Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s interview at a Wall Street Journal forum last month is again making the rounds after LiveAction resurfaced comments the billionaire made about the declining birth rate.
Also of note, Musk during the forum, mocked the dismal job the government does at allocating capital while explaining why “it does not make sense” to excessively tax billionaires.
“It does not make sense to take the job of capital allocation away from people who have demonstrated great skill in capital allocation, and give it to an entity that has demonstrated very poor skill in capital allocation, which is the government,” Musk said.
Notably, laughter was heard from the audience of CEOs at the forum when Musk made the remark.
“You can think of the government, essentially, as a corporation in the limit,” the tech billionaire continued. “The government is simply the biggest corporation, with the monopoly on violence, and where you have no recourse. So, how much money do you want to give that entity?”
Asked to explain further, Musk replied, “Government is a corporation in the limit, so, it is the most corporate thing; it is the maximum corporation. But it’s also a monopoly. Also, it’s the only one allowed legally to do violence.”
“So, why would you want to give a corporation with no competition, that can’t even really go bankrupt, more money?” he questioned.
Musk went on to emphasize that he is not an “extreme libertarian” and that he believes there is a role the government should play: that of a “referee,” and “not a player.”
He also noted that he thinks the estate tax — also known as the death tax — is generally “good.”
As highlighted by The Daily Wire, Musk also spoke about the birth rate at the forum, taking a position opposite leading “smart people.”
“I can’t emphasize this enough, there are not enough people,” he said. “And I think one of the biggest risks to civilization is the low birth rate and the rapidly declining birth rate. And yet, so many people, including smart people, think that there are too many people in the world and think that the population is growing out of control.”
“It’s completely the opposite,” Musk asserted. “Please look at the numbers. If people don’t have more children, civilization is going to crumble. Mark my words.”
Notably, Musk recently publicly fired back at Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA) when she accused the entrepreneur of “freeloading.” The Daily Wire reported:
“Let’s change the rigged tax code so The Person of the Year will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else,” tweeted Warren in response to the announcement that Musk is Time’s Person of the Year.
“And if you opened your eyes for 2 seconds, you would realize I will pay more taxes than any American in history this year,” responded Musk.
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Related: ‘Mark My Words’: Elon Musk Bucks Leading ‘Smart People’ With Warning About Birth Rate
Related: Elon Musk: ‘Government Is Simply The Biggest Corporation, With The Monopoly On Violence’