Try applying for medicaid or EBT right now. It might as well be run by the powers that be at twentiety century motor co.

Neither interest income nor interest expense should have any tax effects. It's just a way to manipulate people to take on debt and to punish saving - the opposite of a rational approach.

"Once this threshold is reached, then it will capable of replacing the jobs done by 95% of humanity. Up til now automation has replaced repetitive, well-defined tasks. When it can replace ill-defined ones then what?"
I don't know exactly, but it will be as big a chance as the industrial revolution eliminated most jobs. I think it will increase production by the same amount, creating a world of plenty unrecognizable to people from before the revolution.

The plan to continue stealing from productive people and giving it away is somehow different with a new name and a new organizational chart on distribution? It still requires that someone is productive in order to steal from them! The problem with giving someone a 'cushion' so they aren't afraid to try new things encourages people to be lazy, inefficient and carless in cobbling together new ideas for production. Elon Musk is a large recipient of tax fraud (pretending to make an industry viable) getting subsidies from taxpayers for his 'green' ideas for new roofing and electric cars that would not be viable products if the consumer had to pay the full price of production. I like what the economist Walter E. Williams once said; 'Starvation is a powerful motivator.'

That's my concern: the bureaucracy it was supposed to replace would come back, but the new entitlement would not go away.

When you say a "huge application process to determine need," I think of the socialist system at the motor plan in AS. It gives a good description of to whom people would submit their application.

But people are working on them just the same. And the same was once said about control systems. It was much easier to design a control system for a purpose than to build in a whole computer. But then the whole computer became standardized into a chip and it was much easier to just use the chip and program it than build specialized circuitry.

If you can build one device that sells into all those markets, even it is a bit more expensive it will be preferable to designing, building and supporting separate product lines. Plus you will be much more agile in meeting emerging needs.

Once it becomes practical, it will be inevitable.

The key application is home assistance. With nursing homes exceeding 75K a year and an aging population there is an amazing need and budget for a general purpose home assistant. And if it can do that job, it can do pretty much anything.

Demographics says we're in trouble if we don't do this!

I think that the automation threshold is when a robot is built that can clean hotel rooms. While a mundane, low-paying task, it involves a number of tasks that are currently beyond our state of the art.

Once this threshold is reached, then it will capable of replacing the jobs done by 95% of humanity.

Up til now automation has replaced repetitive, well-defined tasks. When it can replace ill-defined ones then what?

So, wages then have to be high enough for someone to live on with 20 hours a week. Your 'solution' is to make labor twice as expensive, which will add even more pressure to automate.

Unless the government will 'guarantee jobs' by outlawing automation.

I prefer guaranteed jobs rather than guaranteed income. If jobs disappear, then job-sharing (20 hrs/wk each) should be the norm.

Some people would ‘need’ more than others tho. It would degenerate into a huge application process to determine this need. As the totality of the needs rises, prices will go up as they have in medical care and college costs, and then the needed amount increases again

All interest income is taxed, so ALL interest payments should be deducted.

All interest income is taxed, so ALL interest payments should be deducted.

They can call it altruism and make people think it means being good to others rather than exploitive. What it means in reality is that those that can be conned into depriving themselves become fodder for the unconscionable vampires and cannibals who look to exploit (pseudo-legally) anyone softhearted enough to go along. And the controllable not only go along but pay lip service to and promote redistribution (read: take from some and give to others) from their compatriots, sanctimoniously steering benefits to themselves as well. They are the ticks in the hides of humanity.

"There certainly should be a basic universal income and it should be $0.00 annually plus anything you can EARN ON YOUR OWN!" ... Perfect answer - absolutely perfect and succinct!!! 0.00 also happens to be the % our income should be taxed ... and the percentage that the government owns my life ... EXACTLY 0.00%

Eyecu2 we are quickly working towards that universal income as you put of $0.00. It is just a matter of time. You know of course those who reside in Washington D.C. know not what they do. I am hoping that the disease that McCain has is catching!

It's fine for me! I'm retired. I get S.S. Plus, I've got savings. This could probably boost me up to the next former income tax deduction.What a country! Oh damn, I forgot. I got children. I also got grandchildren. And one (so far) great grand child. They are the ones who will have to pay for this when it all collapses in a few years. Meanwhile, they'll have to repair the economic shambles left in its wake.Oh well, screw 'em. What have they ever done for Me? (LOL)
Wait -- change that LOL to chuckle. Wait -- change that chuckle to a grim smile. Wait -- change that.....Oh, hell just forget it. It's just too stupid to contemplate.

Criminal organizations have used this forever... it is called protection money... and probably in our future unless you are willing to have a government gunning down large numbers of people in the streets. If they use MMT principles will not need to tax anyone to pay for it. The rest of us can use cryptocurrencies.

MITCH,
You are a day late and a dollar short; the republic has been destroyed.
Just keep in mind that we are seeing, experiencing the ALTRUISTIC movement taking over the country. and it has been in the works for over 100 years.

As a person who loves life and loves living, sometimes when I read stuff like this I am glad I can't live forever. I just hope I don't live long enough for this stupid idea to come to pass, and I cry for my (uber-productive) kids. They've worked so hard - for what! - just to have it all snatched away.

Me dino is waiting to see a grinning bright-eyed motivational speaker burn a copy of The Constitution before a roaring applause.
This would be called "for the universal better good."
Me age 70 but I think I've ample time to see something like that.
After all, I started to see the flag being burned back during the 60s.

There certainly should be a basic universal income and it should be $0.00 annually plus anything you can EARN ON YOUR OWN! Sorry for the shouting but they never seem to get it and I am sick of their schemes.