I guarantee you that a US UBI implementation would come with enough costs that any benefits to the lumpen would be temporary.
Everything modern US administrators do will suck. But this generally precludes the idea of UBI on its face, since it might help someone of the wrong ethnicity or religion or region, and so become unacceptable to everyone else in the country.
Yang’s implementation would’ve destroyed the current safety net
Trump and Biden both administered a COVID-period cash payments plan to families with children and it didn't put a dent in the safety net. This isn't something we're incapable of doing or even something we're fully opposed to doing at the federal level. Its just not something we're willing to do if we think it means cutting into the size of the active labor force.
For quite some time now, Koch grifter circles have been floating talk of UBI as a reason to kill minimum wage altogether.
Sure. It was bait that was supposed to bring in a whole new generation of business friendly populists. But then it got flagged as "Too good for the wrong kind of people" and rapidly became DOA. So now the Kochs just fund guys like DeSantis and Abbott, because wars on migrants and trans people are more effective at winning elections than promises of free money.
I've seen people try to navigate the Social Security Disability Insurance system in my home state of Texas and watched the absolutely absurd reasons put forward by the courts to deny extension of those benefits to applicants. I've also seen people on Disability Benefits bulking up at the gym, because earning $40k doing nothing is way better than earning $20k doing service sector bullshit.
I don't think its a trade-off in any real sense. Folks who take UBI would simply be the ones who couldn't get access to SSDI.
Everything modern US administrators do will suck. But this generally precludes the idea of UBI on its face, since it might help someone of the wrong ethnicity or religion or region, and so become unacceptable to everyone else in the country.
Trump and Biden both administered a COVID-period cash payments plan to families with children and it didn't put a dent in the safety net. This isn't something we're incapable of doing or even something we're fully opposed to doing at the federal level. Its just not something we're willing to do if we think it means cutting into the size of the active labor force.
Sure. It was bait that was supposed to bring in a whole new generation of business friendly populists. But then it got flagged as "Too good for the wrong kind of people" and rapidly became DOA. So now the Kochs just fund guys like DeSantis and Abbott, because wars on migrants and trans people are more effective at winning elections than promises of free money.
You don't think Yang's plan of giving people the choice of UBI or disability would've harmed the disability program?
I've seen people try to navigate the Social Security Disability Insurance system in my home state of Texas and watched the absolutely absurd reasons put forward by the courts to deny extension of those benefits to applicants. I've also seen people on Disability Benefits bulking up at the gym, because earning $40k doing nothing is way better than earning $20k doing service sector bullshit.
I don't think its a trade-off in any real sense. Folks who take UBI would simply be the ones who couldn't get access to SSDI.
I'm gonna disengage now. Take care, comrade.
You too