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California Might Tax Billionaires. Cue the Inevitable Tech Billionaire Tantrum

California Might Tax Billionaires. Cue the Inevitable Tech Billionaire Tantrum

Taking money away from billionaires is funny, and threatening to do it can be a nice political sugar rush for anyone with even a tiny amount of class consciousness (even though it would not get close to creating “socialism” in America according to socialists like Doug Henwood). The state of California is now very much threatening to do it, and the predictable result is happening according to the New York Times: tech billionaires like Peter Thiel and ex-Google CEO and co-founder Larry Page are having their obligatory tantrum and threatening to leave.

The political instrument involved here is not a technocratic and nuanced change to the tax code that happens to tax billionaires, but instead a one-off, 5% billionaire tax. This comes in the form of a proposed ballot measure backed by organized labor—specifically the Service Employees International Union–United Healthcare Workers West.

Anyone who lives in California as of January 1, 2026 would be subject to the proposed tax, and the math works like this: If you have $20 billion in assets, you owe $1 billion, and have five years to pay up. Estimates from the union say the state would pull in about $100 billion, basically by legally mugging the 200 most obnoxious people in the state.

If you’ve followed the similar drama in New York City during the rise of Zohran Mamdani, you already know this next part by heart. According to the Times, Peter Thiel is now weighing an out-of-state office for Thiel Capital, and figuring out how to spend less time in California. Larry Page, listed by Forbes as the second richest person in the world as of this writing, has begun moving three LLCs to Florida, the Times says.

David Lesperance, a tax advisor for billionaires, told the Times, “almost all of my clients are taking steps as quickly as possible both to sever California residence and to move assets outside of the state.” 

Billionaire tech and healthcare investor Chamath Palihapitiya also played the hits, with the following X post quoted by the Times: “The inevitable outcome will be an exodus of the state’s most talented entrepreneurs who can and will choose to build their companies in less regressive states.” The post the Times is quoting here doesn’t seem to exist anymore, perhaps because of Palihapitiya’s bizarre, Opposite Day use of the term “regressive.”

Palihapitiya’s X activity shows that he’s been on a tear with this topic for days, however:

But do the American rich actually flee a state that has decided to tax them? Maybe, but it doesn’t seem like it so far. The state of Massachusetts passed something a little different: a more widespread income surtax for people making more than $1 million, and after two years, more tax-eligible millionaires are reportedly in the state, not less.

So yes, Billionaires, we know that if this ends up on the ballot and actually gets voted into law, most of you are going to characterize Californians with less money than you as ungrateful and naive children, and some of you will even make good on your threat to leave. The question would be this: will a fun state with great weather that also happens to manufacture new billionaires all the time actually regret making you cough up some of your money in the long run? Who knows, but I kinda doubt it. 



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#California #Tax #Billionaires #Cue #Inevitable #Tech #Billionaire #Tantrum

You know those little ADT security signs? You know, the ADT logo-emblazoned yard signs or stickers you find in front of houses or slapped on a window by the front door. Well, ADT is rethinking them: today, the home security company announced the ADT Live Light, a light-up version of its logo yard sign that will—you guessed it—shine when your ADT alarm system has been tripped. 

Besides being a visual indicator for your neighbors that something is amiss, ADT says the Live Light could be useful in helping first responders identify which house is yours. It would also serve the same purpose as the stickers and yard signs that came before it: letting would-be intruders know that they risk triggering an alarm by messing with your stuff. And while it can activate automatically, you can also turn it on using the ADT+ app if you want.

The Live Light is wireless and powered by three included AAA lithium batteries. It’s IP65-rated, meaning it should be dust-proof and resistant to water jets from any direction, and should operate in temperatures ranging from 4 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Both good things if you’re expecting people to leave their light-up sign out in the elements year-round (although those of us in the Midwest might want to bring it in for a couple of months in the winter). The sign itself is 10 x 10 inches tall and 1.75 inches thick, and goes into the ground with a 21-inch stake, although it can also be wall-mounted. 

The Live Light requires a $25-per-month ADT Professional Monitoring subscription and costs $50, including professional installation. There’s no option to install it yourself; ADT requires that one of its own installers carry out what doesn’t strike me as a terribly complicated procedure. (But what do I know? I’m just a little ol’ country technology reporter.)

Images showing the ADT My Safety feature in the ADT+ app.
© ADT

ADT also announced a new ADT+ app feature called My Safety. My Safety extends ADT’s subscriber service beyond your house by letting you do things like set a check-in timer that, if missed, will prompt ADT to contact emergency services for you. It also offers the manual options of speaking or texting with ADT agents, or setting an “Emergency Phrase” that lets you speak a custom phrase to summon help—that is, ADT will again contact emergency services for you. The company says subscribers will be able to use that last feature even if their phone isn’t in their hand, and I’ve asked exactly how that works.

For the My Safety feature, there’s no call history, and for subscriptions with multiple people on them, only the person who initiates a call with ADT monitoring will be able to see status, activity, alerts, and notifications. It’s nice to see the company has thought of that—it can be important for victims of abuse to be able to discreetly seek help. An ADT representative told Gizmodo via email that the ADT+ app update with My Safety is available now for all subscribers in the U.S., except in Milwaukee, WI.

#ADTs #Big #Idea #LightUp #ADT #Sign #YardADT,apps,Home security,Smart Home">ADT’s New Big Idea Is a Light-Up ADT Sign for Your Yard
                You know those little ADT security signs? You know, the ADT logo-emblazoned yard signs or stickers you find in front of houses or slapped on a window by the front door. Well, ADT is rethinking them: today, the home security company announced the ADT Live Light, a light-up version of its logo yard sign that will—you guessed it—shine when your ADT alarm system has been tripped. 

 Besides being a visual indicator for your neighbors that something is amiss, ADT says the Live Light could be useful in helping first responders identify which house is yours. It would also serve the same purpose as the stickers and yard signs that came before it: letting would-be intruders know that they risk triggering an alarm by messing with your stuff. And while it can activate automatically, you can also turn it on using the ADT+ app if you want.  			 				 			 				 				© ADT 				 			 				 			 				 				© ADT 				 		  The Live Light is wireless and powered by three included AAA lithium batteries. It’s IP65-rated, meaning it should be dust-proof and resistant to water jets from any direction, and should operate in temperatures ranging from 4 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Both good things if you’re expecting people to leave their light-up sign out in the elements year-round (although those of us in the Midwest might want to bring it in for a couple of months in the winter). The sign itself is 10 x 10 inches tall and 1.75 inches thick, and goes into the ground with a 21-inch stake, although it can also be wall-mounted.  The Live Light requires a -per-month ADT Professional Monitoring subscription and costs , including professional installation. There’s no option to install it yourself; ADT requires that one of its own installers carry out what doesn’t strike me as a terribly complicated procedure. (But what do I know? I’m just a little ol’ country technology reporter.) © ADT ADT also announced a new ADT+ app feature called My Safety. My Safety extends ADT’s subscriber service beyond your house by letting you do things like set a check-in timer that, if missed, will prompt ADT to contact emergency services for you. It also offers the manual options of speaking or texting with ADT agents, or setting an “Emergency Phrase” that lets you speak a custom phrase to summon help—that is, ADT will again contact emergency services for you. The company says subscribers will be able to use that last feature even if their phone isn’t in their hand, and I’ve asked exactly how that works.

 For the My Safety feature, there’s no call history, and for subscriptions with multiple people on them, only the person who initiates a call with ADT monitoring will be able to see status, activity, alerts, and notifications. It’s nice to see the company has thought of that—it can be important for victims of abuse to be able to discreetly seek help. An ADT representative told Gizmodo via email that the ADT+ app update with My Safety is available now for all subscribers in the U.S., except in Milwaukee, WI.      #ADTs #Big #Idea #LightUp #ADT #Sign #YardADT,apps,Home security,Smart Home

ADT Live Light, a light-up version of its logo yard sign that will—you guessed it—shine when your ADT alarm system has been tripped. 

Besides being a visual indicator for your neighbors that something is amiss, ADT says the Live Light could be useful in helping first responders identify which house is yours. It would also serve the same purpose as the stickers and yard signs that came before it: letting would-be intruders know that they risk triggering an alarm by messing with your stuff. And while it can activate automatically, you can also turn it on using the ADT+ app if you want.

The Live Light is wireless and powered by three included AAA lithium batteries. It’s IP65-rated, meaning it should be dust-proof and resistant to water jets from any direction, and should operate in temperatures ranging from 4 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Both good things if you’re expecting people to leave their light-up sign out in the elements year-round (although those of us in the Midwest might want to bring it in for a couple of months in the winter). The sign itself is 10 x 10 inches tall and 1.75 inches thick, and goes into the ground with a 21-inch stake, although it can also be wall-mounted. 

The Live Light requires a $25-per-month ADT Professional Monitoring subscription and costs $50, including professional installation. There’s no option to install it yourself; ADT requires that one of its own installers carry out what doesn’t strike me as a terribly complicated procedure. (But what do I know? I’m just a little ol’ country technology reporter.)

Images showing the ADT My Safety feature in the ADT+ app.
© ADT

ADT also announced a new ADT+ app feature called My Safety. My Safety extends ADT’s subscriber service beyond your house by letting you do things like set a check-in timer that, if missed, will prompt ADT to contact emergency services for you. It also offers the manual options of speaking or texting with ADT agents, or setting an “Emergency Phrase” that lets you speak a custom phrase to summon help—that is, ADT will again contact emergency services for you. The company says subscribers will be able to use that last feature even if their phone isn’t in their hand, and I’ve asked exactly how that works.

For the My Safety feature, there’s no call history, and for subscriptions with multiple people on them, only the person who initiates a call with ADT monitoring will be able to see status, activity, alerts, and notifications. It’s nice to see the company has thought of that—it can be important for victims of abuse to be able to discreetly seek help. An ADT representative told Gizmodo via email that the ADT+ app update with My Safety is available now for all subscribers in the U.S., except in Milwaukee, WI.

#ADTs #Big #Idea #LightUp #ADT #Sign #YardADT,apps,Home security,Smart Home">ADT’s New Big Idea Is a Light-Up ADT Sign for Your Yard

You know those little ADT security signs? You know, the ADT logo-emblazoned yard signs or stickers you find in front of houses or slapped on a window by the front door. Well, ADT is rethinking them: today, the home security company announced the ADT Live Light, a light-up version of its logo yard sign that will—you guessed it—shine when your ADT alarm system has been tripped. 

Besides being a visual indicator for your neighbors that something is amiss, ADT says the Live Light could be useful in helping first responders identify which house is yours. It would also serve the same purpose as the stickers and yard signs that came before it: letting would-be intruders know that they risk triggering an alarm by messing with your stuff. And while it can activate automatically, you can also turn it on using the ADT+ app if you want.

The Live Light is wireless and powered by three included AAA lithium batteries. It’s IP65-rated, meaning it should be dust-proof and resistant to water jets from any direction, and should operate in temperatures ranging from 4 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Both good things if you’re expecting people to leave their light-up sign out in the elements year-round (although those of us in the Midwest might want to bring it in for a couple of months in the winter). The sign itself is 10 x 10 inches tall and 1.75 inches thick, and goes into the ground with a 21-inch stake, although it can also be wall-mounted. 

The Live Light requires a $25-per-month ADT Professional Monitoring subscription and costs $50, including professional installation. There’s no option to install it yourself; ADT requires that one of its own installers carry out what doesn’t strike me as a terribly complicated procedure. (But what do I know? I’m just a little ol’ country technology reporter.)

Images showing the ADT My Safety feature in the ADT+ app.
© ADT

ADT also announced a new ADT+ app feature called My Safety. My Safety extends ADT’s subscriber service beyond your house by letting you do things like set a check-in timer that, if missed, will prompt ADT to contact emergency services for you. It also offers the manual options of speaking or texting with ADT agents, or setting an “Emergency Phrase” that lets you speak a custom phrase to summon help—that is, ADT will again contact emergency services for you. The company says subscribers will be able to use that last feature even if their phone isn’t in their hand, and I’ve asked exactly how that works.

For the My Safety feature, there’s no call history, and for subscriptions with multiple people on them, only the person who initiates a call with ADT monitoring will be able to see status, activity, alerts, and notifications. It’s nice to see the company has thought of that—it can be important for victims of abuse to be able to discreetly seek help. An ADT representative told Gizmodo via email that the ADT+ app update with My Safety is available now for all subscribers in the U.S., except in Milwaukee, WI.

#ADTs #Big #Idea #LightUp #ADT #Sign #YardADT,apps,Home security,Smart Home

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