Tom Church

Policy Fellow @HooverInst

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

From the new @paulg essay, "How to earn a billion dollars."

Well worth the short read.

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

@mcuban Imagine if it existed now: RFK would run it.

Probably not what proponents would suggest.

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

Headline I see:

"Elon becomes world's first trillionaire."

Headline I want to see:

"Immigrant to America becomes world's first trillionaire."

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

@mcuban The great thing about the market is that you don't need everyone to be price sensitive about every decision.

You need a small chunk to be price sensitive.

So long as people care about prices below their deductible, then people above it get the same price.

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

To make Social Security solvent in the long run, we would have to immediately:

- Raise payroll taxes by 34 percent, or
- Cut benefits by 25.2 percent, or
- Some combo of those tax increases and benefit cuts.

2026 Social Security Trustees Report here: https://t.co/QtcIgfoNE4

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

The 2026 Social Security and Medicare Trustees reports were just released.

The OASI trust fund goes bankrupt in Q4 2032.

73 percent of Part B benefits were paid by general fund transfers in 2025.

82 percent of Part D benefits were paid by general fund transfers in 2025.

[Will McBride @EconoWill]

The main Social Security trust fund is projected to be insolvent at the end of the next president's term, according to the latest Trustees report. You'd think/hope the candidates will at least mention this and try to come up with some solution.

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

@mercoglianos @cpgrabow What's your narrative, Sal?

I'd say that the cost of the Jones Act (fewer ships, more expensive ships, fewer critical goods shipped, higher prices for consumers) is far, far costlier than the rent seeking benefits granted to a few dozen ship owners.

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

When there’s a policy problem, look for the government rule that says you’re not allowed to fix it.

Such great work by @cpgrabow and the CATO crew documenting the effects of Jones Act waiver.

https://t.co/AkemHi9xrJ

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

Link to the Jones Act Waiver Tracker here: https://t.co/tJTuNNk8kN

Link to Jones Act Tanker Tracker here: https://t.co/TANjCl1SZv

[Colin Grabow @cpgrabow]

About 75% as much fuel has been moved from the Gulf Coast to the West Coast/Alaska/Hawaii in the Jones Act waiver's first 80 days as what usually gets moved in an entire year (using the 2020-25 average).

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

This is astonishing.

When things seem broken, look to the government rule that says people aren't allowed to fix it.

[Colin Grabow @cpgrabow]

Fun Jones Act fact of the day: more propane has been shipped from the US mainland to Puerto Rico under the current JA waiver (410,000 barrels) than in the last 22 years combined (364,000 barrels):

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

Q: Why are things expensive?

A: Because the government makes it hard for people to increase supply, compete, and then lower prices.

https://t.co/EQHwEjbSlU

[Hoover Institution @HooverInst]

A new analysis from Hoover Institution scholars @JoshRauh, Benjamin Jaros, Daniel Heil, and @TomVChurch suggests California's proposed one-time billionaire wealth tax is a fiscally incoherent response to federal Medicaid funding changes. https://t.co/ZruuHuRC4L

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

@paulg Make progress by letting people do things.

So often things don't work well because the government doesn't let people do things.

[Paul Graham @paulg]

How to Convert Between Wealth and Income Tax: https://t.co/49PgQiS2wi

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

@steve12attorney @whignewtons @DavidAFrench It was definitely a billion. Fat fingers!

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

Today's Advisory Opinions episode on the $1.776 trillion settlement fund between Trump and the DOJ is worth the listen.

I've rarely heard @whignewtons and @DavidAFrench more worked up. Starts at 6:41.

https://t.co/AFHzepuKJL

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

Maybe don't name it Shackleton...

[NASA @NASA]

We're building a Moon Base!

@NASAMoonBase will serve as a habitat where astronauts live and work during long-term science missions.

Join us at 2pm ET on Tuesday, May 26, for a live news event where we’ll share updates on our lunar exploration plans: https://t.co/IJXA7xYwju

[Tom Church @TomVChurch]

Noah's post "All non-drone militaries are obsolete" is fascinating.

https://t.co/fLf0YHPr1p