AI Is About to Eat Your Job (w/ Alanna McCargo)

In this episode of The Bulwark, host Jon Ablon speaks with Alanna McCargo, senior fellow at the Clinton Foundation for Inclusive Capitalism, about the urgent need to restructure capitalism to address rising income inequality and the disruptive impact of AI on jobs. McCargo argues that employee profit sharing and broader ownership models—such as ESOPs, worker cooperatives, and private equity-driven ownership programs—are not just moral imperatives but proven economic strategies that align labor and capital incentives. Drawing on historical precedents like George Washington’s early advocacy for profit sharing and modern examples like Publix and KKR’s employee equity initiatives, she emphasizes that ownership culture transforms worker productivity, company resilience, and long-term wealth building. The discussion highlights the 'silver tsunami'—the wave of retiring business owners creating unprecedented opportunities for employee buyouts—and calls for policy innovation to scale these models across industries, especially in gig and low-wage sectors. While private sector leadership is emerging, McCargo stresses the critical role of government in creating incentives through tax policy and regulation to make inclusive capitalism the norm, not the exception.