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Stephen Punwasi 🌋 🚀 Profile picture
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Jan 21 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
In the 1970s, Howard Hughes built a ship to mine the bottom of the Pacific ocean.

It was an outrageous, and unlikely cost ineffective pursuit.

Mining an inhospitable place humans have barely explored?

I guess. Billionaires make big bets, right?

Ha, nope…

<Thread> 🧵👇
2/ We later found out it wasn’t his idea, but a covert CIA operation called Project Azorian.

See, the US noticed the Soviets were searching for something in the Pacific Ocean.

They later figured out it was a high tech submarine, and found it first.
3/ They couldn’t just *send* the military to the spot though. That would alert the Soviets and possibly sacrifice the recovery.

Instead, they got Howard Hughes, one of the richest people at the time to do it.

Hughes had built several classified military projects before.
4/ So Hughes began with the cover story — he was going to explore the ocean and mine with his ship.

He would build a $350 million ($1.4 billion today) ship that was capable of mining raw materials from the ocean floor.

It seemed like a strangely large bet…
5/ Because he wasn’t making it. The gov knew no one would question a billionaire’s outrageous ̶s̶p̶a̶c̶e̶ ̶ ocean exploration.

Even if he was spending a couple billion today, to get what was worth less.

The CIA got their stuff, Hughes got a free boat, and taxpayers got a bill.
LOL. I like that the CIA has a sense of humor.

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More from @StephenPunwasi

Stephen Punwasi 🌋 🚀 Profile picture
Jan 17
If Canadian home prices fall 30% they would be back at the 2019 crisis levels the Liberals promised to solve.

Dropping another 30% on top of that puts it at the 2015-crisis levels the Liberals said they would solve.

Another 30% lower is where the BoC called it a bubble.
Bonus fact:

If Canadian home prices drop 30%, then another 30%, then another 30%, then 10% ...

... home prices would be where the Bank of Canada said Asian investors have made Vancouver unaffordable.

I shit you not, this is how effective politicians are.
Yes, the Bank of Canada actually expressed this concern in 2011.

Apparently no one remembers that the central bank used to present concerns. Now that they've been politicized, they're the ones dismissing it.

Read 4 tweets
Stephen Punwasi 🌋 🚀 Profile picture
Jan 16
The most remarkable thing about Canadian real estate prices?

Developers sold significant lots of property overseas for deep discounts to ensure less local supply and keep domestic prices inflated.

That shakey foundation was ignored, and domestic buyers bid on top of that.
Now that the rest of Canada is paying attention, this is what was happening 5 years ago.

Homes were sold at a significant discount overseas.

Why not sell for the same price everywhere? One word — massification.

<thread> 🧵👇
2/ What makes something expensive?

People justify this with scarcity. But how does a business scale selling a rare product? People have an upper limit to what they can pay, right?

That's where massification comes in, a tactic commonly used in the fashion industry.
Read 11 tweets
Stephen Punwasi 🌋 🚀 Profile picture
Jan 14
There's a lot of really amazing buildings in NYC, but let me tell you about my favorite — 432 Park.

It's one of the "billionaire row" buildings, but if you know me — luxury isn't my thing.

I love it because it's the tallest F*CK YOU the world will ever see.

<thread>🧵👇
2/ This is the view from apartment 72A. Nice, eh?

I'm not sure if it was empty when its owner abandoned it. It's since been seized by a lender.

Technically an anonymous shell company owned it. They *think* the guarantor of the mortgage might have been the true owner...
3/ That was Whitney Duan, aka Duan Weihong. She's a Chinese billionaire that went missing in 2017.

Her abandoned art collection is also popping up for sale.

No one knows where she is, but she was likely detained by Beijing for corruption and money laundering.
Read 10 tweets
Stephen Punwasi 🌋 🚀 Profile picture
Jan 13
Canadian politicians are using the pandemic as an excuse for why they operate a broken healthcare system.

What most people don't realize is Canadian healthcare was ALWAYS on the brink of failure.

A quick thread 🧵👇:
2/ Overflowing hospitals and morgues are just a part of life after failing to properly fund the healthcare system.

From 2019:

3/ Of course, in 2019 it wasn't because it's a broken system. It was a lack of those darn flu vaccines, and a stupid virus that was unexpected.

You'd think Canada would understand viruses are a part of life at this point, and be prepared.

Read 7 tweets
Stephen Punwasi 🌋 🚀 Profile picture
Jan 11
lol. Fredericton, New Brunswick saw half of its new condo supply scooped up by foreign buyers.

HALF!!!
2/ The play is finding the cheapest place in Canada, and scoop up as much shit as possible.

Canada intentionally tries to inflate home prices knowing supporters don't understand how the sausage is made. They don't care, it's politics. They just want data to brag about.

2/3
3/ Take imputed rents for example. This is the amount a homeowner "pays" themselves to live in their $2 million crack shack.

This is included in self-employment income. Hey, look at you — you're a tenant and a landlord. No wonder you treat your house like crap.
Read 4 tweets
Stephen Punwasi 🌋 🚀 Profile picture
Jan 6
Canada’s housing crisis will do more economic damage than most can imagine.

Not through a crash, but elevated costs force young people to worry about shelter instead of taking risks.

It’s turned into a plutocracy to rent cheap labor to billionaires.

jacobinmag.com/2022/01/canada…
2/ @JohnOCAP did a great job on the social side, but I’d like to add to the economic side.

No animal procreates when the environment is wrong. Seriously, none. Humans aren't unique in this regard.

As millennials (and Gen Z soon) are exploited, they get uncomfortable.
3/ They're told their jobs are in major cities, they need $100k in student debt, and live in a tiny box.

Meanwhile, previous generations have decided they get to collect additional value just for existing. Sweet gig.
Read 12 tweets

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