Universal basic income has been floating around for years. Tech leaders warn that automation could destroy entire industries. Others think a guaranteed check is the simplest solution. If robots end up doing the job, humans will still need a way to pay their mortgages.
But how big does this check have to be?
In a 2024 episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” host Joe Rogan A big number was thrown out. Less than $1,000 a month. This is not a modest safety net. He wonders what it would be like if every adult in America received a base salary of $200,000 a year.
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conversation with 4BiddenKnowledge Company. Founder billy carson It started as a philosophical question. If machines take over most jobs, will people still need to work to survive? Rogan said he still does what he does. Carson points to passion-driven work. Then Rogan shifted gears.
“What if the entire country had a basic wage,” he said, before asking the obvious question: What would it actually cost?
he told longtime producer Jamie Vernon Check the math. They discussed the adult population, rounded to 200 million for simplicity. Then there’s the multiplication in broadcast: $200,000 times 200 million.
Anyone who has ever tried to calculate a large number out loud knows what happens next. Zeros started piling up. Logan asked what the number was called. million? One billion? mega? They wavered between the possibilities, eventually reaching $40 billion.
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Rogen reacted quickly: “$40 billion? That’s it? It’s so reasonable.”
Since then, he has painted a picture of the lifestyle that numbers can support. On $200,000 a year, he said, “you can live in a nice house, go on vacation, eat well. For $200,000, it’s not bad at all.” People can still work if they want to. This inspection simply raises everyone to a baseline.
There’s just one problem. Math failed.
$200,000 times 200 million adults equals $40 trillion, not $40 billion. Three missing zeros turned a thought experiment into something several times larger than the entire federal budget.
