Marketplace Tech What if the AI boom never turns a profit?
10 snips
Sep 3, 2026 
David Brancaccio, Marketplace’s senior correspondent for Future Effects, investigates what the AI boom could mean for jobs, tax revenue and economic stability. Drawing lessons from Akron’s vanished tire industry, he explores AI’s challenge to labor-based taxes, proposals for taxing AI systems and corporate profits, and the uncertainty surrounding public investment funds.
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How Radial Tires Devastated Akron
- Akron’s tire industry collapsed after radial tires outperformed local bias-ply production.
- The innovation destroyed union jobs and the city’s industrial identity despite representing technological progress.
A Factory Closure Drained Local Tax Revenue
- A 1980 Barberton plant closure forced hiring freezes and reduced local income-tax revenue.
- The Cyberling Tire and Rubber Company shutdown cost the city about $300,000 in tax receipts.
AI Could Break A Labor-Based Tax System
- AI could repeat Akron’s disruption nationally by reducing employment and the income-tax base.
- Lower incomes may also reduce consumer spending, creating broader recessionary pressure.
