Tax the Robots!

    When a company fires a human and hires a robot the government loses taxes, the person fired loses an income, and the only winner is the company. The company makes more money, and that money is funneled into dividends and bonuses for people who already have money.

    But what about the people who are fired, who don’t have money, and who are being forced more and more into poverty?

    People fired have difficulty finding jobs, they need to be re-educated in many cases, and all too often end up living in tents on the cold sidewalks of cities across the land.

    Thus, cities devolve into squalor, crime increases, hopeless people turn to drugs, and…this is the death of a country.

    BUT…what if that entity who replaced the human was taxed? What if the company had to pay taxes for the workers replaced? What if the company had to pay taxes for robots?    

    The first robot in history was Elektro. He was humanoid in shape and could perform 26 tasks. He was introduced at the 1939 World’s Fair. It is doubtful that he replaced any humans, being merely a gimmick. Maybe a promise for a dire future. Or a happy one. I can see headline…

Will Elektro Replace Humans? 

Imagine a future where robots do all the work, all the chores!

Humans can at last put their feet up in the wonderful Garden of Elektro!

    The first use of a robot in industry was by car manufacturers. This was the Unimate, a hydraulic manipulator arm developed in 1956 and put to work in 1961. It was used to automate metalworking, and it is sure that metal workers were put out to pasture. But without a pension, without a by your leave or a means of supporting themselves and their families.

    Over the past decades robots have taken over a plethora of tasks: They build cars, computers, flip hamburgers, vacuum houses, perform surgeries, and on and on and on.

    In fact, as of September of 2024 there were 4,281,585 robots being used worldwide, and this is a low estimate.

    And none of these workers pays taxes!

    Some of these robots shouldn’t pay taxes. Robots used for dangerous jobs or in harsh environments shouldn’t be taxed.

    If robots are used to vacuum the housewife can be spared government fees.

    But in businesses which are high tech, and which produce products which are for use only by the wealthy, the taxes should be high. The wealthy can afford those taxes, and those taxes can be used to provide education, housing, rehabilitation, and all manner of services for the poor…the people put out of business by the robots.

    For instance, there are over 1,000,000 robots, that’s one million, being used in automotive manufacturing. Cars now cost an average of $47,962. With fees and taxes and all the add ons that’s going to be over, well over, $50,000. What poor person can afford that?

    But if the price goes to $60,000, the wealthy can afford that, and the $10,000 extra from robot taxes can, again, go for education, housing, food, rehabilitation, and incentives for poor people so they can re-enter the job market and make their lives useful.

    13,000,000 cars times $10,000 equals $130,000,000,000! 130 billion dollars!. Divided by 800,000 homeless people equals $162,500! Even letting the government keep $62,500, that leave $100,000 for each homeless person!

    Okay. I know you can’t just give money away. It weakens the moral fiber of people to get something for nothing. But, we could afford a helping hand. As long as a homeless person is trying, we should be trying to help them. As long as they are honestly feeding their family and seeking further education, volunteering to help people who need it, and getting off drugs and drink, they deserve a helping hand. 

    And, in keeping with America’s tax loophole fetish, people who are poor but still need a car can be given breaks so they can still afford them.

    It is obvious that America is in trouble. There are 770,000 people out of work, and it is likely more. They live on the streets and struggle for a warm place to sleep. They need food for their families and a way to get back into a market place that is shrinking because, let’s face it, robots are here. By 2050 it is estimated there will be over 300,000,000 million of those suckers. All taking the places of people, denying them wages, putting them out of work, driving them further and further down the wage scale.

    In truth, it is not only a good idea to tax the robots, it is a necessary idea. Why tax a human when you can tax a robot?

About the author: Al Case has an intense interest in martial arts, and in the welfare of our nation. He began writing in the martial arts magazines back in the 80s. He’s giving away a free martial arts video course at Monster Martial Arts.