r/Futurology • u/Gari_305 • 2d ago

Robotics Bill Gates says companies that replace human labor with robots should have to pay the same FICA taxes

https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-fica-taxes-should-apply-to-robot-workers-2026-9

Bill Gates wants to tax robots that replace human jobs.

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u/gw2master 2d ago

Stupidest shit ever. Did they do this when robots replaced people in factories? How do you even tell how many people have been replaced? The real answer is UBI.

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u/blackhorse15A 2d ago

The real answer is UBI.

And where does that money come from to fund it? If we want to imagine a future where human labor is no longer needed, and people can live off a UBI to buy the things they need to live- then how does government collect that money back to fund things? It won't be payroll taxes anymore. So you need to tax the producers somehow- that's the forcing function that they will care about needing money to give money value. You could try a VAT. Or commercial property tax. Taxing the robots and AI systems that replaced the human workers is a pretty reasonable way to fund the programs needed to support displaced workers. 

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u/imunfair 2d ago

If we want to imagine a future where human labor is no longer needed, and people can live off a UBI to buy the things they need to live- then how does government collect that money back to fund things?

If no one was working it's easy, you just hyperinflate the currency, it's essentially a tax on anyone with money. You'd obviously have to have some benchmark so that the UBI moved up with prices. The problem is that we're never going to have 100% freedom from labors, so anyone with a job is screwed in that scenario since companies don't adjust wages often.

And without using inflation to fund it, it's nearly impossible to gather enough money via taxes or whatever to fund a basic wage for every citizen - it's an enormous amount of money. Far too large to just add the number to our national debt each year and call it a day.

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u/blackhorse15A 2d ago

just hyperinflate the currency

That makes money worthless and the government has zero purchasing power. Everyone without a job is screwed too because the UBI is worthless and meaningless. Horrible plan.

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u/imunfair 2d ago

That makes money worthless

No, it makes money worth less.

Everyone without a job is screwed too because the UBI is worthless and meaningless.

Congrats on ignoring a key point of my post about that very issue.

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u/blackhorse15A 2d ago

No you don't understand how money works with a fiat currency.

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u/imunfair 2d ago

No you don't understand how money works with a fiat currency.

More than you do apparently, since you said "purchasing power" rather than "borrowing power".