BLAME: Coinbase’s AI job cuts, Starbucks’ $10 “affordable” coffee, Bezos at the Met

DR

1. Coinbase cuts headcount by 14% citing AI acceleration. The shares are gaining

   1. Coinbase cuts headcount by 14% citing AI acceleration WHO DO YOU BLAME?

      1. Cofounder/CEO/Chair Brian Armstrong: 49.6% voting power MM

         1. In 2020, amidst global protests for racial justice, Armstrong issued a blog post that effectively banned employees from discussing social issues or activism at work: "We don't advocate for any particular causes or candidates internally that are unrelated to our mission, because it is a distraction from our mission... we won't engage in broader societal issues."

         2. Brian is a proponent of "Freedom Cities"—privatized zones built on federal land that would be exempt from the laws that govern the rest of the country

      2. Meta Platforms director Marc Andreessen:

         1. Impeding the development of AI in any way, he argues, “is a form of murder.

         2. "Our enemies are 'social responsibility', 'stakeholder capitalism', 'Precautionary Principle', 'sustainable development goals', 'social justice', and 'environmental, social, and governance (ESG)'... These are all ideas that would lead to a stagnant, decadent, and ultimately dead society."

      3. The dual class share structure:

         1. The holders of our Class B common stock are entitled to twenty votes per share, and holders of our Class A common stock are entitled to one vote per share.

      4. Jeffrey Billings, the independent trustee for certain trusts established by Brian Armstrong (representing 18.9% voting power)

      5. Co-founder/director Frederick “Fred” Ernest Ehrsam III (10.6% voting power)

         1. co-founder and general partner of the crypto-focused venture capital firm Paradigm

         2. co-founder and CEO of Nudge, a neurotechnology startup developing non-invasive brain–computer interfaces

         3. Duke University

         4. While Fred is often seen as the quiet intellectual counterpart to Marc Andreessen, his philosophy is arguably even more dystopian to critics because it moves beyond just software—aiming to program human governance and the human brain itself.

         5. Fred is the Quiet Architect of a future where human systems are replaced by cold code.

         6. Fred is a major backer of the Prometheus Summit, a secretive gathering of tech elites focused on "longevity" and "assisted reproductive technologies."

         7. In 2026, Fred was appointed to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) by President Donald Trump

      6. The 2 women on the board, seems very DEI-ish

   2. The shares are gaining WHO DO YOU BLAME?

      1. Investors

         1. Up 15$ in 2 days: $655M for brian

2. Diary of a CEO founder says he hired someone with ‘zero’ work experience because she ‘thanked the security guard by name’ before the interview WHO DO YOU BLAME?

   1. The so-called “meritocracy” MM

      1. “I hired someone who’s CV was two lines. Their experience was zero”

3. Elon Musk's SpaceX Could Be Fast-Tracked Into S&P 500 After IPO Under Proposed Rule Changes AND Elon Musk settles SEC lawsuit over Twitter purchase and agrees to pay $1.5m fine

   1. A trust in Musk’s name will pay a $1.5m civil penalty, without admitting wrongdoing. Musk won’t have to give up any money he allegedly saved from the delay. In its January 2025 lawsuit, the SEC said Musk’s 11-day delay in revealing his initial 5% Twitter stake in late March and early April 2022 let him buy more than $500min shares at artificially low prices, before he finally revealed a 9.2% stake.  WHO DO YOU BLAME?

      1. The SEC Commissioners

         1. Jan 2025

            1. Chair Gary Gensler (D)

            2. Commissioner Hester Peirce (R)

            3. Commissioner Mark Uyeda (R)

            4. Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw (D)

            5. Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga (D)

         2. Today MM

            1. Chair Paul Atkins (R)

            2. Commissioner Hester Peirce (R)

            3. Commissioner Mark Uyeda (R)

            4. Vacant

            5. Vacant

      2. Specifically Paul Atkins

         1. During his first stint as an SEC Commissioner (George W. Bush), Paul was famous for his dissent against large corporate penalties

            1. He argued that fining a company for the "sins" of its executives just hurts the innocent shareholders a second time

         2. Recently in the same Administration with Musk (DOGE)

         3. Generally believes the SEC overregulates; Musk has referred to the SEC as “bastards”

      3. Commissioner Hester Peirce

         1. The perennial dissenter (pre-Trump 2.0): Whenever the SEC would sue a crypto firm or fine a high-profile CEO, Peirce would release a blistering public letter explaining why the SEC was wrong, overreaching, and "paternalistic."

         2. Hester is the primary author of the Token Safe Harbor proposal, which essentially argues that tech companies should be allowed to operate for three years without any SEC oversight to "find their footing."

         3. Hester has long argued that the SEC’s disclosure requirements are "bloated" and "immaterial." In her view, Musk’s failure to file a 13D form for his Twitter stake wasn't a crime—it was a failure to comply with a "clunky, outdated bureaucracy."

         4. "In our purportedly enlightened era, we pin scarlet letters on allegedly offending corporations without bothering much about facts and circumstances... After all, naming and shaming corporate villains is fun, trendy, and profitable."

2. The S&P 500, managed by S&P Global Dow Jones Indices, on Thursday, announced it was beginning consultation on rule changes that could potentially help Elon Musk-led SpaceX gain an expedited entry into the index. 

   1. The rule changes include letting IPOs enter the index six months after their debut on an eligible index instead of a 12-month period, according to current rules.

   2. The index also proposed eliminating a minimum Investable Weight Factor (IWF) of 0.10 for megacap companies. The IWF is a methodology used to calculate the number of shares of a company available to trade on the market.

   3. Notably, the proposed rule changes also eliminate profitability requirements for megacap companies. Current rules require a company to be profitable on a GAAP basis for 12 months to be considered for the index, but that rule could be eliminated.

   4. S&P DJI only accepts feedback during the announced consultation open period, which is generally one calendar month following the consultation announcement. The Index Committee considers the complexity of the change and the desirable implementation timing in determining the open window for the consultation, which is generally aligned, if possible, with the index rebalancing schedule. 

   5. WHO DO YOU BLAME?

   6. S&P Global CEO Martina L. Cheung (31% no on pay last year) DEI? That’s all I have

   7. S&P Global Chair Ian Livingston (Lord Livingston of Parkhead)

      1. Lord Livingston is also involved in a number of charities particularly in the fields of education, equality and social care

      2. Lords are weird? That’s all I have

   8. The Index Committee

      1. The S&P 500 Index Committee is one of the most powerful and secretive groups in global finance. To prevent insider trading and front-running (where traders buy a stock because they know it’s about to be added to the index), S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) keeps the names of the individual committee members confidential.

      2. “To mitigate even the appearance of a conflict of interest... all Index Committee meetings are confidential. Membership of the Index Committee is not disclosed, and voting members consist of senior S&P DJI staff who have no commercial responsibilities”

      3. The Committee Members: Usually consists of about five to nine full-time employees of S&P Dow Jones Indices.  

      4. Veto Power: Unlike other indices that use a rigid formula, this committee has discretionary authority. They can choose to ignore certain rules (like profitability) if they believe a company is representative of the U.S. economy.

      5. Who is probably partly on the Committee:

         1. Catherine Clay (CEO, S&P Dow Jones Indices): As the top executive, she oversees all index divisions. She joined in late 2025 with a mandate to modernize the indices for the digital and private-to-public era.

         2. Fiona Boal (Global Head of Equities): She oversees the entire equity index suite. Any proposal to change the "seasoning" or profitability rules for the S&P 500 goes through her office.

         3. Michael Orzano (Head of Exchange Products): He is the primary strategist for how major listings (like a $1.75T SpaceX IPO) integrate with the exchange-traded product (ETF) ecosystem.

            1. He was the lead strategist during the 2020 Tesla Inclusion, which was the most chaotic event in S&P history

         4. Hamish Preston (Head of U.S. Equities): He is the primary spokesperson for S&P 500 methodology. If the "SpaceX Rule" is adopted in June 2026, he will be the one explaining the technical justification to the media.

         5. Louis Bellucci (Head of Index Committee Management): As of 2026, he is the specific individual tasked with managing the various index committees and ensuring they follow the updated governance protocols

   9. The general concept of greed MM

MM

1. 'Tone Deaf' Starbucks CEO Slammed for Justifying $10 Coffee as 'Affordable Premium Experience' - Niccol is so close to the human experience, he thought it was obviously “affordable” premium to pay $10 for a single cup of coffee.  WHO DO YOU BLAME?

   1. Mike Sievert, Jorgen Knudstorp, Neal Mohan, and Brian Niccol

      1. According to Free Float knowledge database, the only four directors with base knowledge of marketing in their backgrounds - all direct from their education and bios

      2. 46% of SBUX influence

   2. Richard Allison, Neal Mohan, Andy Campion, Beth Ford, Mike Sievert

      1. Members of the pay committee that graciously granted Niccol $96m such that a $10 coffee is an “affordable premium experience” for Niccol alone

      2. Meanwhile, CEO Pay Surges 11% While Workers' Wages Stagnate at 0.5% in 2025: Report.

         1. In the last 5 years, EVERY director at SBUX was tagged as a “bottom payer” for employees using bottom quartile employee median pay relative to peers as a flag

         2. At the same time, SBUX tagged as mildly atypical overpay relative to other paying directors, and the board average 5 year CEO Pay ratio ranking in the BOTTOM QUINTILE - not only do they love paying their employees as little as possible, the couple it with massive pay packages for CEOs everywhere they go

   3. Beth Ford, Daniel Servitje, and Neal Mohan

      1. According to Free Float deference numbers, which use how directors get paid, the prestige of the directorship, the overlaps/reliance on the CEO, and social ties to management, these three are the only ones on the board tagged as “Deferential”

         1. For instance, Mohan has directorships at Chrome Holding and Starbucks… which one is a bigger deal?

      2. These are directors with the most to lose by dissenting - and risking getting replaced - at this board in particular

   4. Mike Sievert, Daniel Servitje, Marissa Mayer, Neal Mohan, Brian Niccol

      1. Estimates of each of their net worth is in excess of $100m, with Servitje part of the nepo Grupo Bimbo money (he’s worth >$3bn)

      2. Mayer is the rare female fail up, with early Google and Yahoo money >$600m

      3. Mohan got a $100m stock retention bonus in 2013 alone and is the CEO of YouTube, the ultimate in artist exploitation machine

   5. Neal Mohan, who is on every one of these lists DR

   6. Brian Niccol, for generating a record quarter, avoiding negotiating with the union, and calling $10 for roasted beans “affordable premium”

2. Activists Protest Jeff Bezos at 2026 Met Gala with Symbolic 'Urine' Bottles - no one like Uncle Jeffe and his wife anymore!!!  WHO DO YOU BLAME?

   1. Zohran Mamdani

      1. He skipped the Met Gala???  This was his one chance to show he actually DOES love Ken Griffin!

   2. Workers

      1. If they just accepted that they will all be fired by AI robots and take what their tech billionaire overlords bequeath them generously, they wouldn’t have to do this: While billionaires get ready for the Met Gala, their workers walk a different kind of runway

         1. A protest fashion show by workers of Amazon, Whole Foods, Starbucks, Uber, organized by the SEIU and Amazon Labor Union

   3. Lauren Sanchez DR

      1. Profiled in the NYT saying the uber-rich should “stop apologizing” and “start enjoying themselves” - isn’t always the wife’s fault?

   4. Amazon’s board of sycophants

      1. Labelled as “Structurally Deferential” in Free Float data, 5 of the 12 directors have been with Bezos for over a decade

      2. The rest are almost entirely connected to the directors who have been there for more than a decade

      3. 7 of the 12 directors tagged as bottom payers, 6 of them at just Amazon

      4. EVERY DIRECTOR has been flagged more than once for Human Rights violations across all boards they’re on - literally they have overseen constant strings of human rights violations

   5. Uncle Jeffe - who still thinks you can buy things and make people like you

3. GameStop is preparing offer for eBay, WSJ reports - the offer is for $56bn and would allow a failing brick and mortar video game company to buy a semi-failing 2000s internet auction company - WHO DO YOU BLAME?

   1. TD Bank directors Ana Arsov, Cheri Brant, Elio Luongo, Keith Martell, Frank Pearn, Paul Wirth - the TD risk committee

      1. TD offered a “I guess so?” letter for financing coming in around $20bn in debt.  That amount of debt would make these directors - who are only active on the GameStop board - among the most indebted in our database

      2. The risk committee is: accountant, compliance officer, ex-bank CEO, accountant, lawyer, someone from Moody’s

   2. Roaring Kitty Keith Gill

      1. Isn’t this obviously all his fault?

      2. Last count, he has as many as 9m shares in GME in 2024…

   3. CEO Ryan Cohen

      1. Whose deep experience selling pet food and video games has set him up to have just the ego to think he can run anything anywhere

   4. Who cares