Paul GrahamVerified account

Try this thought experiment: If new technology suddenly made it cheap to fix climate change, would Ocasio-Cortez stop wanting to raise taxes? I would guess not. I think the desire to raise taxes precedes the choice of how to spend the money.

That's hardly a shocking accusation. That's the definition of socialism: you tax first, then decide how to spend the money.

I think that's why so many people who wouldn't be directly affected by her tax increase are opposed to it. It's not that they're too stupid to realize they wouldn't be in the top tax bracket. They just don't like the underlying principle.

In the US (like in the rest of the world) our beloved technology is making poor people poorer and rich people richer. AI and robots will increase this disparity even more in the future. If not with taxes, how do you fix that? It's a fundamental question to answer.