that are unremittingly hostile to competence in principle, they’ve created a very interesting narrative situation.

Can USG afford to refuse this gift of (apparently) earnest patriotic energy and genuine talent? How will they tell these kids they can’t build what the Pentagon very obviously and desperately needs them to build?

If you’re a white guy and you want to build nuclear reactors and spaceships and power armor, is there any other way they’ll let you get away with it?

Pentagon ghouls surely intend to use these kids and their tech for nefarious purposes — but while civilian SaaS companies get bullied by London Breed, Elon Musk gets to unilaterally deny an airstrike in the Black Sea because he made himself essential to US defense infrastructure.

At the very least, it’s a way to sidle up to the money hose. And while the empire may be dying, the tech doesn’t necessarily die with it. Much will depend on who maintains control of production and IP as the decline unfolds.

NY outlaws real estate development

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron has ordered Trump to pay $355 million, bringing the total judgments against him over half a billion dollars after interest.

Real estate developers complained that Trump’s statements to New York lenders were standard negotiating practice, and that the ruling could potentially bankrupt any developer that the state wanted to target.

Governor Kathy Hochul has reassured New York business owners that “they have nothing to worry about because they’re very different than Donald Trump”.

As with Elon Musk’s $55 billion expropriation in Delaware, the reward for good behavior is that you get to stay in the old regime, where there’s capitalism, and contract law, and the rules still apply to you.

Trump is up against some interesting incentives in 2024. There’s pretty much no way for him to be a normal president — he can either attempt a genuine ideological purge with whatever allies he can find in the military and the courts, or he can die in jail.

EXIT News

• On our full-group call last Tuesday, we heard from Jonathan McPike about his Barnraiser hackathon at the RePlatform conference March 8-10. Reach out if you’re planning to attend, I will be there.

• This Tuesday (2/20) at 9PM ET I’ll be reporting on my experience at the Tom Woods Mastermind this weekend in Vegas. Got to learn from successful business owners in real estate, heavy equipment, marketing, and accounting.

• We’ve added several working groups this week. If you haven’t attended yet, check out the meeting calendar and pick one. The working groups are a great way to set aside a few hours each week to further your personal EXIT plan.

• One of the guys is hosting a virtual speed networking event this Thursday (2/22) at 8PM ET. We’re always looking for ways to help our guys see who’s around, so please make time to attend. Members can check the calendar and #announcements channel to sign up.

• Get meetup invites for Salt Lake City (03/01), Seattle (03/29), and Austin (04/26) below the fold — or become a full member at exitgroup.us.