It’s time to block reckless AI IPOs and tax billionaires | Naomi Klein and Ilana Glazer
We cannot let the billionaire class take unprecedented risks with our future America is a divided country in crisis. Despite the sunny economic forecast coming from the Trump administration, millions of Americans are struggling to find and keep jobs, getting crushed under the rising cost of living, and losing health insurance when they need it the most. Meanwhile, via corporate consolidation and…
Billionaires are amassing wealth at an alarming rate, with the combined assets of nearly 3,000 global billionaires now equal to one-fifth of the world's annual output. In the United States alone, nearly 1,000 billionaires reside and conduct business. These tech moguls often exploit tax loopholes, corporate mergers, and initial public offerings (IPOs) to accumulate even more wealth, bypassing their fair share of taxes and redistributing resources into society.
Elon Musk, for instance, became a trillionaire when SpaceX went public; he has since used a portion of his gains to fund Republican midterm campaigns. Larry Ellison, currently seventh on the Forbes billionaires list, backed the merger between Paramount and Warner Brothers, which is negatively impacting the film industry and American workers.
To address the mounting economic and societal challenges, we must tax billionaires and prevent further wealth accumulation. Passing wealth taxes in California and New York is a good start, but it is not enough. The tech industry's impending IPOs must also be halted to protect the remaining economy and society.
Regulations must be put in place to prevent the AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI from going public, as they have significant security flaws and massive debt. Should these companies go public, their founders and investors, many of whom are billionaires, could amass unprecedented wealth, leaving regular Americans to suffer financially if the technologies fail or fail to deliver on their extravagant financial promises.
The tech sector dominates the US economy, with the 10 most valuable public companies being tech firms. This creates a precarious situation where the market's stability hinges on a single industry's performance, prone to bubbles, crashes, and fraud. The recent SpaceX IPO already poses risks to regular investors, and should more speculative tech companies follow suit, the market could become too volatile to bear.
The consequences of an AI bubble burst would be felt by all, with investors or not. With wealth already concentrated, a recession's indiscriminate impact on lives becomes even more pronounced. The only exception will be the billionaires, who will likely emerge relatively unscathed from the wreckage.
To prevent reckless IPOs and the subsequent transfer of AI industry risks to the general public, we must unite and demand real change. This starts with enacting wealth taxes on billionaires to keep them in check. Let's send a clear message to the billionaires that Americans will not stand by while they exploit working people and the environment for personal gain. Tax the billionaires and block the IPOs.
Written by urgent.news from The Guardian US's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
