Craft Ventures co-founder David Sacks joins'The Ingraham Angle' to break down the'tremendous' support for former President Trump in the Bay Area. Craft Ventures co-founder David Sacks joined "The Ingraham Angle" on Friday, telling host Laura Ingraham there was "tremendous enthusiasm" for former President Trump during a fundraiser Thursday in true blue, liberal San Francisco. When asked by Ingraham about what Silicon Valley supporters hope to gain by backing the former president, Sacks emphasized that the support is not transactional. You know, it's not like there's some sort of overt quid pro quo. Most of these people just really love America, and they want to see America doing better," Sacks explained. Sacks added that the industry seeks more pro-innovation policies, contrasting the Biden administration's "hostile" stance toward crypto and artificial intelligence. "Now, in terms of what the industry cares about, the industry wants to be able to innovate, and the Biden administration has been very hostile toward innovation.

The year 2016 was an interesting one for startups. Between high valuations and the glory of reaching unicorn status, entrepreneurs have been frenetically chasing private investors -- who were more than willing to deliver the cash -- and thereby delayed their entry onto the public market. Yet there was significantly less VC funding than in 2015. London-based auditing firm Ernst & Young (EY) reports that, as of Q3, U.S. companies raised $41.3 billion in 2,802 venture capital deals this year. In the San Francisco Bay Area alone, there were 916 deals, representing $16.9 billion.

Sam Altman, the president of top startup mentorship and investment program Y Combinator, thinks venture capitalists like himself have gotten off too easily, tax-wise -- so he's putting the difference into improving the world. "I donate up to the tax amount I think I should pay," Altman told BuzzFeed News' Nitasha Tiku. The fiscal issue Altman is rebelling against is the "carried interest" tax for hedge fund managers and VCs. It's one of Wall Street's favorite loopholes, and one that President Barack Obama has long railed against. Basically, it allows these fund managers to take the incentive portion of their fees -- which they earn based on the gain in value of the investments they made for clients -- and classify that income as capital gains rather than ordinary income, thereby paying a much lower tax rate.