The late Marshall Brain's novella "Manna" touches on this:
https://marshallbrain.com/manna1
The idea of taxing computer sales to fund job re-training for displaced workers was brought up during the Carter administration.
replies(1):
https://marshallbrain.com/manna1
The idea of taxing computer sales to fund job re-training for displaced workers was brought up during the Carter administration.
Althogh it was written somewhat as a warning, I feel Western countries (especially the US) are heading very much towards the terrafoam future. Mass immigration is making it hard to maintain order in some places, and if AI causes large unemployment it will only get worse.
Where is this happening? I'm in the US, and I haven't seen or heard of this.
Although I wouldn't pin it just on mass immigration, but also economic malaise from short-sighted decisions (stopping nuclear power and fracking and just importing energy) and being so weak on crime.
Like in Sweden we pay ~50% income tax plus 25% VAT, etc. so you can barely save up, so even as a professional engineer I can't afford a car or a house instead of an apartment (also as my wife is still looking for work). Meanwhile terrible criminals like the Nytorgsmannen got only ~5 years in prison for over 25 rapes, and was living in a rent-controlled apartment in central Stockholm! I wouldn't be able to afford that at market rates!
But the far-right party also sucks, just making it harder on decent non-Swedes like myself and my wife (doubled the time to citizenship for example), while doing nothing about the aforementioned criminals (the Nytorgsmannen is actually Swedish too).
There is no common sense party that'll just put criminals in prison and embrace economic growth (no AI act, etc.) and free markets and competition - hopefully Elon Musk's new party will do well, and a sort of Musk-Zubrin-Kuan Yew-Bukele pragmatism will become popular.
For closer to what the OP is referring to, see the riots in the UK last year.
Sweden median income is 345,529 SEK, or $36k. 90%ile is 658,623 SEK or $69k. For 20-65 year olds it's a bit higher.
(That's from "Total income from employment and business by deciles, sex and age 2023")
Someone on 700k a year - so top 10% income - pays about 26% of their income in income tax.