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firstpost1234on “Let’s have some fun I’m offering two grants of $5,000 for whatever you want”

i believe the gift tax applies once you get above $14,000 in value in any given tax year.

firstpost1234on Google claims Levandowski launched competing projects long before Otto

they still have to be able to collect. and knowing how profligate Uber is with spending, i wouldn't be surprised if a large part of the Otto acquisition was immediate earnout for Levandowski.

frankly, if he comes out with $10MM after it's all said and done, he's still ahead.

it's totally possible for this to happen.

firstpost1234on Google claims Levandowski launched competing projects long before Otto

if you're going to commit a crime, always make sure it's a $50MM+ crime. that way you can squirrel away the money and pay for lawyers.

firstpost1234on Tech’s Wealthy Enclaves Hurt the Country and Tech Itself

it's certainly true that the tech enclaves lead to the techo chamber of liberalism. (fwiw, i am liberal).

however, this belies the point that led to many citizens relocating to these areas to begin with: the quality of life is better and the people aren't as closed-minded.

i am from the US South and grew up with extreme racism and intolerance.

there are still people in this country that think it would be OK to lynch me. that doesn't happen in the city where i live in California.

firstpost1234on Young men dropping out of the job market to spend time in an alternate reality

Hard to blame anyone for spending their time doing things where success is quantifiable and quickly displayed.

This is the Western countries' version of hikkikomori and there will only be more of it as education and good opportunities become out of reach for more people.

Men seem more likely to do this than women because of the societal pressures on them to get a job and run the rat race of dating and climbing a nonexistent corporate ladder.

For those people living in major job centers or major job creation industries it seems unfathomable, but there is an entire American generation out there experiencing this, being told that they're not shit if they don't go to college and work a 9 to 5 (which really is more of a 9 to 9). I don't blame them for opting out of such useless propaganda. Not everyone enjoys or is interested in computer programming, and starting your career in your 20s without an inherently marketable skill is terrifying for most people.