Facing AI-driven job change, Pope proposes payroll-tax loans to finance retraining

Responding to an audience question about artificial intelligence, Chris Pope warned that widespread automation could reduce labor income and erode payroll-tax bases that finance entitlements, increasing pressure on unemployment programs.

As a response he proposed a payroll-tax borrowing mechanism that would let recently contributing workers draw on prior payroll-tax contributions to finance retraining and bridge short-term income loss. "One of the recommendations I have in the book is essentially that since most workers have recently contributed payroll taxes, that you should be able to borrow from your past payroll tax contributions to basically put yourself, to reskill or to reorient yourself onto a new job," Pope said. He argued this could reduce moral hazard by requiring repayment when workers regain employment.