Mark Cuban Has a Plan to Fix Social Security - And It's Not What You'd Expect - FinanceBuzz

What the report says

FinanceBuzz reported that entrepreneur Mark Cuban has floated an unusual way to help Social Security cope with potential revenue losses from automation: a small federal tax on AI tokens. According to the article, Cuban has suggested a levy of less than 50 cents per million tokens, which he says could initially generate about $10 billion a year and grow as artificial intelligence is used more widely in the economy.

The proposal is framed against Social Security’s long-running financing problem. FinanceBuzz noted that the program depends heavily on payroll taxes, while the number of workers supporting each beneficiary has fallen over time. The article cited the Bipartisan Policy Center’s figures showing the worker-to-beneficiary ratio declining from more than 5-to-1 in 1960 to 2.9-to-1 today, with a projected drop to 2.2-to-1 by the 2070s. It also said the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund’s depletion could lead to a 22% benefit cut under current projections.

FinanceBuzz said Cuban’s idea has drawn skepticism, including from Anduril founder Palmer Luckey, who warned that such a tax could raise costs for U.S. companies and weaken their position against foreign competitors. The article also noted practical questions about how the government would track AI usage and fund the needed infrastructure.

The report placed Cuban’s proposal among broader options Congress could consider, such as raising payroll taxes, lifting the taxable wage cap, or increasing the full retirement age. FinanceBuzz emphasized that the projected 75-year Social Security shortfall is far larger than Cuban’s estimated revenue, but said the concept could still be part of the policy debate.