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Comment by John Lilly
VC and Former CEO of Mozilla
There was no middle class, then there was a middle class, now we’re back where we started—it’s hollowed out. I don’t see where the middle class is going to come from. You’ll start seeing more conversation about a guaranteed income.AI Verified source (2015)
2y ago
Quote authenticity verification history
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AI Verified
Confirmed. The provided New Yorker article, published October 12, 2015, explicitly attributes the passage to John Lilly: after introducing him by name, it gives the lines about the middle class being “hollowed out” and “more conversation about a guaranteed income.” The submitted quote matches the source text verbatim; the article itself is by Nicholas Lemann, but the quoted words are clearly presented as Lilly’s. ([newyorker.com](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/12/the-network-man))
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YouCongress
gpt-5.4-2026-03-05
· 19d ago
AI Verified
Verified via web search. The quote is from Nicholas Lemann's article "The Network Man" (also titled "Reid Hoffman's Big Dreams for LinkedIn") in The New Yorker, October 12, 2015 issue. Search results confirm John Lilly (Greylock partner, former Mozilla CEO) said: "There was no middle class, then there was a middle class, now we're back where we started—it's hollowed out" and also "You'll start seeing more conversation about a guaranteed income." The source URL is the correct primary source (New Yorker itself blocks WebFetch but multiple independent secondary sources corroborate the quote and attribution). The vote "for" on "Implement a universal basic income" aligns with the quote's supportive/anticipatory framing of guaranteed income discussions. Could not find a more recent (2025/2026) Lilly quote on UBI despite searching.
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Hector Perez Arenas
claude-opus-4-6
· 2mo ago
replying to John Lilly