Facebook's Co-Founder on How to End Poverty in the U.S.
This generation could potentially end poverty “once and for all in the United States.” That’s according to Chris Hughes, author of “Fair Shot” and co-founder of Facebook.
His radical plan to get there? A guaranteed income of $500 a month for people earning less than $50,000.
Many of the jobs that have been added to the U.S. economy over the past decade are “part-time, contract, or temporary,” explained Hughes. “They’ve been fundamentally unstable. We’ve created...a winner-take-all economy.”
“So in my view this isn’t about pitchforks coming for the rich...It’s about what we owe one another.”
Hughes’ proposal would be funded by the people “who have done well in our economy,” placing a 50 percent tax on income that exceeds $250,000 a year.
“That and closing some other egregious loopholes could provide $500 per month for every American who makes less than $50,000.”
The positive results of such a plan can be seen in the Earned Income Tax Credit -- “the largest cash transfer program in the world” where “tens of millions of Americans just get checks,” Hughes pointed out.
Data from that program shows that kids in families that receive the tax credit “do better on tests, stay in school longer. They’re more likely to go to college.” People who get the credit are also incentivized to keep working.
“So we know that it’s actually a powerful tool to lift people out of poverty,” said Hughes.
Similar ideas, like Universal Basic Income, picked up a lot of momentum during the 2016 presidential election when Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders showed an openness to the concept.
Several Silicon Valley heavyweights, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, have also come out in support of some form of cash handout program particularly in the face of increasingly automated jobs.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/facebook-co-founder-chris-hughes-says-its-time-for-the-1-to-help-out-more).
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
