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Mamdani's Doxxing Controversy

1:07:58 recording · EN · 2 speakers

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Brief overview

Mamdani's tax list, Zuckerberg's AI ads and Musk's valuation all show actions outweigh messaging.

  1. The list turned a tax into a wanted posterScott backs the pied-a-terre tax but says publishing names and addresses implies wrongdoing, with a 95% error rate on who actually owes it.
  2. Zuckerberg's AI op-ed reads as reputation defenseBoth hosts argue Meta only worries about concentrated AI power because the concentration is not happening around Meta.
  3. Apple's genius is what it does not doBy staying out of the AI CapEx war and pulling the plug on the car, Apple became the most valuable company and is up 61% in a year.
Executive Summary AI
  • Kara Swisher and Scott open on Mayor Mamdani publishing a list of 950,000 residences, with owners' names, addresses and market values, that might be subject to his pied-a-terre surcharge on second homes worth more than $5 million.2:13
  • Scott, who says he supported the tax and calculates L2 paid New York about $51 million in state and city taxes from 2010, calls the list a wanted poster that implies success is guilt, and notes 95% of those listed will not owe the tax.3:47
  • On Zuckerberg's Wall Street Journal op-ed and New York Times interview arguing against tightly controlled AI, Scott calls it preemptive regulation rather than marketing, pointing out Meta has 3 billion users and that open systems — Linux in the cloud, Android on mobile — usually win.12:55
  • A clip from Washington Post reporter Evan Halper on data center buildouts — rezoned rural land, gas plants big enough for a medium-sized city, backup diesel generators running on the worst air-quality days — leads both hosts to say the backlash is real and not media negativity.24:02
  • They close on markets: SpaceX fell more than 20% below its IPO price, wiping out over $1.2 trillion with a lockup expiring, while Apple briefly passed a $5 trillion market cap, is up 61% over 12 months, and launched Apple Upgrade with Klarna from $17.99 a month.32:17
Key Quote
“He's taken a legitimate source of tax revenue and he's turning it into a wanted poster.”
— Scott3:47
Key Quote
“New York is the last place you want to demonize success.”
— Scott8:44
Key Quote
“They have painted themselves into villains, and then they wonder why we think they're villains.”
— Kara Swisher26:06