A Palantir Spy Turned Politician Wants to Tax AI and Mail You a Check
A Palantir Spy Turned Politician Wants to Tax AI and Mail You a CheckA guy who literally helped build surveillance software at Palantir is now running for Congress — and his pitch is: “If AI takes your job, the government should send you money.” The AI industry is spending $125 million to shut him up.
$125 million — that’s what a single super PAC backed by Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI’s Greg Brockman, and Perplexity has raised to crush one New York congressional candidate. His crime? Proposing that if AI eats 50% of jobs, maybe the companies making billions should cut regular people a check.
Alex Bores, a New York assemblymember and former Palantir employee, just dropped what he calls the “AI Dividend” plan — and the reaction from Silicon Valley tells you everything about whether this idea has teeth.
🧩 Dumb Mode Dictionary
| Term | What It Actually Means |
|---|---|
| AI Dividend | Government check mailed to you because a robot took someone’s job. Like UBI (universal basic income), but only kicks in when AI actually starts firing people |
| Super PAC | A legal way for billionaires to spend unlimited money attacking politicians they don’t like, without technically “coordinating” with the opposing candidate |
| Equity Stake | The government would own a tiny piece of AI companies — like buying stock, but by law instead of on Robinhood |
| Token Tax | Every time an AI processes a request (a “token” is roughly a word), the company pays a small tax. Like a toll booth for robot brains |
| Labor Force Participation | The percentage of adults who have jobs or are looking for one. When it drops, it means people gave up trying |
| Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) | A massive VC firm (venture capital — rich people who invest in startups). They back half of Silicon Valley and absolutely do not want AI regulated |
| Palantir | A data surveillance company co-founded by Peter Thiel. They sell spy software to governments and militaries. Bores used to work there |
🔍 The Receipts — What's Actually in the Plan
The numbers tell a specific story. Here’s what Bores is proposing:
- Direct cash payments to Americans — amount not fixed yet, but triggered by measurable economic signals
- Funding source #1: A tax on AI “token usage” (every word an AI processes = pennies flowing to a fund)
- Funding source #2: The federal government takes equity stakes in frontier AI companies — basically, the public becomes a shareholder
- Funding source #3: Tax code reform so companies can’t write off “AI investments that eliminate jobs” as business expenses
- Bonus: Workforce retraining, education funding, and independent AI oversight agencies
The triggers for payments kicking in: persistent decline in labor force participation, wage drops in AI-affected sectors, and productivity going up while job numbers go down.
🎭 The Hypocrisy Question Nobody Can Dodge
But here’s the thing nobody mentions: this guy built surveillance tools at Palantir. The same company that helps governments track people, that co-founder Joe Lonsdale is now spending millions against him through the “Leading The Future” super PAC.
The PAC already dropped $1 million on ads calling Bores a hypocrite — “he helped build the machine, now he wants to tax it.”
And… they’re not entirely wrong? But the counter-argument writes itself: who better to warn you about the danger of a weapon than the guy who helped build it? The data shows former insiders-turned-critics have a pattern of being more credible, not less. Think of every tobacco industry whistleblower.
Bores frames the whole thing as insurance, not punishment: “You don’t take out fire insurance because you expect your house to burn down — you have insurance in case something goes awry.”
📊 The Numbers Behind the Fear
Why is this even on the table? The policy memo cites some specific projections:
| Stat | Number |
|---|---|
| Jobs forecasters say AI could automate | 50% of all jobs |
| Most vulnerable category | Entry-level white-collar positions |
| Super PAC money raised against Bores | $125 million+ |
| Ad spend attacking Bores so far | $1 million+ (just the opening salvo) |
| Backers of the anti-Bores PAC | Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI’s Greg Brockman, Palantir’s Joe Lonsdale, Perplexity |
Here’s what stands out: CEOs are openly saying AI will cut headcount. Not anonymous sources — actual CEO earnings calls. And yet the same companies funding those layoffs are spending nine figures to prevent any policy response.
The ratio of “$125 million to stop one guy in one district” is the real data point. That’s not what you spend on a candidate you think is harmless.
🗣️ What the Timeline's Saying
The reactions split cleanly:
Pro-dividend crowd:
- Labor advocates say it’s the first serious policy proposal that connects AI profits to displaced workers
- Bores co-sponsored New York’s RAISE Act, which already passed — so he has a legislative track record
Anti-dividend crowd:
- Tech VCs call it “innovation punishment” and say it’ll drive AI companies overseas
- The “Leading The Future” PAC frames any AI regulation as anti-progress
- Some economists argue the 50% job displacement number is inflated — real automation displacement might be 15-25% over a decade
The honest middle:
Nobody actually knows if AI will displace 50% of jobs or 5%. But the argument “let’s set up the safety net before we need it” is structurally harder to argue against than “let’s panic after millions are unemployed.”
⚙️ Why Silicon Valley Is Actually Scared
The equity stake part is what really has VCs sweating. Not the token tax — that’s pennies. The idea that the federal government could own a piece of OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google’s AI division? That changes the power dynamic entirely.
Right now, AI companies answer to their investors. If the government holds equity, it gets a seat at the table — board observer rights, financial disclosures, maybe even veto power on certain decisions.
This isn’t theoretical. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund owns pieces of thousands of companies worldwide and uses that ownership to influence corporate behavior. Bores is essentially proposing the American version, but targeted at AI specifically.
That’s why $125 million is flowing in. It’s not about one dividend check. It’s about who controls the trajectory of AI development.
Cool. So the Government Might Start Sending AI Checks… Now What the Hell Do We Do? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
📡 The Policy Tracker Play
Every state and federal district is about to face some version of the “AI dividend” debate. There are currently zero good trackers for AI labor policy proposals across all 50 states.
Build a simple database (Airtable or Notion, free tier) tracking every AI labor bill, dividend proposal, and automation tax proposal across US states and EU countries. Publish it as a free weekly email. Monetize with sponsored placements from law firms and HR tech companies who desperately need this intel.
Example: A 24-year-old policy grad in Nairobi, Kenya scrapes US state legislature websites using ParseHub (free tier), compiles AI-related bills into a tracker, and sells access to three DC lobbying firms at $200/month each within 6 weeks.
Timeline: First subscribers in 2-3 weeks. Revenue plateau at $2K-$4K/month once the niche fills up. Window is roughly 8 months before a VC-backed startup automates this.
🪟 The Retraining Arbitrage
Bores’ plan includes billions for “workforce retraining.” That money hasn’t been allocated yet — but the government always telegraphs where the spending goes before the checks clear. The pattern from past federal programs (WIOA, TAA) shows retraining money flows to whoever has approved course catalogs ready.
Start building Teachable or Thinkific course outlines NOW for “AI-Adjacent Skills” — not coding, but skills AI can’t replace: in-person client management, mechanical trades with AI-assisted diagnostics, AI-output auditing. When federal retraining vouchers drop, be the first approved vendor in your state.
Example: A 28-year-old electrician in Bucharest, Romania packages a course on “How to audit AI-generated electrical schematics” on Thinkific. When the EU’s similar AI retraining fund opens, she’s one of 12 approved course providers in her country. Revenue: €3,400/month from government-subsidized enrollments.
🎣 The Super PAC Intel Broker
$125 million in PAC money means massive ad buys. All political ad spending in the US is public record via FEC filings and AdImpact. But nobody is packaging this data specifically for AI industry insiders.
Build a Telegram channel or Substack tracking: which AI companies are funding which PACs, where the ad dollars are flowing, which candidates are getting targeted, and what positions those candidates hold on AI policy. AI startup founders, investors, and employees will pay for this because it tells them where regulation is heading before it lands.
Example: A 22-year-old poli-sci dropout in Manila, Philippines monitors FEC filings using the free OpenSecrets API, cross-references with AI company announcements, and publishes a $15/month Substack. Hits 400 subscribers in 8 weeks — mostly VC analysts and AI startup founders who need regulatory early-warning.
🕳️ The Token Tax Calculator
If a token tax passes — even a fraction of a cent per AI request — every company using AI APIs needs to calculate their new cost structure instantly. Nobody has built a “token tax cost estimator” tool yet.
Build a simple web calculator: input your monthly API spend across OpenAI/Anthropic/Google, select your state/country, and get an estimate of additional costs under various proposed tax rates. Monetize with affiliate links to AI cost-optimization tools and consultancies. The SEO window is wide open because the keyword “AI token tax” barely exists yet.
Example: A 26-year-old dev in São Paulo, Brazil builds this in a weekend using Vercel (free tier) + vanilla JavaScript. Embeds affiliate links to API monitoring tools like Helicone. Gets 30K organic visits in the first month from tech Twitter shares. Affiliate revenue: $1,800 in month one.
🎰 The Job Displacement Proof Service
If dividends require proving your job was displaced by AI, there’ll be a bureaucratic process. And bureaucratic processes always create a market for people who help you navigate them. Think TurboTax, but for “prove a robot replaced you.”
Document templates, appeal letter generators, evidence-packaging guides for workers filing AI displacement claims. Sell the templates on Gumroad for $19-$49 each. When the policy goes live, pivot to a full SaaS (software service) — but start with templates because they cost nothing to make.
Example: A 30-year-old paralegal in Lagos, Nigeria studies the EU’s existing worker displacement claim processes, adapts the paperwork templates for the proposed US version, and lists a $29 template pack on Gumroad. Sells 200 units in the first month after the bill passes committee — $5,800 from a Google Doc.
🛠️ Follow-Up Actions
| Step | What to Do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Set a Google Alert for “AI dividend” + “Alex Bores” + “token tax” — this story is developing fast |
| 2 | Bookmark the FEC donor lookup and search “Leading The Future” to track PAC spending in real-time |
| 3 | Read the full policy memo on Axios — it’s only 6 pages |
| 4 | If you’re in New York District 12, you literally vote on this in November 2026 |
| 5 | Watch for copycat bills — at least 3-4 other states will propose versions within 6 months |
Quick Hits
| Want… | Do… |
|---|---|
 Track AI regulation moves |
Set up OpenSecrets alerts for AI-related PAC spending |
| Position for retraining funds |
Build course outlines on Teachable for AI-adjacent trades NOW |
 Understand the policy |
Read the Gizmodo breakdown — cleanest summary available |
 Follow the money war |
Track the Leading The Future PAC — $125M and counting |
 Build something useful |
Token tax calculator — zero competition, massive SEO potential |
When a $125 million war chest gets deployed to silence one guy in one congressional district — that’s not politics. That’s a pricing signal telling you exactly how much this idea is worth to the people who’d have to pay.
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