Capitalism, The Fed and Economic Policy

mrussel1

benjs said:

mickeyrat said:

interesting take and idea. random "news feed" post on adbook

Bill Gates Wants To 'Tax The Robots' That Take Your Job – And Some Say It Could Fund Universal Basic Income To Replace Lost Wages.

Back in 2017—well before ChatGPT became a topic of everyday conversation—Bill Gates introduced a bold and unconventional idea: impose a tax on robots.

The Microsoft cofounder proposed that businesses using machines to take over jobs previously held by people should pay taxes on those machines, similar to how they pay payroll taxes for human employees. 

At the time, the suggestion was both simple and thought-provoking, addressing a concern that many had yet to foresee.

Fast forward to the present, and the concern is no longer theoretical. 

With AI increasingly replacing human labor in sectors like manufacturing and logistics, Gates' idea now seems strikingly forward-looking.

As automation reshapes entire industries, the economic ripple effects have triggered serious global discussions. 

What once seemed like an abstract notion—taxing robots—is now being seriously considered as a potential policy measure.

While Gates didn't directly link his proposal to universal basic income (UBI), the two ideas have frequently been associated. 

During a 2017 Reddit AMA, he remarked that the U.S. wasn’t yet wealthy enough to adopt UBI but didn’t rule it out for the future. 

His more recent views, shared in the 2024 Netflix series What's Next? The Future With Bill Gates, suggest a shift. 

He argues that programs like UBI, aimed at reducing poverty, could ultimately lead to long-term cost savings. 

He cited data indicating that child poverty alone costs the U.S. more than $1 trillion each year.

Also, I’m just thinking about an economy where AI replaces human labour and this tax doesn’t exist. In each of those cases, there would be a loss of payroll and income tax dollars; and the cost of the AI services is treated as deductions against business owners’ incomes reducing their taxable income. Am I missing something, or would the absence of this tax not significantly reduce the amount of tax revenue for the government to operate with? 

It absolutely will. Plus it will have compounding effect. Those people who no longer work in the entry level type jobs will need a bigger social safety net. 

AI will require a complete restructuring of the tax and social welfare code. 

And now you have Peter Thiel giving seminars saying that the Antichrist will be a charismatic figure who warns us about AI. He is using religion to inoculate the tech lords from any backlash against AI. It’s unbelievably cynical and may work. 

tempo_n_groove

mrussel1 said:

benjs said:

mickeyrat said:

interesting take and idea. random "news feed" post on adbook

Bill Gates Wants To 'Tax The Robots' That Take Your Job – And Some Say It Could Fund Universal Basic Income To Replace Lost Wages.

Back in 2017—well before ChatGPT became a topic of everyday conversation—Bill Gates introduced a bold and unconventional idea: impose a tax on robots.

The Microsoft cofounder proposed that businesses using machines to take over jobs previously held by people should pay taxes on those machines, similar to how they pay payroll taxes for human employees. 

At the time, the suggestion was both simple and thought-provoking, addressing a concern that many had yet to foresee.

Fast forward to the present, and the concern is no longer theoretical. 

With AI increasingly replacing human labor in sectors like manufacturing and logistics, Gates' idea now seems strikingly forward-looking.

As automation reshapes entire industries, the economic ripple effects have triggered serious global discussions. 

What once seemed like an abstract notion—taxing robots—is now being seriously considered as a potential policy measure.

While Gates didn't directly link his proposal to universal basic income (UBI), the two ideas have frequently been associated. 

During a 2017 Reddit AMA, he remarked that the U.S. wasn’t yet wealthy enough to adopt UBI but didn’t rule it out for the future. 

His more recent views, shared in the 2024 Netflix series What's Next? The Future With Bill Gates, suggest a shift. 

He argues that programs like UBI, aimed at reducing poverty, could ultimately lead to long-term cost savings. 

He cited data indicating that child poverty alone costs the U.S. more than $1 trillion each year.

Also, I’m just thinking about an economy where AI replaces human labour and this tax doesn’t exist. In each of those cases, there would be a loss of payroll and income tax dollars; and the cost of the AI services is treated as deductions against business owners’ incomes reducing their taxable income. Am I missing something, or would the absence of this tax not significantly reduce the amount of tax revenue for the government to operate with? 

It absolutely will. Plus it will have compounding effect. Those people who no longer work in the entry level type jobs will need a bigger social safety net. 

AI will require a complete restructuring of the tax and social welfare code. 

And now you have Peter Thiel giving seminars saying that the Antichrist will be a charismatic figure who warns us about AI. He is using religion to inoculate the tech lords from any backlash against AI. It’s unbelievably cynical and may work. 

Well, I kind of agree with him.  It will be AI that IS the antichrist.  So he has it a lil mixed up, lol.

Seriously no one watched Terminator?

mrussel1

tempo_n_groove said:

mrussel1 said:

benjs said:

mickeyrat said:

interesting take and idea. random "news feed" post on adbook

Bill Gates Wants To 'Tax The Robots' That Take Your Job – And Some Say It Could Fund Universal Basic Income To Replace Lost Wages.

Back in 2017—well before ChatGPT became a topic of everyday conversation—Bill Gates introduced a bold and unconventional idea: impose a tax on robots.

The Microsoft cofounder proposed that businesses using machines to take over jobs previously held by people should pay taxes on those machines, similar to how they pay payroll taxes for human employees. 

At the time, the suggestion was both simple and thought-provoking, addressing a concern that many had yet to foresee.

Fast forward to the present, and the concern is no longer theoretical. 

With AI increasingly replacing human labor in sectors like manufacturing and logistics, Gates' idea now seems strikingly forward-looking.

As automation reshapes entire industries, the economic ripple effects have triggered serious global discussions. 

What once seemed like an abstract notion—taxing robots—is now being seriously considered as a potential policy measure.

While Gates didn't directly link his proposal to universal basic income (UBI), the two ideas have frequently been associated. 

During a 2017 Reddit AMA, he remarked that the U.S. wasn’t yet wealthy enough to adopt UBI but didn’t rule it out for the future. 

His more recent views, shared in the 2024 Netflix series What's Next? The Future With Bill Gates, suggest a shift. 

He argues that programs like UBI, aimed at reducing poverty, could ultimately lead to long-term cost savings. 

He cited data indicating that child poverty alone costs the U.S. more than $1 trillion each year.

Also, I’m just thinking about an economy where AI replaces human labour and this tax doesn’t exist. In each of those cases, there would be a loss of payroll and income tax dollars; and the cost of the AI services is treated as deductions against business owners’ incomes reducing their taxable income. Am I missing something, or would the absence of this tax not significantly reduce the amount of tax revenue for the government to operate with? 

It absolutely will. Plus it will have compounding effect. Those people who no longer work in the entry level type jobs will need a bigger social safety net. 

AI will require a complete restructuring of the tax and social welfare code. 

And now you have Peter Thiel giving seminars saying that the Antichrist will be a charismatic figure who warns us about AI. He is using religion to inoculate the tech lords from any backlash against AI. It’s unbelievably cynical and may work. 

Well, I kind of agree with him.  It will be AI that IS the antichrist.  So he has it a lil mixed up, lol.

Seriously no one watched Terminator?

I'm sure it was just a typo on his part. 

Tim Simmons

tempo_n_groove

Tim Simmons said:

The tariffs didn't cause it but they preceded it.

I do think Trump is doing this to get other countries to agree to better trade deals.  I don't think for a second he thinks it makes the US money.

Or I could be totally wrong, lol.

Gern Blansten

tempo_n_groove said:

Tim Simmons said:

The tariffs didn't cause it but they preceded it.

I do think Trump is doing this to get other countries to agree to better trade deals.  I don't think for a second he thinks it makes the US money.

Or I could be totally wrong, lol.

If he doesn't believe that he is certainly putting out false information. He is always bragging about how much money is coming in...telling made up stories ("Sir...we have $10mil that we don't know where it came from...I said "it must be from the tariffs"...and it was"....so unbelievably stupid), now promising to use all that money to save the farmers from himself.

mrussel1

tempo_n_groove said:

Tim Simmons said:

The tariffs didn't cause it but they preceded it.

I do think Trump is doing this to get other countries to agree to better trade deals.  I don't think for a second he thinks it makes the US money.

Or I could be totally wrong, lol.

Smoot Hawley absolutely turbo-charged the depression.  Our trading partners retaliated with the same, causing our exports to plummet.  It wasn't until the Reciprocal Trade Acts began reversing, did trade pick up again.  

Second, the tariffs make money for the US gov't.  That's where the revenue goes.  The problem is that it's US consumers paying that tax.  

tempo_n_groove

mrussel1 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Tim Simmons said:

The tariffs didn't cause it but they preceded it.

I do think Trump is doing this to get other countries to agree to better trade deals.  I don't think for a second he thinks it makes the US money.

Or I could be totally wrong, lol.

Smoot Hawley absolutely turbo-charged the depression.  Our trading partners retaliated with the same, causing our exports to plummet.  It wasn't until the Reciprocal Trade Acts began reversing, did trade pick up again.  

Second, the tariffs make money for the US gov't.  That's where the revenue goes.  The problem is that it's US consumers paying that tax.  

Actually the great depression was already started by the time this came out.  I am wrong about that it didn't precede the depression.

He keeps changing the trade deals w people anyways.  

tempo_n_groove

Gern Blansten said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Tim Simmons said:

The tariffs didn't cause it but they preceded it.

I do think Trump is doing this to get other countries to agree to better trade deals.  I don't think for a second he thinks it makes the US money.

Or I could be totally wrong, lol.

If he doesn't believe that he is certainly putting out false information. He is always bragging about how much money is coming in...telling made up stories ("Sir...we have $10mil that we don't know where it came from...I said "it must be from the tariffs"...and it was"....so unbelievably stupid), now promising to use all that money to save the farmers from himself.

Hes bragging about 10mil? That is what you and I would be happy with. That is about 1/2 a second of billing for the US govts tab.

Gern Blansten

tempo_n_groove said:

Gern Blansten said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Tim Simmons said:

The tariffs didn't cause it but they preceded it.

I do think Trump is doing this to get other countries to agree to better trade deals.  I don't think for a second he thinks it makes the US money.

Or I could be totally wrong, lol.

If he doesn't believe that he is certainly putting out false information. He is always bragging about how much money is coming in...telling made up stories ("Sir...we have $10mil that we don't know where it came from...I said "it must be from the tariffs"...and it was"....so unbelievably stupid), now promising to use all that money to save the farmers from himself.

Hes bragging about 10mil? That is what you and I would be happy with. That is about 1/2 a second of billing for the US govts tab.

more concerning is that he is describing conversations that never happened...either lying or hallucinating

Honestly...when would an aide ever come up to the POTUS and state that they have $10mil that they have "no idea where it came from"....like it was just deposited into his bank account or something.

The stupidity is just astounding

mickeyrat

Tim Simmons

no way to have known

Tim Simmons

remember this is the feature, not the bug

tempo_n_groove

Tim Simmons said:

remember this is the feature, not the bug

Am i wrong in seeing that highest and lowest are trending down and middle are both flatlined?

Tim Simmons

upper middle slight decrease. But yes, lower middle has flatlined.

Tim Simmons

here is the whole article

mickeyrat

we hit 37 trillion in debt in August. Just 38 ......two months later.....

https://apnews.com/article/trump-treasury-debt-ceiling-bessent-09575f13ca95c2f1beb38234b2cbe85b

static111

mickeyrat said:

we hit 37 trillion in debt in August. Just 38 ......two months later.....

https://apnews.com/article/trump-treasury-debt-ceiling-bessent-09575f13ca95c2f1beb38234b2cbe85b

What about the tariffs?

tempo_n_groove

Oil tricks up after Trump puts sanctions on Russian oil again.

mickeyrat

ADP will publish weekly US private payrolls data, estimates job gains averaged 14,250 in 4 weeks to Oct 11 - https://www.reuters.com/business/adp-says-it-will-publish-weekly-us-private-employment-data-payrolls-up-average-2025-10-28/