When the Market Freezes: Why Do We Buy Into a Tax System That Feels Like Fear?

When Data Becomes Breath

I sat at my desk in the滨海公寓 at 2 a.m., watching the SALT cap climb from \(10K to \)42B—like oxygen leaking from the system. This isn’t policy. It’s grief dressed in legislation.

The GOP’s draft doesn’t cut spending—it cuts trust. Medicaid, clean energy credits, social safety nets… all reduced to variables in a model trained on fear. They call it ‘fiscal responsibility.’ But responsibility without empathy is just another algorithm.

The Quiet Violence of SALT

I remember my father, an English literature professor, saying: “Numbers don’t decide morality—they reflect it.” My mother spoke Cantonese into silence while she counted her pills. We were taught that markets are never neutral.

This tax bill? It’s not about brackets or deadlines. It’s about who gets to breathe when the system freezes—and who doesn’t.

Who Gets to Choose?

The new deadline is July 4th—a date carved into code by politicians who’ve never coded their own fears.

We’re told this is ‘economic growth.’ But growth without justice is inflation wearing a smile.

I used Python to simulate what happens when you remove care from the equation. The model didn’t predict compassion—it predicted survival of the quietest among us.

The Algorithm of Belonging

In Silicon Valley, they optimize for efficiency. In Chinatown, we optimize for meaning.

Is this tax reform really about fairness—or are we building an architecture where only those with access can afford to feel safe?

I don’t want your vote. I want your silence after midnight—and then your question.