Palihapitya Comments On Trump Economic Policy
President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could be the catalyst for an “economic renaissance” if its efforts to streamline regulations and simplify the tax code come to fruition, according to venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya. Speaking on the latest episode of the All-In podcast, Palihapitiya outlined the transformative potential of DOGE, which will be led by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and biotech investor Vivek Ramaswamy under Trump’s administration.
Palihapitiya attributed America’s slower-than-ideal economic growth to the regulatory burden imposed by federal agencies, which issue thousands of new rules every year.
“None of these regulations have expiring dates, and so as a result, I think what you probably have is an incredible restraint on the U.S. economy,” Palihapitiya explained, pointing to data that illustrates the overwhelming scope of federal regulations. “The U.S. economy could be growing at 4 or 5%, but the reason that it doesn’t grow at 4 or 5% is in that one single chart.”
NEW: Chamath Palihapitiya says he thinks the U.S. economy could be growing at 5% if it wasn't for excessive regulations, calls on the Trump admin to use DOGE to create a flat tax.
During the All in Podcast, Chamath said DOGE could ignite an "economic renaissance."
"I think… pic.twitter.com/qucDUoFf7c
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 23, 2024
The real opportunity for DOGE, he argued, lies in eliminating outdated and unnecessary regulations en masse. Palihapitiya proposed a radical approach: cutting regulations to “zero” and reintroducing only those proven necessary through a piecemeal process. “It could be better to start from scratch,” he suggested, emphasizing the potential for DOGE to uncover hidden economic growth—potentially adding 1 to 2 percentage points to GDP growth.
Palihapitiya also discussed the federal tax code, calling it another significant obstacle to economic prosperity. With over 7,000 pages of complexity, the tax code forces Americans to spend 6.5 billion hours annually on tax preparation, according to a recent DOGE post. Palihapitiya advocated replacing this labyrinthine system with a straightforward flat tax, an idea gaining traction among reform advocates.
“Replace the U.S. Federal Tax Code’s 7000 pages and millions of words with a simple flat tax,” he wrote in a recent post to X (formerly Twitter). “It could fit into a few pages of simple English, make paying taxes simple, and enforcement even simpler.”
In 1955, there were less than 1.5 million words in the U.S. Tax Code.
Today, there are more than 16 million words.
Because of this complexity, Americans collectively spend 6.5 billion hours preparing and filing their taxes each year.
This must be simplified. pic.twitter.com/2CxJMt1Rcr
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) November 17, 2024
While such a sweeping overhaul would require Congressional approval, Palihapitiya argued that the benefits could be transformative. DOGE’s efforts to simplify the tax code and slash regulations could unlock untapped economic potential, creating a more dynamic and competitive U.S. economy.
DOGE has already begun laying the groundwork, sharing graphs and data highlighting the inefficiencies of the current system. In a recent post to X, the department declared, “This must be simplified,” referencing the time and resources wasted on tax compliance and regulatory navigation.