One of the reasons that tech seems comparatively more progressive on things like wages and UBI and is more friendly to Keynesian stimulus is that instead of feeling entitled to a laborers like most American businesses historically have, they feel entitled to customers

I believe that’s why many of them support UBI, as a sort of App Allowance for them to fight over and as a wage subsidy to prop up the gig economy. It’s a step forward from the Kaleckian discipline in the factories most business people want but they’ll find new ways to be brutal

Certainly new horrors will await us when we transition from a business community that feels entitled to your labor to one that feels entitled to your dollars. Imagining what could make for some interesting sci-fi.

We’re probably already seeing some of it. You basically *have* to buy a laptop for work. And now legally you have to buy health insurance, but there’s not enough pressure on the insurance companies to actually give you anything in return for hundreds of dollars a month.

So probably what we’ll get is what we were moving towards at the end of the Obama years: persistent monetary stimulus by low interest rates to maintain near full-employment, but an increasing number of rent-seekers who are entitled to every last dime you make.

But this is also probably inherent in explosion of private debt as a means of fueling economy growth, so perhaps it really started at banks with the credit card. @tragicbios probably has better thoughts on transition from discipline in the factories to private taxation everywhere

What is most fascinating to me is “discipline in the factories” and reactionary Keynesian stimulus as Consumption Allowance is that they divide the business people, because if you believe that the Businesses Must Have Customers, it’s hard to do that without deceasing DITF a bit