Economic System
The economic system maintains free markets and competition while addressing automation-driven job displacement through redistribution and universal services. It combines market efficiency with social protection, ensuring technological progress benefits everyone rather than concentrating wealth among platform owners and capital holders.
Core Components
Wealth Tax
Progressive incremental curve taxation on net worth above $50M. Eliminates gaming through continuous rates. Generates $300-500B annually for healthcare, infrastructure, and climate investment.
→ DetailsAutomation Dividend Tax
Tax on companies based on labor displacement from robots, AI, and automation. Creates direct link: automate → tax → fund workers. Generates $500B-$1T annually for Adaptive Citizen Dividend.
→ DetailsAdaptive Citizen Dividend (ACD)
Three-layer adaptive income system: universal base floor, productivity share from automation gains, and compensatory labor premium for difficult work. Not a handout—it's property rights plus earned compensation.
→ Full SystemMedicare for All
Single-payer national health system. Everyone covered automatically from birth. Healthcare is a human right, not a commodity. Free at point of service, federally administered.
→ Full SystemAntitrust Enforcement
Break up monopolies and restore market competition, particularly in technology platforms. Mandate interoperability, block anti-competitive mergers, ban exploitative practices.
→ DetailsWorker Protections
Strengthen labor rights and standards for the automated economy. Minimum wage increases, gig worker classification, paid family leave, union rights, ban non-competes.
→ DetailsWhy ACD Instead of UBI?
Traditional UBI is one-size-fits-all. Everyone gets the same payment regardless of whether they're working comfortable office jobs or dangerous construction sites. This doesn't work.
ACD is adaptive—like the rest of the framework. If wealth tax uses incremental curves and housing tax adapts to function, why should income support be rigid? The entire system is based on smooth, continuous adaptation—income must be too.
The three layers:
- Base Floor: Everyone gets this (regional cost-of-living adjusted) — unconditional security
- Productivity Share: Your dividend from automation gains — rises automatically as technology advances
- Compensatory Labor Premium (CLP): Extra payment for difficult, dangerous, or rare work — earned compensation
Not a handout—it's property rights. Automation created wealth using public infrastructure (roads, education, legal systems, internet). You own a share of that infrastructure. ACD is your dividend as a shareholder, plus fair pay for hard work you choose to do.
Example: Emergency room nurse earns ~$364,000/year (base $2,000/month + wage $5,500/month + CLP $22,800/month for danger, complexity, scarcity, and social value)
Example: Retail worker earns ~$134,000/year (base $1,900/month + wage $2,400/month + CLP $6,900/month recognizing real difficulty of the work)
Implementation Timeline
Year 1 Priorities:
- Pass and implement wealth tax (incremental curve structure)
- Begin Medicare for All transition (children covered immediately)
- Launch antitrust enforcement (file breakup suits against major tech platforms)
- Enact worker protections (minimum wage, gig classification, paid leave)
- Pass progressive tax reform (close loopholes, raise top rates)
Year 2 Priorities:
- Establish automation dividend tax framework and begin collection
- Launch ACD pilot programs in 3-5 diverse regions (500K-1M participants)
- Continue Medicare for All expansion (age 55+ covered)
- First major tech monopoly breakup initiated
End of Term Success Metrics:
- Wealth tax generating $300-500B annually
- Medicare for All covering 80%+ of population
- Automation tax operational and collecting revenue
- ACD pilots running with comprehensive evaluation
- Measurable reduction in economic inequality
Revenue Structure
Three complementary streams address different aspects of the economic challenge:
Wealth Tax
$300-500B annually
Addresses past wealth accumulation. Funds healthcare, infrastructure, climate, education.
Automation Dividend
$500B-$1T annually
Addresses real-time job displacement. Scales with automation pace. Funds Adaptive Citizen Dividend (base floor, productivity share, CLP).
Progressive Income Tax
$200-300B annually
Addresses income inequality. Funds general services, education, deficit reduction.
Total New Revenue: $1-1.8 trillion annually
Why This Approach Succeeds
- Addresses Root Causes: Tackles wealth concentration (wealth tax), automation displacement (automation dividend), and market failure (antitrust) simultaneously.
- Preserves Market Dynamics: Competition continues, innovation proceeds, entrepreneurship thrives—but within structure that shares gains and protects workers.
- Politically Viable: Gradual implementation, proven models, popular policies (antitrust, worker protections), evidence-based approach (ACD pilots).
- Economically Sustainable: Revenue streams scale with economic activity. More wealth = more wealth tax. More automation = more automation tax. Self-adjusting funding.
- Future-Proof: Designed specifically for automated economy. Addresses technological unemployment directly. Adapts as automation accelerates.
- Philosophically Coherent: Every system is adaptive—incremental wealth tax curves, function-based housing tax, adaptive income support. No rigid brackets. Smooth, continuous responses to changing conditions.