Monday, August 5, 2019

UBI

Steve Randy Waldman has formulated an original, and convincing to me, argument in favor of Universal Basic Income.

I weakly favor a UBI, weakly because it's a lower priority than all the following things:

Green New Deal...completely replacing fossil fuels within 20 years if we are to survive at all

Medicare for All...$1k per month won't pay your heart surgery

Free College Tuition...we must educate and enable the youth, not debt strap them, and we must forgive outstanding College Tuition debt

Jobs Guarantee...often part of Green New Deal anyway, and it is essential.

Social Security continuation and enhancement with earlier retirement ages and not as much early retirement penalty*

After all that, UBI is grand too.  But I wouldn't give up any one of the prior for the UBI.  It's a lower priority.

It's still a great idea, and we could pay for ALL of the above with higher taxes on the high incomes, tax on speculation, augmentation of the estate tax for estates over $100M, and better corporate taxes, and also ending useless global imperialism and militarism, all of which would also be good ideas in themselves.

(*There is already a very good plan to improve benefits and end the social security trust fund depletion and solidify the system for 75 years with a tiny increase in payments and in the payment cap.  The trust fund issue has endlessly been exaggerated for political purposes.  Only tiny changes are needed to keep it independently financed by its own small tax on wages rather than a line item in the general budget like defense, which could also work too or in combination.  Social Security is one of the best things about being a US citizen.  Medicare-for-all could be the next thing of that same magnitude.)




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