PAIN to PROFIT$: The $7 Trillion Dollar Bet, CeraVe Steals the Show, and How to Beat Resistance

$TREET $MART
Out of 5,800 pages in the Tax Code, only 30 are devoted to PAYING taxes

In a capitalist society like the United States, two significant responsibilities fall on the shoulders of its citizens: creating jobs and providing housing.

The tax code offers substantial benefits for those who take on these roles. This structure aims to reward risk-takers and those contributing to economic growth through job creation and housing provision, while employed individuals enjoy lesser tax advantages. This reality underscores the importance for entrepreneurs to have a keen understanding of taxes.

Out of its 5,800 pages, only about 30 are devoted to paying taxes. The rest are designed to help taxpayers save money. This structure encourages Americans to start businesses and invest in real estate, providing affordable housing and stimulating economic growth. Not utilizing these tax deductions means missing out on opportunities to enhance one’s financial future.

The Advantage for Entrepreneurs and Investors

High-profile real estate investors like Donald Trump and Warren Buffet are often criticized for their minimal tax contributions. However, this stems from a strategic understanding and application of the tax code. Anyone can leverage these benefits by starting a business or investing in real estate. It’s not just about finding loopholes; it's about recognizing the incentives deliberately placed by the government to stimulate certain economic activities. By aligning their business and investment strategies with these incentives, entrepreneurs and investors can significantly benefit while contributing to broader economic growth and stability.

PUL$E - REAL ESTATE
100% Bonus Depreciation is Back?

In late January, the House of Representatives passed the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, a piece of legislation that extends parts of Trump's 2017 tax bill, including the Child Tax Credit expansion and various tax reforms. This bill, pending approval from the Senate and President Biden, would benefit real estate investors by allowing full depreciation claims, increasing the limit for expensing depreciable business assets, and potentially raising the deduction cap for business interest. It also aims to reinstate the expensing of domestic research costs.

The legislation also extends a 2020 tax relief for disaster-affected areas and boosts the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit ceiling, aiding affordable housing developers. To offset these costs, the bill limits retroactive COVID-era Employee Retention Credit claims, which has been prone to fraud. Most measures are set to expire by the end of 2025, with the Tax Foundation noting the high cost of extending these relief measures permanently.

Seen as a bipartisan compromise, the bill offers business-friendly tax breaks and supports affordable housing and Child Tax Credit expansion, benefiting low- and moderate-income families, especially those with multiple children. However, the bill faces potential delays in the Senate due to requests for a Senate Finance Committee mark-up and possible amendments. There's a greater than 50% chance of it passing, with support from the White House and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Critics raise concerns about the effectiveness of business tax breaks and their impact on economic growth. Studies indicate that a significant portion of the gains from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act benefited the top earners, and corporate tax cuts have shown negligible impact on economic growth. The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act could disproportionately benefit foreign investors and large corporations, potentially disadvantaging small businesses.

For real estate investors, the bill is beneficial, offering opportunities to reduce tax burdens through 100% bonus depreciation, increasing Section 179 limits for expensing business assets, and enhancing credits for affordable housing development. The bill, though potentially controversial, shows strong bipartisan support and could significantly impact real estate investments. However, its temporary nature means future extensions would require further legislative action.

BIGGER THAN BUSINESS
Democracy IS NOT America's "Sacred Cause.

1. Pure Democracy:

   • In a pure democracy, also known as direct democracy, the people make governmental decisions directly. Instead of electing representatives to make decisions on their behalf, citizens themselves vote on legislation and policies.

   • Examples of pure democracy can be seen in ancient city-states like Athens, where eligible citizens participated directly in decision-making.

   • Pure democracy is more feasible in small communities or groups due to the logistical challenges of having a large population directly vote on every issue.

2. Democratic Republic (like the United States):

   • In a democratic republic, citizens elect representatives who then make policy decisions on their behalf. This form of governance is a blend of democracy (with elected officials) and republicanism (a state in which power rests with the citizens and their elected representatives, not a monarch).

   • This system is more manageable in larger nations, as it is logistically challenging for large populations to vote directly on every issue. Representatives are chosen to understand, deliberate, and decide on complex issues.

   • The United States operates under this system. Citizens vote for their representatives, senators, and the president, who then make and implement laws and policies.

The critical difference lies in the method of decision-making: direct involvement of all citizens in every decision in a pure democracy versus elected representatives making decisions on behalf of the citizens in a democratic republic. The United States, with its system of elected representatives and federal structure, is a democratic republic, not a pure democracy.

PUL$E - MONEY FLOW
Sam Altman to Raise $7 TRILLION

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is embarking on a groundbreaking mission reminiscent of the internet revolution, aiming to raise an unprecedented $7 trillion. This figure, mirroring nearly 7% of the global GDP, seeks to dwarf the market capitalizations of technology titans like Apple and Microsoft combined. Altman's target is massively boosting global chip production, attracting heavyweight investors such as the UAE government and SoftBank's Masayoshi Son.

This initiative is not merely an expansion plan; it's a strategic challenge to Nvidia, the current heavyweight controlling over 80% of the AI chip market. OpenAI could carve out a significant competitive advantage by escalating chip production in this fast-evolving industry.

OpenAI's current success, with an annual revenue of $2 billion and projections to double by 2025, mirrors the early days of the Internet when tech companies experienced exponential growth. An impressive 92% of Fortune 500 companies now leverage OpenAI's offerings. This mirrors the widespread adoption of the internet in the late 20th century, signifying a paradigm shift in how businesses operate. The demand for AI chips, highlighted by Arm's 60% stock surge, underlines a burgeoning industry much like the initial internet boom.

Altman's vision is to tackle the shortage of AI chips, a challenge akin to the early infrastructure hurdles the internet faces. Given the technology's potential, he believes the current global AI infrastructure plans are underwhelming. His goal is to catalyze a revolution in AI, positioning it as a transformative force much like the internet, reshaping industries, societies, and economies.

Altman's bold $7 trillion plan is not just about outpacing rivals or boosting production; it's about ushering in an AI era that could redefine the technological landscape, much like the internet did. This vision places AI as a central pillar in the next great leap of technological innovation, with OpenAI at its forefront.

BRAND DAMAGE
A New Era in Advertising

Super Bowl commercial haven’t been what they once were for the better part of a decade.

While we can’t say the viewing experience for a hundred million captive viewers is restored, we can point out a bright spot that may help us in our own marketing, plus an obvious, and expensive dud of course.

Our Pick for Best Super Bowl Commercial: CeraVe

Relevancy, nostalgia, humour within boundaries, and a clear product focus.

There’s a reason the commercial saw millions of additional hits come Monday.

Our Pick for Worst Super Bowl Commercial: He Get Us

All Twitter captions aside, this commercial sucked for two obvious reasons:

1. Poor format and visual choice.
   (*Remember 123.4M captive viewers)

2. Spending $17,500,000 to overtly distort the message of the very person they set out to be spokespeople for.

The lesson for us is this. We are moving back into a space where creativity will once again reign and not just during sporting events.

The short form content epidemic has created a space where marketing can be fun, not rushed, skip formulas, and create true to the people and ideas that make up our businesses.

Xcelerated Performance
For those hitting the wall…

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