Apply for a licence - Gambling Commission | Home

NEW INFO 5 Results from share redemption are posted. Less than .2% redeemed. Very bullish as investors are showing extreme confidence in the future of PLBY.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/playboy-mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-120000721.html
NEW INFO 4 Definitive Agreement to purchase 100% of Lovers brand stores announced 2/1.
https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Playboy+%28MCAC%29+Confirms+Deal+to+Acquire+Lovers/17892359.html
NEW INFO 3 I bought more on the dip today. 5081 total. Price rose AH to $12.38 (2.15%)
NEW INFO 2 Here is the full webinar.
https://icrinc.zoom.us/rec/play/9GWKdmOYumjWfZuufW3QXpe_FW_g--qeNbg6PnTjTMbnNTgLmCbWjeRFpQga1iPc-elpGap8dnDv8Zww.yD7DjUwuPmapeEdP?continueMode=true&tk=lEYc4F_FkKlgsmCIs6w0gtGHT2kbgVGbUju3cIRBSjk.DQIAAAAV8NK49xZWdldRM2xNSFNQcTBmcE00UzM3bXh3AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA&uuid=WN_GKWqbHkeSyuWetJmLFkj4g&_x_zm_rtaid=kR45-uuqRE-L65AxLjpbQw.1611967079119.2c054e3d3f8d8e63339273d9175939ed&_x_zm_rhtaid=866
NEW INFO 1 Live merger webinar with PLBY and MCAC on Friday January 29, 2021 at 12:00 NOON EST link below
https://mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/press-release-details/2021/Playboy-Enterprises-Inc.-and-Mountain-Crest-Acquisition-Corp-Participate-in-SPACInsider-ICR-Webinar-on-January-29th-at-12pm-ET/default.aspx
Playboy going public: Porn, Gambling, and Cannabis
!!!WARNING READING AHEAD!!! TL;DR at the end. It will take some time to sort through all the links and read/watch everything, but you should.
In the next couple weeks, Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp is taking Playboy public. The existing ticker MCAC will become PLBY. Special purpose acquisition companies have taken private companies public in recent months with great success. I believe this will be no exception. Notably, Playboy is profitable and has skyrocketing revenue going into a transformational growth phase.
Porn - First and foremost, let's talk about porn. I know what you guys are thinking. “Porno mags are dead. Why would I want to invest in something like that? I can get porn for free online.” Guess what? You are absolutely right. And that’s exactly why Playboy doesn’t do that anymore. That’s right, they eliminated their print division. And yet they somehow STILL make money from porn that people (see: boomers) pay for on their website through PlayboyTV, Playboy Plus, and iPlayboy. Here’s the thing: Playboy has international, multi-generational name recognition from porn. They have content available in 180 countries. It will be the only publicly traded adult entertainment (porn) company. But that is not where this company is going. It will help support them along the way. You can see every Playboy magazine through iPlayboy if you’re interested. NSFW links below:
https://www.playboy.com/
https://www.playboytv.com/
https://www.playboyplus.com/
https://www.iplayboy.com/
Gambling - Some of you might recognize the Playboy brand from gambling trips to places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Cancun, London or Macau. They’ve been in the gambling biz for decades through their casinos, clubs, and licensed gaming products. They see the writing on the wall. COVID is accelerating the transition to digital, application based GAMBLING. That’s right. What we are doing on Robinhood with risky options is gambling, and the only reason regulators might give a shit anymore is because we are making too much money. There may be some restrictions put in place, but gambling from your phone on your couch is not going anywhere. More and more states are allowing things like Draftkings, poker, state ‘lottery” apps, hell - even political betting. Michigan and Virginia just ok’d gambling apps. They won’t be the last. This is all from your couch and any 18 year old with a cracked iphone can access it. Wouldn’t it be cool if Playboy was going to do something like that? They’re already working on it. As per CEO Ben Kohn who we will get to later, “...the company’s casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth.” Honestly, I stopped researching Scientific Games' sports betting segment when I saw the word ‘omni-channel’. That told me all I needed to know about it’s success.
“Our SG Sports™ platform is an enhanced, omni-channel solution for online, self-service and retail fixed odds sports betting – from soccer to tennis, basketball, football, baseball, hockey, motor sports, racing and more.”
https://www.scientificgames.com/
https://www.microgaming.co.uk/
“This latter segment has become increasingly enticing for Playboy, and it said last week that it is considering new tie-ups that could include gaming operators like PointsBet and 888Holdings.”
https://calvinayre.com/2020/10/05/business/playboys-gaming-ops-could-get-a-boost-from-spac-purchase/
As per their SEC filing:
“Significant consumer engagement and spend with Playboy-branded gaming properties around the world, including with leading partners such as Microgaming, Scientific Games, and Caesar’s Entertainment, steers our investment in digital gaming, sports betting and other digital offerings to further support our commercial strategy to expand consumer spend with minimal marginal cost, and gain consumer data to inform go-to-market plans across categories.”
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tMDAA1
They are expanding into more areas of gaming/gambling, working with international players in the digital gaming/gambling arena, and a Playboy sportsbook is on the horizon.
https://www.playboy.com/read/the-pleasure-of-playing-with-yourself-mobile-gaming-in-the-covid-era
Cannabis - If you’ve ever read through a Playboy magazine, you know they’ve had a positive relationship with cannabis for many years. As of September 2020, Playboy has made a major shift into the cannabis space. Too good to be true you say? Check their website. Playboy currently sells a range of CBD products. This is a good sign. Federal hemp products, which these most likely are, can be mailed across state lines and most importantly for a company like Playboy, can operate through a traditional banking institution. CBD products are usually the first step towards the cannabis space for large companies. Playboy didn’t make these products themselves meaning they are working with a processor in the cannabis industry. Another good sign for future expansion. What else do they have for sale? Pipes, grinders, ashtrays, rolling trays, joint holders. Hmm. Ok. So it looks like they want to sell some shit. They probably don’t have an active interest in cannabis right? Think again:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/09/24/playboy-gets-serious-about-cannabis-law-reform-advocacy-with-new-partnership-grants/?sh=62f044a65cea
“Taking yet another step into the cannabis space, Playboy will be announcing later on Thursday (September, 2020) that it is launching a cannabis law reform and advocacy campaign in partnership with National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Last Prisoner Project, Marijuana Policy Project, the Veterans Cannabis Project, and the Eaze Momentum Program.”
“According to information procured exclusively, the three-pronged campaign will focus on calling for federal legalization. The program also includes the creation of a mentorship plan, through which the Playboy Foundation will support entrepreneurs from groups that are underrepresented in the industry.” Remember that CEO Kohn from earlier? He wrote this recently:
https://medium.com/naked-open-letters-from-playboy/congress-must-pass-the-more-act-c867c35239ae
Seems like he really wants weed to be legal? Hmm wonder why? The writing's on the wall my friends. Playboy wants into the cannabis industry, they are making steps towards this end, and we have favorable conditions for legislative progress.
Don’t think branding your own cannabis line is profitable or worthwhile? Tell me why these 41 celebrity millionaires and billionaires are dummies. I’ll wait.
https://www.celebstoner.com/news/celebstoner-news/2019/07/12/top-celebrity-cannabis-brands/
Confirmation: I hear you. “This all seems pretty speculative. It would be wildly profitable if they pull this shift off. But how do we really know?” Watch this whole video:
https://finance.yahoo.com/video/playboy-ceo-telling-story-female-154907068.html
Man - this interview just gets my juices flowing. And highlights one of my favorite reasons for this play. They have so many different business avenues from which a catalyst could appear. I think paying attention, holding shares, and options on these staggered announcements over the next year is the way I am going to go about it. "There's definitely been a shift to direct-to-consumer," he (Kohn) said. "About 50 percent of our revenue today is direct-to-consumer, and that will continue to grow going forward.” “Kohn touted Playboy's portfolio of both digital and consumer products, with casino-style gaming, in particular, serving a crucial role under the company's new business model. Playboy also has its sights on the emerging cannabis market, from CBD products to marijuana products geared toward sexual health and pleasure.” "If THC does become legal in the United States, we have developed certain strains to enhance your sex life that we will launch," Kohn said. https://cheddar.com/media/playboy-goes-public-health-gaming-lifestyle-focus Oh? The CEO actually said it? Ok then. “We have developed certain strains…” They’re already working with growers on strains and genetics? Ok. There are several legal cannabis markets for those products right now, international and stateside. I expect Playboy licensed hemp and THC pre-rolls by EOY. Something like this: https://www.etsy.com/listing/842996758/10-playboy-pre-roll-tubes-limited?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=pre+roll+playboy&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&organic_search_click=1 Maintaining cannabis operations can be costly and a regulatory headache. Playboy’s licensing strategy allows them to pick successful, established partners and sidestep traditional barriers to entry. You know what I like about these new markets? They’re expanding. Worldwide. And they are going to be a bigger deal than they already are with or without Playboy. Who thinks weed and gambling are going away? Too many people like that stuff. These are easy markets. And Playboy is early enough to carve out their spot in each. Fuck it, read this too: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimosman/2020/10/20/playboy-could-be-the-king-of-spacs-here-are-three-picks/?sh=2e13dcaa3e05
Numbers: You want numbers? I got numbers. As per the company’s most recent SEC filing:
“For the year ended December 31, 2019, and the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s historical consolidated revenue was $78.1 million and $101.3 million, respectively, historical consolidated net income (loss) was $(23.6) million and $(4.8) million, respectively, and Adjusted EBITDA was $13.1 million and $21.8 million, respectively.”
“In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Licensing segment contributed $44.2 million in revenue and $31.1 million in net income.”
“In the ninth months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Direct-to-Consumer segment contributed $40.2 million in revenue and net income of $0.1 million.”
“In the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Playboy’s Digital Subscriptions and Content segment contributed $15.4 million in revenue and net income of $7.4 million.”
They are profitable across all three of their current business segments.
“Playboy’s return to the public markets presents a transformed, streamlined and high-growth business. The Company has over $400 million in cash flows contracted through 2029, sexual wellness products available for sale online and in over 10,000 major retail stores in the US, and a growing variety of clothing and branded lifestyle and digital gaming products.”
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF
Growth: Playboy has massive growth in China and massive growth potential in India. “In China, where Playboy has spent more than 25 years building its business, our licensees have an enormous footprint of nearly 2,500 brick and mortar stores and 1,000 ecommerce stores selling high quality, Playboy-branded men’s casual wear, shoes/footwear, sleepwear, swimwear, formal suits, leather & non-leather goods, sweaters, active wear, and accessories. We have achieved significant growth in China licensing revenues over the past several years in partnership with strong licensees and high-quality manufacturers, and we are planning for increased growth through updates to our men’s fashion lines and expansion into adjacent categories in men’s skincare and grooming, sexual wellness, and women’s fashion, a category where recent launches have been well received.” The men’s market in China is about the same size as the entire population of the United States and European Union combined. Playboy is a leading brand in this market. They are expanding into the women’s market too. Did you know CBD toothpaste is huge in China? China loves CBD products and has hemp fields that dwarf those in the US. If Playboy expands their CBD line China it will be huge. Did you know the gambling money in Macau absolutely puts Las Vegas to shame? Technically, it's illegal on the mainland, but in reality, there is a lot of gambling going on in China. https://www.forbes.com/sites/javierhasse/2020/10/19/magic-johnson-and-uncle-buds-cbd-brand-enter-china-via-tmall-partnership/?sh=271776ca411e “In India, Playboy today has a presence through select apparel licensees and hospitality establishments. Consumer research suggests significant growth opportunities in the territory with Playboy’s brand and categories of focus.” “Playboy Enterprises has announced the expansion of its global consumer products business into India as part of a partnership with Jay Jay Iconic Brands, a leading fashion and lifestyle Company in India.” “The Indian market today is dominated by consumers under the age of 35, who represent more than 65 percent of the country’s total population and are driving India’s significant online shopping growth. The Playboy brand’s core values of playfulness and exploration resonate strongly with the expressed desires of today’s younger millennial consumers. For us, Playboy was the perfect fit.” “The Playboy international portfolio has been flourishing for more than 25 years in several South Asian markets such as China and Japan. In particular, it has strategically targeted the millennial and gen-Z audiences across categories such as apparel, footwear, home textiles, eyewear and watches.” https://www.licenseglobal.com/industry-news/playboy-expands-global-footprint-india It looks like they gave COVID the heisman in terms of net damage sustained: “Although Playboy has not suffered any material adverse consequences to date from the COVID-19 pandemic, the business has been impacted both negatively and positively. The remote working and stay-at-home orders resulted in the closure of the London Playboy Club and retail stores of Playboy’s licensees, decreasing licensing revenues in the second quarter, as well as causing supply chain disruption and less efficient product development thereby slowing the launch of new products. However, these negative impacts were offset by an increase in Yandy’s direct-to-consumer sales, which have benefited in part from overall increases in online retail sales so far during the pandemic.” Looks like the positives are long term (Yandy acquisition) and the negatives are temporary (stay-at-home orders).
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921006093/tm213766-1_defa14a.htm
This speaks to their ability to maintain a financially solvent company throughout the transition phase to the aforementioned areas. They’d say some fancy shit like “expanded business model to encompass four key revenue streams: Sexual Wellness, Style & Apparel, Gaming & Lifestyle, and Beauty & Grooming.” I hear “we’re just biding our time with these trinkets until those dollar dollar bill y’all markets are fully up and running.” But the truth is these existing revenue streams are profitable, scalable, and rapidly expanding Playboy’s e-commerce segment around the world.
"Even in the face of COVID this year, we've been able to grow EBITDA over 100 percent and revenue over 68 percent, and I expect that to accelerate going into 2021," he said. “Playboy is accelerating its growth in company-owned and branded consumer products in attractive and expanding markets in which it has a proven history of brand affinity and consumer spend.”
Also in the SEC filing, the Time Frame:
“As we detailed in the definitive proxy statement, the SPAC stockholder meeting to vote on the transaction has been set for February 9th, and, subject to stockholder approval and satisfaction of the other closing conditions, we expect to complete the merger and begin trading on NASDAQ under ticker PLBY shortly thereafter,” concluded Kohn.
The Players: Suhail “The Whale” Rizvi (HMFIC), Ben “The Bridge” Kohn (CEO), “lil” Suying Liu & “Big” Dong Liu (Young-gun China gang). I encourage you to look these folks up. The real OG here is Suhail Rizvi. He’s from India originally and Chairman of the Board for the new PLBY company. He was an early investor in Twitter, Square, Facebook and others. His firm, Rizvi Traverse, currently invests in Instacart, Pinterest, Snapchat, Playboy, and SpaceX. Maybe you’ve heard of them. “Rizvi, who owns a sprawling three-home compound in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a 1.65-acre estate in Palm Beach, Florida, near Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, moved to Iowa Falls when he was five. His father was a professor of psychology at Iowa. Along with his older brother Ashraf, a hedge fund manager, Rizvi graduated from Wharton business school.” “Suhail Rizvi: the 47-year-old 'unsocial' social media baron: When Twitter goes public in the coming weeks (2013), one of the biggest winners will be a 47-year-old financier who guards his secrecy so zealously that he employs a person to take down his Wikipedia entry and scrub his photos from the internet. In IPO, Twitter seeks to be 'anti-FB'” “Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia looks like a big Twitter winner. So do the moneyed clients of Jamie Dimon. But as you’ve-got-to-be-joking wealth washed over Twitter on Thursday — a company that didn’t exist eight years ago was worth $31.7 billion after its first day on the stock market — the non-boldface name of the moment is Suhail R. Rizvi. Mr. Rizvi, 47, runs a private investment company that is the largest outside investor in Twitter with a 15.6 percent stake worth $3.8 billion at the end of trading on Thursday (November, 2013). Using a web of connections in the tech industry and in finance, as well as a hearty dose of good timing, he brought many prominent names in at the ground floor, including the Saudi prince and some of JPMorgan’s wealthiest clients.” https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/technology/at-twitter-working-behind-the-scenes-toward-a-billion-dollar-payday.html Y’all like that Arab money? How about a dude that can call up Saudi Princes and convince them to spend? Funniest shit about I read about him: “Rizvi was able to buy only $100 million in Facebook shortly before its IPO, thus limiting his returns, according to people with knowledge of the matter.” Poor guy :(
He should be fine with the 16 million PLBY shares he's going to have though :)
Shuhail also has experience in the entertainment industry. He’s invested in companies like SESAC, ICM, and Summit Entertainment. He’s got Hollywood connections to blast this stuff post-merger. And he’s at least partially responsible for that whole Twilight thing. I’m team Edward btw.
I really like what Suhail has done so far. He’s lurked in the shadows while Kohn is consolidating the company, trimming the fat, making Playboy profitable, and aiming the ship at modern growing markets.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-ipo-rizvi-insight/insight-little-known-hollywood-investor-poised-to-score-with-twitter-ipo-idUSBRE9920VW20131003
Ben “The Bridge” Kohn is an interesting guy. He’s the connection between Rizvi Traverse and Playboy. He’s both CEO of Playboy and was previously Managing Partner at Rizvi Traverse. Ben seems to be the voice of the Playboy-Rizvi partnership, which makes sense with Suhail’s privacy concerns. Kohn said this:
“Today is a very big day for all of us at Playboy and for all our partners globally. I stepped into the CEO role at Playboy in 2017 because I saw the biggest opportunity of my career. Playboy is a brand and platform that could not be replicated today. It has massive global reach, with more than $3B of global consumer spend and products sold in over 180 countries. Our mission – to create a culture where all people can pursue pleasure – is rooted in our 67-year history and creates a clear focus for our business and role we play in people’s lives, providing them with the products, services and experiences that create a lifestyle of pleasure. We are taking this step into the public markets because the committed capital will enable us to accelerate our product development and go-to-market strategies and to more rapidly build our direct to consumer capabilities,” said Ben Kohn, CEO of Playboy.
“Playboy today is a highly profitable commerce business with a total addressable market projected in the trillions of dollars,” Mr. Kohn continued, “We are actively selling into the Sexual Wellness consumer category, projected to be approximately $400 billion in size by 2024, where our recently launched intimacy products have rolled out to more than 10,000 stores at major US retailers in the United States. Combined with our owned & operated ecommerce Sexual Wellness initiatives, the category will contribute more than 40% of our revenue this year. In our Apparel and Beauty categories, our collaborations with high-end fashion brands including Missguided and PacSun are projected to achieve over $50M in retail sales across the US and UK this year, our leading men’s apparel lines in China expanded to nearly 2500 brick and mortar stores and almost 1000 digital stores, and our new men’s and women’s fragrance line recently launched in Europe. In Gaming, our casino-style digital gaming products with Scientific Games and Microgaming continue to see significant global growth. Our product strategy is informed by years of consumer data as we actively expand from a purely licensing model into owning and operating key high-growth product lines focused on driving profitability and consumer lifetime value. We are thrilled about the future of Playboy. Our foundation has been set to drive further growth and margin, and with the committed capital from this transaction and our more than $180M in NOLs, we will take advantage of the opportunity in front of us, building to our goal of $100M of adjusted EBITDA in 2025.”
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company
Also, according to their Form 4s, “Big” Dong Liu and “lil” Suying Liu just loaded up with shares last week. These guys are brothers and seem like the Chinese market connection. They are only 32 & 35 years old. I don’t even know what that means, but it's provocative.
https://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/1832415.htm
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mountain-crest-acquisition-corp-ii-002600994.html
Y’all like that China money?
“Mr. Liu has been the Chief Financial Officer of Dongguan Zhishang Photoelectric Technology Co., Ltd., a regional designer, manufacturer and distributor of LED lights serving commercial customers throughout Southern China since November 2016, at which time he led a syndicate of investments into the firm. Mr. Liu has since overseen the financials of Dongguan Zhishang as well as provided strategic guidance to its board of directors, advising on operational efficiency and cash flow performance. From March 2010 to October 2016, Mr. Liu was the Head of Finance at Feidiao Electrical Group Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese manufacturer of electrical outlets headquartered in Shanghai and with businesses in the greater China region as well as Europe.”
Dr. Suying Liu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp., commented, “Playboy is a unique and compelling investment opportunity, with one of the world’s largest and most recognized brands, its proven consumer affinity and spend, and its enormous future growth potential in its four product segments and new and existing geographic regions. I am thrilled to be partnering with Ben and his exceptional team to bring his vision to fruition.”
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201001005404/en/Playboy-to-Become-a-Public-Company
These guys are good. They have a proven track record of success across multiple industries. Connections and money run deep with all of these guys. I don’t think they’re in the game to lose.
I was going to write a couple more paragraphs about why you should have a look at this but really the best thing you can do is read this SEC filing from a couple days ago. It explains the situation in far better detail. Specifically, look to page 137 and read through their strategy. Also, look at their ownership percentages and compensation plans including the stock options and their prices. The financials look great, revenue is up 90% Q3, and it looks like a bright future.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1803914/000110465921005986/tm2034213-12_defm14a.htm#tSHCF
I’m hesitant to attach this because his position seems short term, but I’m going to with a warning because he does hit on some good points (two are below his link) and he’s got a sizable position in this thing (500k+ on margin, I think). I don’t know this guy but he did look at the same publicly available info and make roughly the same prediction, albeit without the in depth gambling or cannabis mention. You can also search reddit for ‘MCAC’ and very few relevant results come up and none of them even come close to really looking at this thing.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gOvAd6lebs452hFlWWbxVjQ3VMsjGBkbJeXRwDwIJfM/edit?usp=sharing
“Also, before you people start making claims that Playboy is a “boomer” company, STOP RIGHT THERE. This is not a good argument. Simply put. The only thing that matters is Playboy’s name recognition, not their archaic business model which doesn’t even exist anymore as they have completely repurposed their business.”
“Imagine not buying $MCAC at a 400M valuation lol. Streetwear department is worth 1B alone imo.”
Considering the ridiculous Chinese growth as a lifestyle brand, he’s not wrong.
Current Cultural Significance and Meme Value: A year ago I wouldn’t have included this section but the events from the last several weeks (even going back to tsla) have proven that a company’s ability to meme and/or gain social network popularity can have an effect. Tik-tok, Snapchat, Twitch, Reddit, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter. They all have Playboy stuff on them. Kids in middle and highschool know what Playboy is but will likely never see or touch one of the magazines in person. They’ll have a Playboy hoodie though. Crazy huh? A lot like GME, PLBY would hugely benefit from meme-value stock interest to drive engagement towards their new business model while also building strategic coffers. This interest may not directly and/or significantly move the stock price but can generate significant interest from larger players who will.
Bull Case: The year is 2025. Playboy is now the world leader pleasure brand. They began by offering Playboy licensed gaming products, including gambling products, direct to consumers through existing names. By 2022, demand has skyrocketed and Playboy has designed and released their own gambling platforms. In 2025, they are also a leading cannabis brand in the United States and Canada with proprietary strains and products geared towards sexual wellness. Cannabis was legalized in the US in 2023 when President Biden got glaucoma but had success with cannabis treatment. He personally pushes for cannabis legalization as he steps out of office after his first term. Playboy has also grown their brand in China and India to multi-billion per year markets. The stock goes up from 11ish to 100ish and everyone makes big gains buying somewhere along the way.
Bear Case: The United States does a complete 180 on marijuana and gambling. President Biden overdoses on marijuana in the Lincoln bedroom when his FDs go tits up and he loses a ton of money in his sports book app after the Fighting Blue Hens narrowly lose the National Championship to Bama. Playboy is unable to expand their cannabis and gambling brands but still does well with their worldwide lifestyle brand. They gain and lose some interest in China and India but the markets are too large to ignore them completely. The stock goes up from 11ish to 13ish and everyone makes 15-20% gains.
TL;DR: Successful technology/e-commerce investment firm took over Playboy to turn it into a porn, online gambling/gaming, sports book, cannabis company, worldwide lifestyle brand that promotes sexual wellness, vetern access, women-ownership, minority-ownership, and “pleasure for all”. Does a successful online team reinventing an antiquated physical copy giant sound familiar? No options yet, shares only for now. $11.38 per share at time of writing. My guess? $20 by the end of February. $50 by EOY. This is not financial advice. I am not qualified to give financial advice. I’m just sayin’ I would personally use a Playboy sports book app while smoking a Playboy strain specific joint and it would be cool if they did that. Do your own research. You’d probably want to start here:
WARNING - POTENTIALLY NSFW - SEXY MODELS AHEAD - no actual nudity though
https://s26.q4cdn.com/895475556/files/doc_presentations/Playboy-Craig-Hallum-Conference-Investor-Presentation-11_17_20-compressed.pdf
Or here:
https://www.mcacquisition.com/investor-relations/default.aspx
Jimmy Chill: “Get into any SPAC at $10 or $11 and you are going to make money.”
STL;DR: Buy MCAC. MCAC > PLBY couple weeks. Rocketship. Moon.
Position: 5000 shares. I will buy short, medium, and long-dated calls once available.

I posted this yesterday morning (UK time) but after 5 hours or so, pennystocks deleted the original post. I had a message to share it on here too, so here it is!
--
This is my first time posting a DD post – a friend of mine who moderates on SPACs has shared some analysis I have written previously, but I’m keen to share this here, and see if there is any appetite for sharing my own personal written DD I have on the 30 stocks I have across a number of different portfolios.
I have modified this format, as it was originally a script for a video which I created on the stock. If you prefer to listen – check it out here: https://youtu.be/qsjwU7kkPsw
Some of the market stats (market cap, current multiples, etc.) are correct as of Feb-06, and clearly a little outdated since the price movements.
Not a financial advisor, do your own DD. I am long HITI and have an expectation of a long term hold on this stock.
Overview

• High Tide Canada-based cannabis retail company, operating under multiple brands. It operates under 3 core divisions:

1. Brick and mortar retail – 4 key brands with just under 70 locations in Canada. Brands include: Canna Cabana, New Leaf, Meta Cannabis and Kushbar. Forecast to have around 115 stores by end of 2021
2. Online retail – has 2 brands, both of which attract millions of viewers per month – Grasscity.com and CBDcity.com
3. Wholesale – manufacturer of paraphernalia in US and Canada. Number of products are branded with various celebrities, Snoop Dogg, Paramount Pictures, Trailer Park Boys and many more

• Has good c-level execs and experienced executive board; hold significant stake in the business. CEO Raj Grover holds just over 21% of the shares
• Currently has a market cap of around $280m. Still significant upside to the valuation – see analysis later in post

Investment Merits
Very strong market growth:

• Business has demonstrated growth both organically (through new store openings, more online sales and greater wholesale sales), as well as inorganically through M&A
• Growth in markets which High Tide has a physical presence in is expected to be very strong. North American cannabis market (Canada and US) is forecast to grow by 30% a year to 2027 (source: research and markets)
• Analysts covering High Tide are forecasting growth in excess of this, which is positive to see and implies capturing market share
• New markets / geographies ‘opening up’, legalizing and regulating cannabis is also an exciting and realistic prospect for incremental growth:

1. The US federal legalization debate is on the table
2. Many other countries are considering this too and High Tide is well positioned for these; this is catalyzed by the fact that government debt has increased significantly as part of the response to the COVID-19 health crisis. This needs to be repaid somehow, and increasing tax rates on existing taxes is an unpopular political move. Finding new tax revenues is a more palatable way of increasing tax revenues for governments. This is especially important in countries where elections are upcoming.

• Personally I do expect to see this accelerate the agenda for the regulation and legalization of cannabis in many new countries
• Whilst predominantly Canada and US based, High Tide does have presence in some markets where cannabis is not regulated or legalized, the UK for example (~10% of Grasscity sales are made here) and so it is well positioned with a strong and established brand to capitalize on this opportunity, when / if the market ‘opens up’

Regulation

• High Tide benefits from the regulatory focus and overhang on the cannabis retail sector as it represents a strong barrier to entry, making it more challenging for new competitors to enter market
• Participants in the market need to have licenses and ensure consistent compliance with laws to continue operating – failure to comply can result in significant financial penalties
• Personally I normally don’t like investing into retail. There are usually fairly limited barriers to entry, minimal differentiation and negligible customer loyalty, however the cannabis market does have different characteristics in this respect and makes it a more compelling proposition
• Regulation also benefits those with scale, something High Tide has as the leading player in the market. It costs money to obtain and retain licences to operate and it costs money to ensure compliance with all the laws and regulations and that all staff are acting in accordance with these
• Some parallels in this respect which can be drawn to casino gaming in casinos; you don’t see new casinos popping up at the same rate which you see new restaurants or apparel stores opening

Demand

• There’s a lot to like about the demand dynamics for High Tide. It’s vice-nature means that demand is less correlated to disposable incomes. Given where we are in economic cycle, especially important consideration
• For those doubting this, check alcohol, tobacco or gambling expenditure across economic cycles historically, for a proxy

Strong performance throughout COVID-19 crisis

• Despite heavy weighting towards brick and mortar, (the most hard hit part of retail) it has effectively managed the shift to online, which is a positive
• Has relied on government support and financial assistance in the form of job retention schemes (address in more detail later in post)
• This demonstrates management are capable and have effectively navigated the challenging situation

Data

• Massively summarized from the video, (and my video on KERN) so check that out if interested in this point, however, they have unique access to supply chain data which could be monetized effectively and generate strong levels of recurring revenues
• Other established sectors have a trusted party with such unique access to data (e.g. alcohol, lithium, different foods, etc.) and the opportunity here is enormous
• I would like to see High Tide capitalize on this

Forecasts financials & analysts

• Currently 2 analysts covering High Tide, both have a buy rating on the business
• Their coverage is slightly outdated (expect this being updated soon and a further catalyst for positive price action) and their price targets are 60c; at the time their reports were published, they were forecasting a 4x upside (HITI was trading at ~15c)
• Same analysts also forecasting strong growth - 77% CAGR to 2022. They are forecasting revenues of around $250m and EBITDA of $46m. A reminder here, these are professional analysts, not YouTube students – these come from their financial models, the assumptions of which are discussed with management

​
https://preview.redd.it/9ft3iuw6zmg61.png?width=602&format=png&auto=webp&s=44f5a24a035466bac6e9e72c70eb1edcadf5091d
Valuation

• Going to go quick here, its explained more slowly in the video but High Tide is currently valued at a significant discount to the other listed peers
• Looking at EV / FY+1 Sales multiples – EBITDA not meaningful as some of the peer group are EBITDA negative and High Tide itself has only recently become EBITDA positive

https://preview.redd.it/83j8aqdkzmg61.png?width=342&format=png&auto=webp&s=f06ec34f6de10eeae049710dd59c494f6ef697c9

• Personally, I think Planet13 is the most comparable given its business model
• Taking both Planet13 multiple and peer group average multiple, this is then applied to High Tide’s forecast FY+1 sales to calculate an enterprise value – this is adjusted for net debt to get to a market capitalization and then divided by the share count to get an implied share price
• The table below shows the implied stock price valuations from this analysis

​
https://preview.redd.it/1z2ap11mzmg61.png?width=406&format=png&auto=webp&s=775ddc0c9d7e99412dbb4eb1fbbf8ed4645bc235
NB – assumed the following:

1. Net debt will change in coming year given the capital structure and a large number of convertible notes – this has been ignored given it will have small impact on the price
2. The share count will change as a result of dilution from various instruments – if this bothers you massively then look at the valuation discount on the basis of the enterprise value as it does not impact this (and only slightly on the market cap given minimal impacts to cash from instrument execution, etc.)
3. Not accounting for any stock split, consolidation or any other M&A deals
4. The FY21 financials are on the basis of the mean broker estimates from Thomson Reuters – Seeking Alpha has different and slightly outdated ones

Investment Risks & Mitigants / Outstanding DD points
Exposure to changing regulation

• US is only a small part of the market which High Tide addresses, while a change in regulation would have a big impact on the company, currently it is unlikely this would happen, given the discussions about potential federal legalization
• Canada regulation is established and not going anywhere
• Other countries likely to legalize and regulate cannabis, as outlined earlier

Dilution

• No escaping that there will be some significant dilution for shareholders, as pointed out in the table below, but this should be already priced into the stock
• Potential that new equity issuances could occur to help finance growth, but provided this growth is delivered, it should be accretive for the stock price

​
https://preview.redd.it/n8dzmapozmg61.png?width=602&format=png&auto=webp&s=12e0e8bbd93f0c5c17920e7a5c5fad2559cc8bf0
Potentially misleading cost basis information

• A risk that investors need to be aware with for all companies which have relied on government financial support during COVID-19 measures. Such support has resulted in the number of businesses going bankrupt decreasing massively – this is at a lower level than it ever normally is and is masking some real underlying issues within companies. As investors we need to be open eyed about this
• As High Tide has benefited from support in the form of the Canada’s Emergency Wage Support scheme, there is the risk that once this is lifted it may become apparent that the cost base has not been effectively managed
• Personally, I think this is mitigated by the synergy analysis conducted as part of the M&A. A full cost base analysis would have been conducted to calculate the potential $8.4m synergies so strong likelihood that this is under control, but should keep on our radar and reassess

Marketing expenses and celebrity licenses

• Need more information to ascertain whether these are underpinned by a compelling ROI. Seen a lot of people suggest this is a great positive, but the impact on sales volumes from these is unknown, as is the terms of these license agreements (e.g. split between upfront fee vs. volume-based fee)
• No escaping the fact that it is an increased cost and so need to understand the ROI this generates to determine whether it really is compelling
• Is there really more demand to pay a premium for Snoop Dogg bongs, Guns n Roses papers, Cheech & Chong grinders, or whatever they may be?
• So far management have suggested this has been helpful in driving new sales, but this is something to dig into more

If you want to check out the video, it would be appreciated: https://youtu.be/qsjwU7kkPsw

With the elections less than two months away, I thought it'd be interesting to write an overview of each of the pre-candidates' projects, beginning with the dark horse of this election: Victor Font.
So what are the major policies of Victor Font?
Sell products directly to supporters without intermediaries

In the current model, the economic potential of the club is limited by the intervention of external agents

Font’s idea is that by removing intermediaries, Barça should see an increase in revenue since the club would get to keep all the money from sales of products.
Under Bartomeu in the 2018/2019 season, the club already assumed control of its merchandising and licensing operations so it’s a bit unclear what this particular Font policy would involve.
Limit the power of the board to that of grand strategic decisions, granting more power to the CEO

The executive board should exclusively focus on making the grand strategic decisions of the club.
The best possible CEO . . . is never going to come if you have 20 different executives telling him everyday what to do

As with other Font policies, it’s a bit unclear what this entails. Is the club’s hierarchy being changed in a lasting way, or does this refer more to what Font’s personal philosophy will be like running the club?
Ex-Presidents council

We have the idea of creating a new organisation . . . that would be the council of the ex-presidents

Font wants to gather the club’s ex-presidents of the club and make use of their knowledge and experience by making them members of an advisory council.
In an interview with Mundo Deportivo, he emphasised this idea by saying

We, with regards to our project, think that being able to count on the experience of all the ex-presidents should not only be a goal, but almost an obsession

Certainly an interesting idea that might make Font seem like a candidate wiling to compromise, but seemingly it would only include ex-presidents that are completely on board with his project given that he has said

We are open to include all individuals who could contribute to the project and that are one hundred percent aligned with the project we have defined

Electronic voting
Font’s plan to set up an electronic voting system is probably his strongest policy on several fronts. For one, given this pandemic the idea of an electronic voting system almost seems prescient. This current pandemic aside, it would give improve the access to voting for members living abroad as well as very likely increasing overall turnout. Font has also gone on the record saying that with this system in place, the board would consult the socis on important decisions regarding the club more often.
Back in 2019, Font already had already proposed electronic voting during an assembly only for it to be rejected due to being 59 votes short of the 2/3rds majority required.
Given the current situation in the world, I don’t think there’ll be much, if any, opposition if Font decided to implement the electronic voting system once he’s president. In fact, Font’s so confident that he will be able to implement this system that he has explicitly stated that by the 2027 elections the electronic voting would be in place if he was elected:

Interviewer: The next elections of 2027, would those have electronic voting if you were president?
Font: If Si al Futur has the honour of governing in 2021, without a doubt in the 2027 elections, the 150000 socis will be able to vote electronically

Focus on developing e-commerce opportunities and find ways to monetise online content
Another idea that has been partially implement by the previous presidency- see Barça TV plus. While we’re on about Barça TV, he has pointed out some problems with how the current board has developed the service
It’s currently unclear what Font’s plan is to accomplish this particular goal and he hasn’t gone in much detail in the interviews I’ve read/seen.
Espai Barça Referendum
One of Font’s major talking points during his campaign has been about the lack of transparency surrounding Espai Barça. For the unaware, Espai Barça is major project that involves the remodelling of the Camp Nou, constructing a new Palau Balgrauna, and many other proposals you can read about here.
In 2014, a referendum was held and the Espai Barça project was approved with a budget of 600 million euros. Due to increased construction costs, the interests on the Goldman Sachs loan, and the loan repayments, it is now estimated the project will cost a total of 1.25 billion euros.
Font has said that once he is president he will be transparent about the project, share the details of the current situation of the project and call a referendum to determine Espai Barça’s future.

Once we know [the financial situation of the project] we will take a stance regarding the project, we think that remodelling Camp Nou and El Palau is urgent, and we’ll call a referendum so the socis can decide whether they want to move forward with the project or not

Push for a change in Spain’s 1989 law “Ley del Deporte”
La Ley del Deporte was a law that made the football clubs in Spain convert to what’s known as S.A.D (Sociedad Anonima Deportiva). Four clubs were exempt from having to convert into a S.A.D: Osasuna, Barça, Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. These 4 clubs could retain the fan ownership system as long as they followed certain conditions. One of these conditions is that when someone to be part of the executive board for one of these 4 clubs, they must present what’s known as an aval- a sum of money that’s equivalent to 15% of the club’s budget.
Victor Font has said that he would like to push for this law to be changed since it acts as a barrier for candidates that may be qualified but are not able to present the aval.

It’s a law [referring to Ley Del Deporte] that acts as a barrier to democracy and meritocracy, because we think it’s important that the club is run by qualified people and not people who have enough money

He has further argued that there are already financial FairPlay mechanisms imposed by La Liga and UEFA that make this law redundant:

We are in 21st century, we have all the financial control mechanisms of La Liga, UEFA, FIFA…we need to adapt to reality

Font’s team

• Ramon Cugat: The latest addition to Font’s board involved in decisions related to the medical field.
  
• Antoni Bassas: Font’s right hand man.
  
• Toni Nadal: Rafa Nadal’s uncle will be involved in the sports field of Font’s presidency.
  
• Xavi Hernandez: It’s no secret Font considers Xavi to be the cornerstone of his project. As is well-known, Xavi would be the coach of the team if Font were to be elected. Although he has also hinted that Xavi could have also a general management role since he said that it would be up to Xavi to decide whether Koeman would remain as the manager.
  
  • “Hopefully, and I mean it from my heart, Koeman and Barça can win the treble,” Font stressed. “Xavi, in charge of the project [when Font is elected], will surely know how to find a place for Koeman's talent.”

Opinion
The good

• Electronic voting. Straightforward, simple proposal that will increase turnout. A win for everyone all around.
• Power to the socis. Font seems really enthusiastic about “democratising the club”. He wants the socis to have a bigger say, and many of his policies seem to reflect that, from electronic voting to increasing the frequency of referendums
• Limiting the board’s executive power. While it is unclear if this involves a lasting structural change or just refers to how Font will personally run the club, I appreciate this idea in principle at the very least

The bad

• The Ex-presidents council. Hear me out here, I don’t think this is feasible. I honestly don’t see Font managing to get Bartomeu, Rosell or Laporta on board with this idea given that he wants everyone involved in his project to be 100% aligned with it. And what exactly would the point of having Barto or Rosell as advisors when Font thinks their management of the club has put Barça on course to become ‘the next AC Milan'?
  
• Font’s insistence on bringing Xavi as soon as possible. I understand that Font views him as the cornerstone of his project but depending on someone with little managerial experience is an incredibly risky gamble. It might pay off, but what’s Font backup plan if it doesn’t?
  

The confusing

• So many of Font’s policies are so fuzzy and undefined that it’s hard to evaluate them.
  
• That being said, it would be unfair to single him out for this, when nearly all candidates have exhibited the same reluctance to go into detail about their policies, with the front runner even saying he would explain his project after he was elected.
  

At Sa Gaming Clan, my partners and I do all that we can to guarantee you have a safe, fun electronic wagering experience. In this piece, I'll illuminate you with respect to the most notable internet betting club stunts, and I'll explain how they work. With this information, you'll be more ready to evade them. one of the most clever electronic wagering stunts do exclude the overseers taking your money. Taking everything into account, they hope to take something apparently more significant—your character and your data. Renegade betting clubs will set up capable looking destinations with tempting additional proposals to attract confused parts. At whatever point you're enlisted, you'll be drawn nearer to check your record. To do thusly, you'll need to send a copy of your administration gave ID and affirmation of your area. With the ID records, they have all they need to either sell your character or offer your information to a character cheat. This can incite some extremely upsetting outcomes, for instance, financial deception. Persistently guarantee that the online club you're joining at is certified.
Here's a rapid plan to help you with doing:
• Check if the electronic wagering districts have a real license from a coordinated force like the UK Gambling Commission or Malta Gaming Authority.
• Read the terms of usage. Believe it or not, some nonconformist wagering objections will reveal to you that they guarantee all position to sell your nuances. You'll when in doubt find this information in the assurance methodology.
• Read start to finish, Sa Gaming by experts in the field. Additionally as in some other industry, experienced review gatherings can regularly spot and highlight questionable things that you most likely won't observe.
I know doubtlessly that betting clubs do offer nuances to various directors since I regularly get texts from betting clubs I've never thought about. In any case, what we're talking about here is a whole assorted animal. Information misrepresentation can annihilate you and can cost thousands of dollars in genuine costs to fix. PC coders can do some unfathomable things, anyway sadly, few out of every odd one of them choose to use their powers for good. On the off chance that you're the sort of player who likes to download online club or poker clients, you could be feeble against such a web wagering stunt. Spyware does what it says on the tin; it watches out for your PC and takes information. This could incite misrepresentation or more horrible. A couple of individuals have even injury up the setbacks of investigation or compulsion designs because of PC spyware.

I would call myself a libertarian. I am a Marxist in that I use a materialistic interpretation of history and events. I have some ideas that I think would benefit the UK. Some of which are in line with conservative ideas. I would love to know what you guys think or what you think would be a better idea. Please criticize. I hope to have a dialogue about this as much as possible.
Drugs
de criminalise all drugs (much like portugal) treat it as a mental health issue. A lot of people take drugs because of homelessness and poverty so by dealing with those hard drug use will go down. Legalise Cannabis, Mushrooms (and most hallucinegics), LSD, MDMA and Cocaine (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jun/13/bad-science-cocaine-study). tax them inline with the estimated costs for misuse of them. regulate them like tobacco and alcohol.
Obesity and Food
Ban the sale of energy drinks to children below 16. ban the sale of very sweet confectiionary and drinks to children below 16 (some mexican states have done it recently), This includes in schools. tax very fatty, sugary or nutritionly rare foods in line with what the estimated costs are for the NHS to deal with the health problems caused by them (much the same way we do with alcohol, tobacco and in my tax system other drugs). Possibly make it mandatory to fortify very cheap foods with minerals and vitamins so the impoverished can get more nutrients. although the body doesnt absorb these very well so it might be pointless.
Make it illegal for a company/business to throw away food stuff and make them donate it to foodbanks/food charities.
Advertising/product placement/Games/Gambling
Ban all adverts to children in any way. Ban alcohol ads, vaping ads, gambling ads, payday loan ads, ads for big SUV/highly polluting vehicles. Ban product placement, ban TV shows for kids that have toys explicitly linked to them. Ban Loot box system in games. Make fixed odds betting machines have lower returns. Either tax very highly online gambling sites (spin wheel style), forced break periods or make it a state monolopy. Gambling is effectively a license to print money. why shouldn't the state take the proceeds from what is a worthless noncontributing part of the economy. All ads that have photoshopped used need to a sign saying they've been photoshopped and very thin models have to have a medical certificate that they are healthy (like france).
NHS
repeal the Blair laws making the NHS act more a competitive business which have proved to ineffective. Make the English NHS system more in line with the Scottish system.
Tax or in some make people who do more dangerous activities pay a small amount extra for the increased likelihood of needing the services of the NHS like motorcyclists, horse riders, extreme sportspeople.
Free speech
repeal a lot of the Blair era censorship legislation. repeal with 2014 porn ban.
prostitution
legalize brothels. but make prostitution licensed to stop sex trafficking. Mandate the wearing of a condom. Possibly make it that you can only be a prostitute if you hold a british passport to stop sex trafficking from abroad.
Trade Unions
repeal the anti-trade union legislation.
Electoral reform
I think a system like Single Transferrable Vote would be better than FPTP. I think that registered political parties should somehow get some minimum funding from the state to facilitate a healthy and varied democracy. Remove the hereditary peerages from the house of lords.
availability of credit
I don't think payment plans for normal consumer goods should be available. I think it should be harder to get a pay day loan than it currently is.
Fines
I think that fines for speeding, other fine-able offenses should be means tested and shouldn't have a cap.
Copyright
I think that Copyright should expire for everything after 50 years. So at the this point everything from before 1969 should be in the public domain. I think any British citizen creator who leaves the UK to not pay income tax should have the copyright for their work removed in the UK when they do leave.
Welfare
Introduce Universal basic income in the UK. replace all the means tested and tedious bureaucracy associated with current system. I think it should start from 18 years old and increase slightly each year. Maybe start at 5,000 pounds and by your thirties move up to 10,000 pounds by the time you want to start having kids etc. I think UBI would make work always pay more than being on benefits. It would disincentive benefits fraud as well as people having children to acquire more benefits.
Tax
I do believe in a progressive taxation system. I think the tax free threshold should be raised. I think the brackets for taxation are good at the moment but I would add higher tax thresholds at higher rates e.g. 50% at 200,000, 60% at 500,000. I am unsure what the upper limit should be for tax rate or income. The rich will leave anyway (Jim ratcliffe most recenty) no matter what the tax rate is. If they ever wants to come into the UK they should have to pay to do so. If they have a knighthood it should be taken away.
Immigration.
remove all EU citizens not in critical under supplied or high paying jobs from the UK as well migratory workers from outside the EU. Syrian Civil war refugees should go back as well. basically as many people as possible should be made to go back to their country of origin without directly endangering their lives. I think the pay threshold for workers to legally migrate here should be much higher probably 40,000 pounds a year. there should be not net migration to the UK each year.
children and population growth
I think the UK should aim for net 0% population growth. I think couples who want to have kids should be made to screen for any hereditary recessive genetic diseases before they plan to have a child so they can know if they're kid is going to be disabled. Possibly people should have to have in the womb embryo testing as well to see if theyre child has any genetic diseases. legalise child euthanasia (like belgium and the netherlands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groningen_Protocol). I think people should be discouraged from having lots of children especially those without the means to provide for them. however if people do decide to have kids I think the provision for parenting should be a lot. 2+ years of paid maternity leave. free parenting lessons, support as much as possible the needs of the child and mother in the critical early bonding years. Ban all Child beauty pageants including trans ones (like france has done). I don't think childen can legally consent to hormone replacement drugs. I think the age of criminal responsibility should be raised should be raised to about 14. I think there are arguments to lower the age of consent in the UK to 15.
the environment
Library of things/Repair cafes in towns and cities to be able to more easily repairs good or not have to buy in the first place.
Government subsidy scheme to better insulate homes across country.
More extensive use of nuclear fission energy for electric generation.
Large scale food waste reclamation for Compost or animal feed.
Subsidy for Ground source heat pumps for poor households
Subsidy for Thermal exchangers in home for poor households
Make planned obselescene illegal. Make right to repair legally mandated.
simplify the amount and types of plastic products to make it easier to recycle goods. Ban non recyclable plastics from being used in single use items.
Make products label their expected lifetime (from average use) so consumer knows what a good long lasting product is. For large electric goods perhaps put a minimum expected lifespan for it to be sold in the UK.
I think you could legislate to make products illegal from rainforests or unsustainable harvested forest.
Tax loopholes
make all gift-aid illegal, make art donations as tax write off illegal, donations to think tanks,charities illegal as tax write-offs,
currently if you live outside the UK for more than 6 months you don't pay any income tax. I think the amount of income tax you pay should be proportionate for how long you spend in country with a bare minimum of 20% (estimate).
Make shell companies illegal so large multinationals can't escape to tax havens and not pay corporations tax. If they don't ban them from trading in the UK. This may need to be done in a coalition of states working together.
education
repeal Blair era education legislation that created needless hoops and paper work for teachers. repeal new laws that teachers can you sources from anti-capitalist, anti-democratic sources etc. repeal the Gove/Cameron legislation that made schools behave like businesses. The point of school is for the kds to work hard and earn qualifications not the teacher. It is an inherently discriminatory system. allow at GCSE much more education in technical qualifications. e.g. bricklaying, carpentry, electricians etc, machine work. I don't think they need to start at 16 or above. I think theres an argument that children should be able to leave school at 16. Some of the courses they do are pointless. Apprenticeship pay is so low that in the short term it makes more sense to get a minimum wage job. Atleast make apprenticeship pay in line with minimum wage to incentivise it rather than literally force kids to be extremely cheap labour.
self defense
I think it should be legal to carry around pepper spray, mace or stun gun. The criminals already have weapons. Why not decriminalise the ability for an individual to defend themselves especially women. Free female self defence classes.
BBC
release all BBC created media onto the Iplayer. The British Tax payer paid for it. Why shouldn't they be able to access it. Perhaps make a BBC iplayer app to host it all for foreigners to use and pay for like Netflix.
International business
Make corporations who sell goods in the UK prove that they don't come from slave/child labour. If they don't then they can't sell that product in the UK.
VAT
remove VAT for resold,recycled products, upcycled products, products that are good the planet (re-chargeable batteries, battery chargers). effectively rebrand VAT as a carbon tax. completely remove VAT on sanitary products, all energy efficiency/saving products.
Voting
like Australia make it mandatory to go to the polling booth.
University
make universities offer their humanities subjects as online only option so that people can do their degree from anywhere and not necessarily in the expensive university town. the course would be cheaper. Make foreign students pay for their healthcare when they are here.
Tourism
make foreigners pay to get into British Museums especially the big ones in london. I realise this may be cost prohibitive for smaller Museums.
Housing
change the rental legislation that tenants can legally not pay full rent if a landlord hasn't done repairs to the standard of the property when the renter moved in.
No foreigner can own more than 2 homes in the UK (in thailand you can't own any property unless you're thai)
Cap the number of a properties anyone can own. especially for buy to let landlords.
If a house has sat vacant for too long it has to be put on the market as a competitive price.
houses cannot be treated as an investment where it doesn't matter if its occupied or not. a roof over ones head is a right.
Homelessness
expand the access to homeless shelters. the best way to stop human and sex trafficking as well hard drug use to is stop homelessness.
migratory farm workers
ban migratory farm workers in the UK. there are thousands of Uni, GCSE, college and A level students who have months off school in the picking season. Why not get them to pick fruit and vegetables? same thing goes for homeless people. Get them all to pick fruit and veg.
littering & dog tax
small tax on having a dog to pay for dog park maintenance, dog bins, etc. small tax on single use packaging to pay for more Bins on high street, bins to be emptied more regularly to reduce littering. Same small tax on tobacco for cigarette butt bins.
These are all my ideas. Please critique them.

I'm not sure if this is allowed here. I would call myself an environmental libertarian-ish. I was a member of the Lib dems from 2012-2013. I am a Marxist in that I use a materialistic interpretation of history and events. I have some ideas that I think would benefit the UK. Some of which are in line with Lib Dem ideas. I would love to know what you guys think or what you think would be a better idea. Please criticize. I hope to have a dialogue about this as much as possible.
Drugs
Decriminalise all drugs (much like portugal) treat it as a mental health issue. A lot of people take drugs because of homelessness and poverty so by dealing with those hard drug use will go down. Legalise Cannabis, Mushrooms (and most hallucinegics), LSD, MDMA, Steroids and Cocaine (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jun/13/bad-science-cocaine-study). Tax them inline with the estimated costs for misuse of them. Regulate them like tobacco and alcohol.
Obesity and Food
Ban the sale of energy drinks to children below 16. Ban the sale of very sweet confectionery and drinks to children below 16 (some Mexican states have done it recently), This includes in schools. Tax very fatty, sugary or nutritionally rare foods in line with what the estimated costs are for the NHS to deal with the health problems caused by them (much the same way we do with alcohol, tobacco and in my tax system other drugs). Possibly Ban the use of High Fructose Corn Syrup and Margarine in UK foods. Possibly make it mandatory to fortify very cheap foods with minerals and vitamins so the impoverished can get more nutrients. although the body doesn't absorb these very well so it might be pointless. Ban the Injection of water in meat to make it look bigger.
Plain Packaging and warning labels on Junk food like cigarettes. make the nutritional information for actual representative portions. If companies shrinkflate a product then they have to put it on the packaging of the product that they have done so. Ban the sale of Alcohol and Tobacco to pregnant women (not sure how you enforce this).
Make it illegal for a company/business to throw away food stuff and make them donate it to foodbanks/food charities (Like France)
Advertising/product placement/
Ban all adverts to children in any way. I think you could also make toys/mannequins sold in the UK have realistic proportions for both boys and girls. Ban junk food ads, alcohol ads, vaping ads, gambling ads, payday loan ads, ads for big SUV/highly polluting vehicles. Ban the sponsorship of events by any of these things either. Ban product placement, ban TV shows for kids that have toys explicitly linked to them. All ads that have photo shopped used need to a sign saying they've been photo shopped and very thin models have to have a medical certificate that they are healthy (like France).
Gambling/Games
Ban or reclassify Loot box systems in games. Make fixed odds betting machines have lower returns. Either tax very highly online gambling sites (spin wheel style), forced break periods or make it a state monolopy. Gambling is effectively a license to print money. Why shouldn't the state take the proceeds from what is a worthless noncontributing part of the economy. Either make the lottery state run and recieve all the profits for public work or ban it and replace it with a government bond deposit scheme like premium bonds but a lower threshold to enter.
NHS
repeal the Blair laws making the NHS act more a competitive business which have proved to ineffective. Make the English NHS system more in line with the Scottish system.
Tax or in some make people who do more dangerous activities pay a small amount extra for the increased likelihood of needing the services of the NHS like motorcyclists, horse riders, extreme sportspeople.
Ban the ever greening of drugs so they can be made cheaply and generically. If a pharma company has received funding to develop a drug then it must be sold at cost (or much lower profit). Somehow democratise the access to science and medical journals e.g. higher tax, made to be free if research was publicly funded, government run science journal).
Free speech
Repeal a lot of the Blair era censorship legislation. repeal with 2014 porn ban.
prostitution
Legalize brothels. but make prostitution licensed to stop sex trafficking. Mandate the wearing of a condom. Possibly make it that you can only be a prostitute if you hold a british passport to stop sex trafficking from abroad.
Trade Unions
repeal the anti-trade union legislation.
Electoral reform
I think a system like Single Transferrable Vote would be better than FPTP. I think that registered political parties should somehow get some minimum funding from the state to facilitate a healthy and varied democracy. Remove the hereditary peerages from the house of lords.
availability of credit
I don't think payment plans for normal consumer goods should be available. I think it should be harder to get a pay day loan than it currently is.
Fines
I think that fines for speeding, other fine-able offenses should be means tested and shouldn't have a cap.
Copyright
I think that Copyright should expire for everything after 50 years. So at the this point everything from before 1969 should be in the public domain. I think any British citizen creator who leaves the UK to not pay income tax should have the copyright for their work removed in the UK when they do leave.
Welfare
Introduce Universal basic income in the UK. Replace all the means tested and tedious bureaucracy associated with current system. I think it should start from 18 years old and increase slightly each year. Maybe start at 5,000 pounds and by your thirties move up to 10,000 pounds by the time you want to start having kids etc. I think UBI would make work always pay more than being on benefits. It would disincentive benefits fraud as well as people having children to acquire more benefits.
Tax
I do believe in a progressive taxation system. I think the tax free threshold should be raised. I think the brackets for taxation are good at the moment but I would add higher tax thresholds at higher rates e.g. 50% at 200,000, 60% at 500,000. I am unsure what the upper limit should be for tax rate or income. The rich will leave anyway (Jim ratcliffe most recenty) no matter what the tax rate is. If they ever wants to come into the UK they should have to pay to do so. If they have a knighthood it should be taken away.
Immigration.
Remove all EU citizens not in critical under supplied or high paying jobs from the UK as well migratory workers from outside the EU. Syrian Civil war refugees should go back as well, The war is over now. basically as many people as possible should be made to go back to their country of origin without directly endangering their lives. I think the pay threshold for workers to legally migrate here should be much higher probably 40,000 pounds a year. There should ideally be no net migration to the UK each year.
children and population growth
I think the UK should aim for net 0% population growth. I think couples who want to have kids should be made to screen for any hereditary recessive genetic diseases before they plan to have a child so they can know if they're kid is going to be disabled/Birthing complications. Possibly if a couple is high risk of a genetic diseased child people should have to have in the womb embryo testing as well to see if theyre child has any genetic diseases. I think people should be discouraged from having lots of children especially those without the means to provide for them. However if people do decide to have kids I think the provision for parenting should be a lot. 2+ years of paid maternity leave. Free parenting lessons, support as much as possible the needs of the child and mother in the critical early bonding years.
Ban all Child beauty pageants including trans ones (like France has done). I don't think children can legally consent to hormone replacement drugs. Ban Gay conversion therapy. I think the age of criminal responsibility should be raised should be raised to about 14. I think there are arguments to lower the age of consent in the UK to 15.
Euthanasia
Legalise child euthanasia (like belgium and the netherlands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groningen_Protocol). Legalise normal euthanasia for people of any age as well.
the environment
Library of things/Repair cafes in towns and cities to be able to more easily repairs good or not have to buy in the first place.
Ban or curtail the sale of bottled war. Install more water fountains and public bathrooms instead.
Government subsidy scheme to better insulate homes across country.
More extensive use of nuclear fission energy for electric generation.
Large scale food waste reclamation for Compost or animal feed.
Subsidy for Ground source heat pumps for poor households
Subsidy for Thermal exchangers in home for poor households
Make planned obselescene illegal. Make right to repair legally mandated.
simplify the amount and types of plastic products to make it easier to recycle goods. Ban non recyclable plastics from being used in single use items.
Ban paper junk mail and possibly free newspapers.
Make products label their expected lifetime (from average use) so consumer knows what a good long lasting product is. For large electric goods perhaps put a minimum expected lifespan for it to be sold in the UK.
I think you could legislate to make products illegal from rainforests or unsustainable harvested forest (palm oil specifically)
Tax loopholes
Make all gift-aid illegal, make art donations as tax write off illegal, donations to think tanks,charities illegal as tax write-offs,
Currently if you live outside the UK for more than 6 months you don't pay any income tax. I think the amount of income tax you pay should be proportionate for how long you spend in country with a bare minimum of 20% (estimate).
Make shell companies illegal so large multinationals can't escape to tax havens and not pay corporations tax. If they don't ban them from trading in the UK. This may need to be done in a coalition of states working together.
education
Repeal Blair era education legislation that created needless hoops and paper work for teachers. Repeal new laws that teachers can you sources from anti-capitalist, anti-democratic sources etc. Repeal the Gove/Cameron legislation that made schools behave like businesses. The point of school is for the kids to work hard and earn qualifications not the teacher. It is an inherently discriminatory system. allow at GCSE much more education in technical qualifications. e.g. bricklaying, carpentry, electricians, machine work, DJing etc . I don't think they need to start doing it at 16 or above. I think there's an argument that children should be able to leave school at 16. Some of the courses they do are pointless. Apprenticeship pay is so low that in the short term it makes more sense to get a minimum wage job. Atleast make apprenticeship pay in line with minimum wage to incentivise it rather than literally force kids to be extremely cheap labour like now.
self defense
I think it should be legal to carry around pepper spray, mace or stun gun especially for women. The criminals already have weapons. Why not decriminalise the ability for an individual to defend themselves especially women. Free female self defence classes.
BBC
Release all BBC created media onto the Iplayer. The British Tax payer paid for it. Why shouldn't they be able to access it. Perhaps make a BBC iplayer app to host it all for foreigners to use and pay for like Netflix.
business
Make corporations who sell goods in the UK prove that they don't come from slave/child labour. If they don't then they can't sell that product in the UK. Ban or reclassify Multi Level Marketting companies as Ponzi Schemes. Label Scientology as a cult (like Germany has). Regulate detox tea and supplements like any other medicine/pharmaceutical. One day a year allow any to search for a named person and see what their salary is (Norway does this). Get rid of 1 and 2 penny, they cost too much to make for what they are.
Government
Ban former MPs from ever holding any business position once they retire. Make them divest all their business interests before being an MP. Make their spouses and children's company's to never receive state money or have a job in a state enterprise. Same goes for Generals/Civil Servants. Spread of Government facilities from London to other cities e.g. does any every ministry need to be in London? Pay HMRC accountants/auditors much more than they a company would so they tell the government the loopholes companies use to not pay tax. Make it Financially rewarding to be ethical.
VAT
Remove VAT for resold,recycled products, upcycled products, products that are good the planet (re-chargeable batteries, battery chargers). Effectively re brand VAT as a carbon tax. Completely remove VAT on sanitary products, all energy efficiency/saving products.
University
make universities offer their humanities subjects as an online only option as well as in person so that people can do their degree from anywhere and not necessarily in the expensive university town. The course would be cheaper. Make foreign students pay for their healthcare when they are here. Give less money to unis with more beneficiary (e.g. red brick unis). They already have so many endowments they don't need as much from the state. Foreign students can't work at all while studying here.
Housing
Change the rental legislation that tenants can legally not pay full rent if a landlord hasn't done repairs to the standard of the property when the renter moved in.
No foreigner can own more than 2 homes in the UK (in Thailand you can't own any property unless you're Thai)
Cap the number of a properties anyone can own. especially for buy to let landlords.
If a house has sat vacant for too long it has to be put on the market as a competitive price.
Rent control for a property inline with inflation for renters.
Houses cannot be treated as an investment where it doesn't matter if its occupied or not. A roof over ones head is a right.
Homelessness
Expand the access to homeless shelters. The best way to stop human and sex trafficking as well hard drug use to is stop homelessness.
migratory farm workers
Ban migratory farm workers in the UK. There are thousands of underemployed Uni, GCSE, college and A level students who have months off school in the picking season. Why not pay them to pick fruit and vegetables? Same thing goes for homeless people. Get them all to pick fruit and veg.
littering & dog tax
Small tax on having a dog to pay for dog park maintenance, dog bins, etc. Small tax on single use packaging to pay for more Bins on high street, bins to be emptied more regularly to reduce littering. Same small tax on tobacco for cigarette butt bins.
Misc
Legalise Polygamy.
These are all my ideas. Please critique them.

I'm not sure if this is allowed here. I would call myself an environmental libertarian-ish. I am member of the Labour Party. I am a Marxist in that I use a materialistic interpretation of history and events. I have some ideas that I think would benefit the UK. Some of which are in line with Labour ideas. I would love to know what you guys think or what you think would be a better idea. Please criticize. I hope to have a dialogue about this as much as possible.
Drugs
Decriminalise all drugs (much like portugal) treat it as a mental health issue. A lot of people take drugs because of homelessness and poverty so by dealing with those hard drug use will go down. Legalise Cannabis, Mushrooms (and most hallucinegics), LSD, MDMA, Steroids and Cocaine (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jun/13/bad-science-cocaine-study). Tax them inline with the estimated costs for misuse of them. Regulate them like tobacco and alcohol.
Obesity and Food
Ban the sale of energy drinks to children below 16. Ban the sale of very sweet confectionery and drinks to children below 16 (some Mexican states have done it recently), This includes in schools. Tax very fatty, sugary or nutritionally rare foods in line with what the estimated costs are for the NHS to deal with the health problems caused by them (much the same way we do with alcohol, tobacco and in my tax system other drugs). Possibly Ban the use of High Fructose Corn Syrup and Margarine in UK foods. Possibly make it mandatory to fortify very cheap foods with minerals and vitamins so the impoverished can get more nutrients. although the body doesn't absorb these very well so it might be pointless.
Plain Packaging and warning labels on Junk food like cigarettes. make the nutritional information for actual representative portions. If companies shrinkflate a product then they have to put it on the packaging of the product that they have done so. Ban the sale of Alcohol and Tobacco to pregnant women (not sure how you enforce this).
Make it illegal for a company/business to throw away food stuff and make them donate it to foodbanks/food charities (Like France)
Advertising/product placement/
Ban all adverts to children in any way. I think you could also make toys/mannequins sold in the UK have realistic proportions for both boys and girls. Ban junk food ads, alcohol ads, vaping ads, gambling ads, payday loan ads, ads for big SUV/highly polluting vehicles. Ban the sponsorship of events by any of these things either. Ban product placement, ban TV shows for kids that have toys explicitly linked to them. All ads that have photo shopped used need to a sign saying they've been photo shopped and very thin models have to have a medical certificate that they are healthy (like France).
Gambling/Games
Ban or reclassify Loot box systems in games. Make fixed odds betting machines have lower returns. Either tax very highly online gambling sites (spin wheel style), forced break periods or make it a state monolopy. Gambling is effectively a license to print money. Why shouldn't the state take the proceeds from what is a worthless noncontributing part of the economy. Either make the lottery state run and recieve all the profits for public work or ban it and replace it with a government bond deposit scheme like premium bonds but a lower threshold to enter.
NHS
repeal the Blair laws making the NHS act more a competitive business which have proved to ineffective. Make the English NHS system more in line with the Scottish system.
Tax or in some make people who do more dangerous activities pay a small amount extra for the increased likelihood of needing the services of the NHS like motorcyclists, horse riders, extreme sportspeople.
Ban the ever greening of drugs so they can be made cheaply and generically. If a pharma company has received funding to develop a drug then it must be sold at cost (or much lower profit). Somehow democratise the access to science and medical journals e.g. higher tax, made to be free if research was publicly funded, government run science journal).
Free speech
Repeal a lot of the Blair era censorship legislation. repeal with 2014 porn ban.
prostitution
Legalize brothels. but make prostitution licensed to stop sex trafficking. Mandate the wearing of a condom. Possibly make it that you can only be a prostitute if you hold a british passport to stop sex trafficking from abroad.
Trade Unions
repeal the anti-trade union legislation.
Electoral reform
I think a system like Single Transferrable Vote would be better than FPTP. I think that registered political parties should somehow get some minimum funding from the state to facilitate a healthy and varied democracy. Remove the hereditary peerages from the house of lords.
availability of credit
I don't think payment plans for normal consumer goods should be available. I think it should be harder to get a pay day loan than it currently is.
Fines
I think that fines for speeding, other fine-able offenses should be means tested and shouldn't have a cap.
Copyright
I think that Copyright should expire for everything after 50 years. So at the this point everything from before 1969 should be in the public domain. I think any British citizen creator who leaves the UK to not pay income tax should have the copyright for their work removed in the UK when they do leave.
Welfare
Introduce Universal basic income in the UK. Replace all the means tested and tedious bureaucracy associated with current system. I think it should start from 18 years old and increase slightly each year. Maybe start at 5,000 pounds and by your thirties move up to 10,000 pounds by the time you want to start having kids etc. I think UBI would make work always pay more than being on benefits. It would disincentive benefits fraud as well as people having children to acquire more benefits.
Tax
I do believe in a progressive taxation system. I think the tax free threshold should be raised. I think the brackets for taxation are good at the moment but I would add higher tax thresholds at higher rates e.g. 50% at 200,000, 60% at 500,000. I am unsure what the upper limit should be for tax rate or income. The rich will leave anyway (Jim ratcliffe most recenty) no matter what the tax rate is. If they ever wants to come into the UK they should have to pay to do so. If they have a knighthood it should be taken away.
Immigration.
Remove all EU citizens not in critical under supplied or high paying jobs from the UK as well migratory workers from outside the EU. Syrian Civil war refugees should go back as well, The war is over now. basically as many people as possible should be made to go back to their country of origin without directly endangering their lives. I think the pay threshold for workers to legally migrate here should be much higher probably 40,000 pounds a year. There should ideally be no net migration to the UK each year.
children and population growth
I think the UK should aim for net 0% population growth. I think couples who want to have kids should be made to screen for any hereditary recessive genetic diseases before they plan to have a child so they can know if they're kid is going to be disabled/Birthing complications. Possibly if a couple is high risk of a genetic diseased child people should have to have in the womb embryo testing as well to see if theyre child has any genetic diseases. I think people should be discouraged from having lots of children especially those without the means to provide for them. However if people do decide to have kids I think the provision for parenting should be a lot. 2+ years of paid maternity leave. Free parenting lessons, support as much as possible the needs of the child and mother in the critical early bonding years.
Ban all Child beauty pageants including trans ones (like France has done). I don't think children can legally consent to hormone replacement drugs. Ban Gay conversion therapy. I think the age of criminal responsibility should be raised should be raised to about 14. I think there are arguments to lower the age of consent in the UK to 15.
Euthanasia
Legalise child euthanasia (like belgium and the netherlands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groningen_Protocol). Legalise normal euthanasia for people of any age as well.
the environment
Library of things/Repair cafes in towns and cities to be able to more easily repairs good or not have to buy in the first place.
Ban or curtail the sale of bottled war. Install more water fountains and public bathrooms instead.
Government subsidy scheme to better insulate homes across country.
More extensive use of nuclear fission energy for electric generation.
Large scale food waste reclamation for Compost or animal feed.
Subsidy for Ground source heat pumps for poor households
Subsidy for Thermal exchangers in home for poor households
Make planned obselescene illegal. Make right to repair legally mandated.
simplify the amount and types of plastic products to make it easier to recycle goods. Ban non recyclable plastics from being used in single use items.
Ban paper junk mail and possibly free newspapers.
Make products label their expected lifetime (from average use) so consumer knows what a good long lasting product is. For large electric goods perhaps put a minimum expected lifespan for it to be sold in the UK.
I think you could legislate to make products illegal from rainforests or unsustainable harvested forest (palm oil specifically)
Tax loopholes
Make all gift-aid illegal, make art donations as tax write off illegal, donations to think tanks,charities illegal as tax write-offs,
Currently if you live outside the UK for more than 6 months you don't pay any income tax. I think the amount of income tax you pay should be proportionate for how long you spend in country with a bare minimum of 20% (estimate).
Make shell companies illegal so large multinationals can't escape to tax havens and not pay corporations tax. If they don't ban them from trading in the UK. This may need to be done in a coalition of states working together.
education
Repeal Blair era education legislation that created needless hoops and paper work for teachers. Repeal new laws that teachers can you sources from anti-capitalist, anti-democratic sources etc. Repeal the Gove/Cameron legislation that made schools behave like businesses. The point of school is for the kids to work hard and earn qualifications not the teacher. It is an inherently discriminatory system. allow at GCSE much more education in technical qualifications. e.g. bricklaying, carpentry, electricians, machine work, DJing etc . I don't think they need to start doing it at 16 or above. I think there's an argument that children should be able to leave school at 16. Some of the courses they do are pointless. Apprenticeship pay is so low that in the short term it makes more sense to get a minimum wage job. Atleast make apprenticeship pay in line with minimum wage to incentivise it rather than literally force kids to be extremely cheap labour like now.
self defense
I think it should be legal to carry around pepper spray, mace or stun gun especially for women. The criminals already have weapons. Why not decriminalise the ability for an individual to defend themselves especially women. Free female self defence classes.
BBC
Release all BBC created media onto the Iplayer. The British Tax payer paid for it. Why shouldn't they be able to access it. Perhaps make a BBC iplayer app to host it all for foreigners to use and pay for like Netflix.
business
Make corporations who sell goods in the UK prove that they don't come from slave/child labour. If they don't then they can't sell that product in the UK. Ban or reclassify Multi Level Marketting companies as Ponzi Schemes. Label Scientology as a cult (like Germany has). Regulate detox tea and supplements like any other medicine/pharmaceutical. One day a year allow any to search for a named person and see what their salary is (Norway does this).
Government
Ban former MPs from ever holding any business position once they retire. Make them divest all their business interests before being an MP. Make their spouses and children's company's to never receive state money or have a job in a state enterprise. Same goes for Generals/Civil Servants. Spread of Government facilities from London to other cities e.g. does any every ministry need to be in London? Pay HMRC accountants/auditors much more than they a company would so they tell the government the loopholes companies use to not pay tax. Make it Financially rewarding to be ethical.
VAT
Remove VAT for resold,recycled products, upcycled products, products that are good the planet (re-chargeable batteries, battery chargers). Effectively re brand VAT as a carbon tax. Completely remove VAT on sanitary products, all energy efficiency/saving products.
Voting
Like Australia make it mandatory to go to the polling booth.
University
make universities offer their humanities subjects as an online only option as well as in person so that people can do their degree from anywhere and not necessarily in the expensive university town. The course would be cheaper. Make foreign students pay for their healthcare when they are here. Give less money to unis with more beneficiary (e.g. red brick unis). They already have so many endowments they don't need as much from the state. Foreign students can't work at all while studying here.
Tourism
Make foreigners pay to get into British Museums especially the big ones in london. I realise this may be cost prohibitive for smaller Museums.
Housing
Change the rental legislation that tenants can legally not pay full rent if a landlord hasn't done repairs to the standard of the property when the renter moved in.
No foreigner can own more than 2 homes in the UK (in Thailand you can't own any property unless you're Thai)
Cap the number of a properties anyone can own. especially for buy to let landlords.
If a house has sat vacant for too long it has to be put on the market as a competitive price.
Rent control for a property inline with inflation for renters.
Houses cannot be treated as an investment where it doesn't matter if its occupied or not. A roof over ones head is a right.
Homelessness
Expand the access to homeless shelters. The best way to stop human and sex trafficking as well hard drug use to is stop homelessness.
migratory farm workers
Ban migratory farm workers in the UK. There are thousands of underemployed Uni, GCSE, college and A level students who have months off school in the picking season. Why not pay them to pick fruit and vegetables? Same thing goes for homeless people. Get them all to pick fruit and veg.
littering & dog tax
Small tax on having a dog to pay for dog park maintenance, dog bins, etc. Small tax on single use packaging to pay for more Bins on high street, bins to be emptied more regularly to reduce littering. Same small tax on tobacco for cigarette butt bins.
These are all my ideas. Please critique them.

Today a ruling on loot boxes and whether they constitute gambling was made in the House of Lords. They categorised the mechanic as gambling (cost, odds and content are irrelevant all have the same catergory).
I have been watching this very closely, it's a big step and it has a big impact on the industry for the UK.
To be clear they aren't banning them but want them to be covered by gambling legislation (license, age verification, addiction controls, spend limits etc).
I have been looking at MSF specifically and the level of gambling across the game it's quite grim tbh. There is no opt out, vast majority of progress comes from random spins. Once I finish I will put it up.
Long term impact could vary from games being pulled, alternative models etc. While the industry provides a reasonable tax income it provides little to the purchase country (unless Dev is within it). In terms of economic value or jobs. Money goes out often to billionaire firms for stakeholders with little to no localised economic value.

I've seen a lot of posts about people speculating which pharmaceutical company is going to make the next big vaccine or test for COVID-19. In my opinion, making bets like this is a total gamble, and these companies will fluctuate with news of trials that may or may not be true. Buying calls on pharmaceutical companies is like trying to bet on a mining company during the gold rush; a total chance on who will strike gold and get rich.
I propose an alternate play here. The companies that sell the equipment and supplies that make it possible for these companies to continue to do research and development. Regardless of who comes up with a solution, there are a few companies making an absolute killing while all of this goes on. These are the shovel sellers.
I'm going to share a couple of my plays, and I'd encourage others to share their thoughts or any other plays that fit into this category.
​
Play #1: Veeva Systems (VEEV)
Veeva Systems creates software that is specifically tailored to the life sciences and pharmaceuticals industry. Their platform is used to manage clinical trials, have virtual meetings, manage customers and data, and more.
​
Certain aspects of their platform such as Veeva Engage, a tool built on top of Zoom for meeting with Healthcare professionals, have seen insane growth in usage.https://www.pulsedigital.co.uk/blog/post/covid-19-pandemic-leads-to-a-tenfold-increase-in-usage-of-veeva-engage
The reason I like Veeva so much is that because they are in such a compliant industry, many parts of their platform have basically no competition. A great example of this is with their CRM. It can cost millions of dollars to buy a CRM system (i.e. Salesforce, Dynamics, Zoho, Hubspot, etc.) and customize it to your business. Veeva licensed Salesforce and customized it to the needs of an entire industry over a decade, to the point that it would almost impossible for their customers to build their own systems, or for another software company to make something that's up to par. They also have tons of cash and no debt, which is a major bonus.
Position: I've been holding 5/15 $190 calls for a couple weeks (already printing), and I plan to buy a few higher OTM calls with strikes later this year. This is an extremely safe position (the stock not the FD) whether you're bullish or bearish on the market overall, so I expect more people to pile into Veeva.
Play #2 - Thermo-Fisher Scientific (TMO)
Thermo Fisher is a manufacturer and distributor of laboratory equipment and supplies.
Thermo Fisher supplies all of the tools necessary for laboratories to keep up production. This includes everything from test tubes and vials, to masks and PPE, to the heavy equipment used to test samples. They're even developing their own COVID-19 tests:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/thermo-fisher-scientific-receives-ce-060000782.html
I like Thermo because they stand to make a killing even after a vaccine is found, because they sell equipment used in the manufacture of tests and vaccines that will be in high demand as production ramps up, regardless of who discovers the best method.
Positions: I have 6/19 $350 calls. I'm planning to buy more long-dated calls (probably Jan '22) that will cover through the manufacturing period.
TL:DR There are a few companies that supply the pharmaceutical industry. I've found that betting on these is a hell of a lot safer than betting on individual companies to develop a test or vaccine.
​
Edit: I love that the first thing you guys did was buy the most screeching autistic, closest date, highest strike call available. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/notable-monday-option-activity%3A-veev-tecd-mdb-2020-04-20
Edit 2: Should have mentioned this before, but Thermo reports earning tomorrow (4/22), so you may way to hold out until after this to make a play unless yo want to take a short-term gamble.