More sanctions on Russia is a bad idea. I can see Trump using them as a bargaining chip but too many others are stuck in the Cold War or wanting to support the useless "allies " in Europe. If the EU/UK would stop pouring gas on the fire, an end to the war, security for Ukraine and reintegration of Russia into the world economy would be possible.
“The true friend of property, the true conservative, is he who insists that property shall be the servant and not the master of the commonwealth; who insists that the creature of man’s making shall be the servant and not the master of the man who made it.”
— Theodore Roosevelt, “The New Nationalism,” Osawatomie, Kansas, 1910
Don't forget the job creation, a public benefit - that also has direct flow of payroll taxes paid by the company into the social security and other programs. We have a public stake through ~8% of their total payroll spending. Plus the job creation and flow through of that investment.
I don’t know that Uncle Sam ought to look at Altman's gift horse in the mouth. I think where he’s going is that, to the extent that AI causes job losses, putting shares into a sovereign wealth fund would offer an opportunity to provide either universal basic income or an enhanced safety net like Norway does with its oil resources. I suppose you can make the same argument for any natural resource that has a royalty arrangement, such as oil.
Interestingly, this is the same thing. Bernie Sanders wants to do except Bernie wants to confiscate 50%, and in this case, it would be a voluntary donation, which I would feel much better about and would be essentially a different means of the same end— that’s sort of a horseshoe phenomenon as we say in politics.
If earning a living gets tougher and tougher as a result of AI-caused job loss, something may have to be done.
I love your idea of taxing tokens and servers and chips and such. That’s another way to do it, but I wouldn’t necessarily see those as mutually exclusive. We may end up in a situation where the traditional free market capitalist approach to the labor market just doesn’t work anymore (on the other hand, we may not); in any case, be in any case, putting in place a more robust social safety net on the lines of the OECD peers we’ve got in Europe would diffuse a lot of the DSA agenda, which is what I see as the biggest threat to the Republic.
Government can actually be detrimental in some circumstances. I want bad companies to fail, so to make room for great ideas to prosper, especially in a new industry with many players, makes no sense.
Things the work with government ownership are money losers no company wants, roads and armies, education and electricity, foreign trade and scientific research.
While agreeing with the basic premise, I am curious about your list. Private companies have made vast fortunes on electricity and scientific research. Toll roads work as do mercenary armies. Meanwhile, governments have lost money on liquor stores and brothels. I think government stakes in business is driven more by greed (probably in the AI case) or equity( historical origin of public utilities).
There is more to it than making money. I don't care if companies make money. Except AMD, and NVD, happy when they make money.
Electricity is a utility because reliable electricity coordinated across the grid, is important, and not compatible with simply profit.
Much of scientific research has no monetary value, when it is being researched, later it spawns entire industries.
Mercenaries are only valuable for deniability. Employees lack the lifelong health commitment we give our service members. Also our armed forces are ours, responsible to us and we have reciprocal responsibilities to them.
I'm hoping AOC natinalizes toll roads when she becomes POTUS ;-) I'm also a big advocate of public lands and land reform. Utah has probably saved a lot of lives with state liquor stores shutting early etc. I'm not a big fan of gambling, prostitution, drugs, etc. I especially don't like depending on them for tax revenue or others making a profit from the misery of others.
Electric utilities were originally a natural monopoly (the transmission lines) leading to public power and/or regulation. That is much less true today as electricity is more like a commodity that is bought and sold by a variety of actors. You still need the transmission lines to get it moved but electricity is fungible. Where I live we have public power (an REA which is technically private but really a product of the New Deal). It generates none of its power but buys it through a combination of long term contracts and spot purchases. Meanwhile, solar farms are popping up like flowers after a rain for the benefit of CA.
Nope. Corporations are expert at hiding taxable earnings.
TSLA is still $10B shy of earning back its paid in capital, for example.
On behalf of the American taxpayer, let’s take the stock.
Put it in the High Risk part of the portfolio … in some sort of sovereign wealth fund, and include stakes in the other AI bubble companies, so there’s no danger of favoritism.
All SWFs now are funded by a true shared resource. If that were the case here, that shared resource would be our power grid. But unlike with oil, use of that shared resource is one that increases all of our costs. I’d rather they just build their own power, and we not be forced to live with higher prices because we own a stake in them.
More sanctions on Russia is a bad idea. I can see Trump using them as a bargaining chip but too many others are stuck in the Cold War or wanting to support the useless "allies " in Europe. If the EU/UK would stop pouring gas on the fire, an end to the war, security for Ukraine and reintegration of Russia into the world economy would be possible.
“The true friend of property, the true conservative, is he who insists that property shall be the servant and not the master of the commonwealth; who insists that the creature of man’s making shall be the servant and not the master of the man who made it.”
— Theodore Roosevelt, “The New Nationalism,” Osawatomie, Kansas, 1910
Don't forget the job creation, a public benefit - that also has direct flow of payroll taxes paid by the company into the social security and other programs. We have a public stake through ~8% of their total payroll spending. Plus the job creation and flow through of that investment.
I fear we might have to wait another generation for U.S. normies to be this comfortable with taxing corporations again
A lot of material here, all good—thanks!
I don’t know that Uncle Sam ought to look at Altman's gift horse in the mouth. I think where he’s going is that, to the extent that AI causes job losses, putting shares into a sovereign wealth fund would offer an opportunity to provide either universal basic income or an enhanced safety net like Norway does with its oil resources. I suppose you can make the same argument for any natural resource that has a royalty arrangement, such as oil.
Interestingly, this is the same thing. Bernie Sanders wants to do except Bernie wants to confiscate 50%, and in this case, it would be a voluntary donation, which I would feel much better about and would be essentially a different means of the same end— that’s sort of a horseshoe phenomenon as we say in politics.
If earning a living gets tougher and tougher as a result of AI-caused job loss, something may have to be done.
I love your idea of taxing tokens and servers and chips and such. That’s another way to do it, but I wouldn’t necessarily see those as mutually exclusive. We may end up in a situation where the traditional free market capitalist approach to the labor market just doesn’t work anymore (on the other hand, we may not); in any case, be in any case, putting in place a more robust social safety net on the lines of the OECD peers we’ve got in Europe would diffuse a lot of the DSA agenda, which is what I see as the biggest threat to the Republic.
I wonder how much income tax Open AI had paid so far.
Government can actually be detrimental in some circumstances. I want bad companies to fail, so to make room for great ideas to prosper, especially in a new industry with many players, makes no sense.
Things the work with government ownership are money losers no company wants, roads and armies, education and electricity, foreign trade and scientific research.
While agreeing with the basic premise, I am curious about your list. Private companies have made vast fortunes on electricity and scientific research. Toll roads work as do mercenary armies. Meanwhile, governments have lost money on liquor stores and brothels. I think government stakes in business is driven more by greed (probably in the AI case) or equity( historical origin of public utilities).
There is more to it than making money. I don't care if companies make money. Except AMD, and NVD, happy when they make money.
Electricity is a utility because reliable electricity coordinated across the grid, is important, and not compatible with simply profit.
Much of scientific research has no monetary value, when it is being researched, later it spawns entire industries.
Mercenaries are only valuable for deniability. Employees lack the lifelong health commitment we give our service members. Also our armed forces are ours, responsible to us and we have reciprocal responsibilities to them.
I'm hoping AOC natinalizes toll roads when she becomes POTUS ;-) I'm also a big advocate of public lands and land reform. Utah has probably saved a lot of lives with state liquor stores shutting early etc. I'm not a big fan of gambling, prostitution, drugs, etc. I especially don't like depending on them for tax revenue or others making a profit from the misery of others.
Electric utilities were originally a natural monopoly (the transmission lines) leading to public power and/or regulation. That is much less true today as electricity is more like a commodity that is bought and sold by a variety of actors. You still need the transmission lines to get it moved but electricity is fungible. Where I live we have public power (an REA which is technically private but really a product of the New Deal). It generates none of its power but buys it through a combination of long term contracts and spot purchases. Meanwhile, solar farms are popping up like flowers after a rain for the benefit of CA.
Nope. Corporations are expert at hiding taxable earnings.
TSLA is still $10B shy of earning back its paid in capital, for example.
On behalf of the American taxpayer, let’s take the stock.
Put it in the High Risk part of the portfolio … in some sort of sovereign wealth fund, and include stakes in the other AI bubble companies, so there’s no danger of favoritism.
All SWFs now are funded by a true shared resource. If that were the case here, that shared resource would be our power grid. But unlike with oil, use of that shared resource is one that increases all of our costs. I’d rather they just build their own power, and we not be forced to live with higher prices because we own a stake in them.
Totally fair point.