Double arrows pointing left. Single arrow pointing left.
A single die.
Single arrow pointing right. Double arrows pointing right.
A six panel grayscale comic featuring a man in a suit (Adam) giving a presentation in front of projected slides. Panel 1. The current slide shows a happy family of 4 with money raining down on them. Adam: Capitalism has a problem. Every company wants to service a thriving middle class with lots of disposable income. Panel 2. The slide now shows a man and woman in filthy, torn clothing looking sad. Adam: But every company also wants to employ an exploited underclass that they can treat worse than medieval serfs. Panel 3. The slide now shows the words "AI + Robots". Adam: The solution: AI and robots! Every company can own its work force and the underclass can join the middle class. Panel 4. A man with long hair, a beard, an glasses (Programmer) enters from panel right. Programmer: If the machines do all the work, how does the middle class get disposable income? Adam: A Universal Basic Income program of course. Panel 5. Close up on Programmer. Programmer: You understand that money has to come from somewhere right? No matter how you gut it, to maintain a consumer class the money they spend has to find its way back to them. You still have to fund a customer base. You've just traded wages for taxes. Panel 6. Cut back out to the full view. Adam, cheerily: But taxes are easier to dodge than wages. Programmer: There it is.
A six panel grayscale comic featuring a man in a suit (Adam) giving a presentation in front of projected slides. Panel 1. The current slide shows a happy family of 4 with money raining down on them. Adam: Capitalism has a problem. Every company wants to service a thriving middle class with lots of disposable income. Panel 2. The slide now shows a man and woman in filthy, torn clothing looking sad. Adam: But every company also wants to employ an exploited underclass that they can treat worse than medieval serfs. Panel 3. The slide now shows the words "AI + Robots". Adam: The solution: AI and robots! Every company can own its work force and the underclass can join the middle class. Panel 4. A man with long hair, a beard, an glasses (Programmer) enters from panel right. Programmer: If the machines do all the work, how does the middle class get disposable income? Adam: A Universal Basic Income program of course. Panel 5. Close up on Programmer. Programmer: You understand that money has to come from somewhere right? No matter how you gut it, to maintain a consumer class the money they spend has to find its way back to them. You still have to fund a customer base. You've just traded wages for taxes. Panel 6. Cut back out to the full view. Adam, cheerily: But taxes are easier to dodge than wages. Programmer: There it is. Panel 2 Panel 3 Panel 4 Panel 5 Panel 6
Double arrows pointing left. Single arrow pointing left.
A single die.
Single arrow pointing right. Double arrows pointing right.
August 11, 2026
121 - The Flow of Capital