2/Everybody is upset about the cost of health care and education. These things keep getting more expensive, even as almost everything else gets cheaper (housing is sort of in the middle). 
3/Why the heck do health care and education cost so much? Is it because of billionaires?
Well... probably not? There aren't very many billionaires who make their bones in healthcare or education.
Well... probably not? There aren't very many billionaires who make their bones in healthcare or education.
4/In fact, most universities and the majority of hospitals are nonprofits.
5/High health care and education costs are mostly going to pay worker salaries, not profits.
And the number of workers employed in health care and education keeps going up, and up, and up!
And the number of workers employed in health care and education keeps going up, and up, and up!
6/Here is a list of the fastest-growing occupations in the U.S.
Notice anything? Other than a few well-paid math/software jobs, they're almost all "care" jobs.
Notice anything? Other than a few well-paid math/software jobs, they're almost all "care" jobs.
7/In fact, the rise of care jobs may be a big reason that the "robot takeover" hasn't happened yet and employment is still high.
bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
8/If these trends continue, we can imagine a future where humans mostly do care jobs (with a few people to build the robots).
9/Imagine a future where most people just take care of each other, while all their material needs are provided by machines owned by a few rich people and built and maintained by a few slightly-less-rich people.
10/So what do we do then?
One answer: We tax the rich to make health care and education cheaper.l for the middle class.
(Mathematically, this is actually the same as forcing the Robot Lords to make their robots give people free stuff while they take care of each other.)
One answer: We tax the rich to make health care and education cheaper.l for the middle class.
(Mathematically, this is actually the same as forcing the Robot Lords to make their robots give people free stuff while they take care of each other.)
11/In fact, this may already be the plan. The socialist movement is based around calls for free health care and free college, paid for by high taxes on super-rich people who mostly own tech and finance companies.
12/But this plan has its risks.
What if "atlas shrugs", i.e. the Robot Lords eventually find some way to avoid paying taxes?
What if care jobs become automated too, and the Robot Apocalypse finally does arrive?
What if "atlas shrugs", i.e. the Robot Lords eventually find some way to avoid paying taxes?
What if care jobs become automated too, and the Robot Apocalypse finally does arrive?
13/To hedge against these risks, we should do two things.
First, we should try our best to find useful things for middle class workers to do outside of the care industries.
The German apprenticeship system and vocational education may help with that.
First, we should try our best to find useful things for middle class workers to do outside of the care industries.
The German apprenticeship system and vocational education may help with that.
14/And Social Wealth Funds, funding Universal Basic Income, would allow redistribution of the bounty created by robots without the need for permanent high taxes.
Basically, @MattBruenig plus @AndrewYang.
Basically, @MattBruenig plus @AndrewYang.
15/The economy of the future won't look like the economy of the past, but whatever happens, we have ways to prepare in order to make sure there is always a prosperous human middle class.
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bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
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bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
