Gates: Income Tax Should be Paid on Robots Replacing Workers

Microsoft founder Bill Gates. (Creative Commons.)

By Doug Cunningham

Workers Independent News is heard Monday through Friday after the 6 and 11 p.m. news on 97.9 WHAV.

Workers Independent News is heard Monday through Friday after the 6 and 11 p.m. news on 97.9 WHAV.

In an interview with Quartz, Microsoft founder Bill Gates says if robots replace workers, they should be taxed like workers.

Gates says the money could be used to transition workers who lose jobs to robots into other jobs. He added, companies that replace human workers with robots should have to pay the equivalent of workers’ income taxes on those robots.

Healthy California Act Would Create Universal Health Care Coverage

On Wednesday, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United and other supporters join two state senators celebrating the introduction of a Medicare-for-all-style bill for Californians.

SB 562, The Healthy California Act, would create universal healthcare for California residents with effective cost controls.

The nurses’ union, working with the Healthy California Campaign, are the primary backers of the bill. They will mark the introduction of the bill Wednesday with a rally supporting it in Sacramento.

SB 562 says it is “the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would establish a comprehensive universal single-payer health coverage program and a healthcare cost control system for the benefit of all residents of the state.”

UTLA Launches Second Phase Of  ‘We Are Public Schools’ Campaign

United Teachers of Los Angeles has launched the second round of a “We Are Public Schools” ad campaign advocating for strong public schools.

It includes more than 90 billboards and other advertising promoting public schools and highlighting the work of public educators. It’s part of a larger struggle against the billionaire public education privatization agenda.

UTLA says “From Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos in Washington, D.C., to Eli Broad and Richard Riordan here in LA., the campaign also exposes a handful of billionaires who are unfairly influencing local elections and education policy.”