Taxing robots, understand the "hidden cost"!

Bill Gates suggests governments should tax companies' use 
of robots for the jobs they are "taking away", with money 
collected used to fund a variety of programs, such as elderly
or child care.

As appealing as this sounds the deeper implication, the effect on increased and less costly productivity due to technological advances will be diminished as businesses will be penalized
by cuttings the cost of labor.

Imagine if the calculator industry suggested Microsoft pay a tax 
to  offset the 'loss' of jobs in their industry when the Windows
operating system was introduced.  

Productivity gains benefit consumers and businesses s equally,
by reducing the cost of everything purchased. 

For example, in Gates own industry a computer which cost more
than $3000 in the 1980s can be purchased for less than $300, 
and offer performance 100 times faster.

This is the 'magic' of free market capitalism in every industry and
dwarfs the benefit of this "found money". The downside is  much 
greater for all workers in every industry with higher costs of every purchase.

Yes, there is a problem when advances cost jobs. But, go deeper
to see the 'cost of workers', including government mandated 
costs that factor heavily on businesses we see driving factors Gates
doesn't address.

The 'fluidity' of capitalism works better than any system. There is
no need for 'featherbedding' jobs of the 1900s forced on business 
by powerful labor unions. 

Honest capitalism drives businesses and individuals equally, 
but  it is up to both groups to have the initiative and take
opportunities available to benefit.

If you saw the scene in the movie "Hidden Figures" when NASA 
was installing 'the IBM', its new computer.  One of the main 
characters saw the jobs of the group doing manual calculations 
were going to be displaced.  Rather than wait for the 'inevitable', 
she and her team learned the programming language required to
run the computer.  The group was transferred to the computer dept.

The unwritten partnership between labor and industry has made
our nation prosper throughout our history.

A 'robot tax' is another example of meddling that only undermines
the desire for unbridled capitalism to maximize the benefits of
free markets.  



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