Bill Gates revives robot tax idea; French commentator calls it decade's worst economic proposal
RachelVT42 · x · 2026-10-04
A French-language commentator pushes back on Bill Gates' revived proposal to tax robots like salaried workers, calling it likely the worst economic idea of the decade and citing three economists:
- Mises: societal wealth comes from capital accumulated per worker—robots ARE that capital, and taxing it attacks the only force that lifted humanity out of poverty; tractors destroyed 90% of farm jobs and nobody wants to return to the fields.
- Friedman: "tax something and you get less of it"—Gates' stated goal of "slowing" automation means deliberately making abundance scarcer and more expensive.
The post opens by recalling Musk's remark that Gates' grasp of science was limited, arguing economics now belongs on that list. A pointed opinion piece opposing taxation as a brake on AI/robotics-driven automation.
Related event: Gates Revives Robot Tax Proposal, Drawing Backlash(2 posts)→
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