All-In E7: California's collapse, how SPACs are opening the markets for growth stocks & more

California's Challenges

The group discussed California's current challenges, with Friedberg describing it as "crossing all seven layers of Dante's Inferno" from COVID to wealth taxes to wildfires. Key points:

• Chamath argued California exemplifies problems when one party controls all levels of government, leading to "massive rife incompetence"
• Discussion of San Francisco's challenges around homelessness, drug addiction, and poor governance
• Despite issues, Governor Newsom made case that "California exodus" fears are overblown, citing similar concerns dating back to 1959
• Group debated whether tech industry success has led to "resource curse" in governance

SPACs and Public Markets

Chamath provided insights on why SPACs are revolutionizing public markets:

• Detailed explanation of why companies should go public earlier (~year 5-6) at ~$50M revenue
• SPACs provide better path to public markets vs traditional IPO process
• Success requires both operational insight and public market sophistication
• Prediction that only a few SPAC sponsors will ultimately dominate the space

2020 Election Handicapping

The hosts provided their updated predictions on the presidential race:

• Sacks predicted Trump victory, shifting from previous Biden prediction
• Chamath predicted Biden win but acknowledged it's close
• Discussion of factors helping Trump including improving COVID numbers and response to urban unrest
• Group debated whether Biden needs stronger response to protest violence

Media Recommendations

The episode closed with recommendations including:

• Sacks: Andrew Sullivan and Matt Taibbi newsletters on Substack
• Chamath: Book "Americana" about history of American capitalism
• Friedberg: "There Will Be Blood" and Chernow's Rockefeller biography
• Jason: "The Fish That Ate the Whale" about Sam Zemurray