Congressional Candidate Proposes AI Dividend to Pay Americans Facing Job Displacement

New York Lawmaker Targets AI Job Displacement with Direct Payment Program

New York assemblymember Alex Bores, a Democrat running for a House seat in the 2026 midterm elections, has introduced an AI Dividend plan that would provide direct payments to Americans whose jobs are displaced by artificial intelligence1

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. The proposal, shared exclusively with Axios, positions the AI Dividend as "an insurance policy" rather than a punishment for innovation2

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. Bores announced the policy on Monday, framing it as a way to ensure Americans have "a direct stake in the wealth generated by AI" while giving workers room to adapt, learn new skills, or care for family during economic transitions1

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The timing reflects growing anxiety about AI's impact on employment. Over the past year, companies across industries have frozen hiring or downsized teams while citing productivity gains from AI, creating what some describe as a PR crisis for the technology1

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. A recent Goldman Sachs report found that AI adoption has resulted in the loss of about 16,000 jobs per month over the past year4

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. The Irish government reported declining employment for young workers in industries with high exposure to AI, while a Stanford study linked corporate AI initiatives to a particularly bad job market for young graduates1

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How the AI Dividend Plan Would Work

The AI dividend plan would activate when the government determines that AI has begun to "meaningfully" displace workers1

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. According to the policy framework, triggers for payments include sustained declines in labor force participation, wage compression in affected sectors, or rapid increases in AI-driven productivity without corresponding job growth3

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. "At its core, the AI Dividend is simple: if AI dramatically increases productivity and concentrates wealth, the American people have a stake in those gains," the policy memo reads2

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Beyond direct payments to Americans, the program would invest in workforce training and education, as well as government capacity to govern AI safely and fund independent oversight2

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. However, the framework does not specify how much each American would receive or the frequency of payments3

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Funding Through Tax on AI Consumption and Equity Stakes in AI Firms

The proposed AI Dividend would be funded through multiple mechanisms, including a tax on AI consumption measured in tokens, equity stakes in AI firms, and comprehensive tax code reform4

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. The token tax is described as "a modest tax" tied to the amount of AI usage1

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. The federal government could also take equity participation in frontier AI firms, potentially purchasing shares if their value rises significantly3

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"If AI can substitute for labor rather than complement it, then our tax code is actively subsidizing job elimination," Bores' memo argues1

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. The proposal suggests that taxing AI, which is growing, rather than wages, which are shrinking, represents sound fiscal management. This approach to AI wealth sharing aims to reduce incentives to invest in AI when it leads to less work2

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Political Battle Over AI Regulation and Economic Policy

Alex Bores, who co-sponsored New York's landmark RAISE Act for AI safety legislation, has made AI regulation a central campaign platform1

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. This stance has made him a target of pro-AI and anti-regulation super PACs, particularly "Leading The Future," backed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI president Greg Brockman, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, and Perplexity1

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. These AI super PACs have ramped up spending against his campaign as he leans into voter anxiety over AI's impact on jobs2

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The proposal echoes warnings from AI CEOs themselves about job losses. CEOs including Sam Altman of OpenAI, Dario Amodei of Anthropic, and Elon Musk have warned that AI could eliminate large numbers of jobs3

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. Even Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang cautioned executives to change how they frame AI's impact on the labor market1

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. "If [AI companies] can support this plan, that would show that they actually believe in what they're putting out there," Bores told Axios2

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Why Timing Matters for AI Wealth Sharing

Bores argues that the window for policy solutions will close once mass job displacement and concentrated wealth occur. "The AI Dividend is only possible if we act now," the framework states3

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. The memo suggests that demanding stakes in companies after they have already captured value is far harder than building structures today while the technology is still taking shape. "You don't take out fire insurance because you expect your house to burn down -- you have insurance in case something goes awry," Bores explained2

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While Morgan Stanley released a report noting that AI's impact on the labor market has been "modest so far," the firm acknowledged that AI could defy historical precedent where new technology expands employment over time4

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. High-profile tech giants including Amazon, Meta, Intel, and Microsoft have either laid off thousands of workers or planned to, citing efficiencies created by automation4

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. With the 2026 midterms approaching, voters will actively decide what the future of AI regulation and adoption in the U.S. looks like, as candidates make the technology's economic impact a core campaign issue1

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