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USA 2.0

Eagle Policy Initiative
50 Sections (44 ready)

Data Visualizations

Interactive charts & analysis

  • Vision & Values

    • The Call to Action

    • Lightcone Philosophy

    • Why USA 2.0?

    • Back to First Principles

  • The GRIN Framework

    • Introduction to GRIN

    • Generativity (G)

    • Resilience (R)

    • Evil as Parametric State

    • Ethics as Conservation Laws

  • GRIN in Action

    • How to Use GRIN Analysis

    • GRIN Analysis: Trump II Administration

    • Historical GRIN Patterns

    • GRIN vs. Hofstede: Two Lenses on Society

    • GRIN FAQ: 10 Hot-Button Issues

    • AI Personhood: The Hard Question

  • Declaration 2.0

    • Preamble

    • Self-Evident Truths 2.0

    • Modern Grievances

    • Rights of All Beings

    • Responsibilities

    • The Social Contract 2.0

    • The Declaration

  • Constitutional Framework

    • The Founding Documents

    • Executive Branch 2.0

    • Legislative Branch 2.0

    • Judicial Branch 2.0

    • Federalism 2.0

    • Amendment Process 2.0

    • Reader's Guide to the Errata

  • Policy Essays

    • The 70% Pay Cut

    • Housing: Back to 1.7 Years

    • Education: Back to 1970 Prices

    • Healthcare: The Hybrid Model

    • Social Security: Cut Taxes in Half

    • Citizen Equity Trust

    • Clean Capitalism

    • The Wealth Tax Floor

    • The Safety Bonus

    • Fiscal Discipline

    • Foreign Policy

    • Corruption & Reform

    • Climate & Environment

    • AI & Technology Rights

  • The Platform

    • Core Positions

    • Eagle Party Principles

    • How We Differ

  • Data & Analysis

    • Coming Soon

  • Take Action

    • Join the Movement

    • Contribute Ideas

    • Resources

By Erik Bethke
Policy Essays

Clean Capitalism

2 min read
ready

End the Buyback Casino

The current system: Stock options → Buybacks → EPS games. Execs issue themselves options, authorize buybacks, pump EPS, cash out.

Dividends are "boring," but buybacks juice comp metrics. Trillions of corporate cash used not for growth or wages, but to feed the stock casino.

The Clean Capitalism Package

1. Ban Open-Market Buybacks

Only allow stock retirement via tender offers (clean, transparent) or mergers. Forces firms to distribute excess cash as dividends.

2. Tie Executive Comp to Real Growth

No more EPS-pumped bonuses. Compensation metrics anchored on capex, R&D, or productivity.

3. Dividends-Only Return of Capital

Either invest in growth (capex, wages, innovation) or pay shareholders directly. Clarity, not gimmicks.

4. Public = 0% Tax, Private = Top Rate

  • Public C-corps: 0% federal corporate tax. Qualify = SEC-listed, free float ≥25%, GAAP + PCAOB audit.
  • Private C-corps: Taxed at top personal marginal rate. "Corps are people too."

5. IPO Reform

  • One-form S-1 Lite for profitable firms
  • Shelf registration by default
  • Lighter rulebooks, stronger fraud enforcement

Why Public = 0%?

Ends the IPO gridlock. 0% beats any private term sheet. Founders list earlier, retail gets access, insider "late-stage" rent shrinks.

Staying private becomes a conscious luxury good (and priced accordingly).

The Messaging

  • "List it or pay like a person."
  • "0% tax for sunlight companies; top-bracket tax for closed-door empires."
  • "End the buyback casino—grow or pay dividends."

KPIs

  • Buybacks/Dividends ratio: target <0.25 (was >1)
  • Capex + R&D / Net income ratio: rising trend
  • Median wage growth vs EPS growth: convergence
  • New U.S. listings/year: 600-800 (back to 1990s vitality)
  • Median time to IPO: <6 years from founding
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Citizen Equity Trust

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The Wealth Tax Floor