UBI, the Unknown Ideal
A new book on universal basic income argues for us to "give people money." Sounds good. But a lot of old questions about how to do it are still left unanswered.
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The UBI Bait and Switch
Finland’s UBI experiment serves as a cautionary tale for basic income proponents on the Left.
The Wrong Kind of UBI
Without the right design, a universal basic income would do little to advance radical change.
UBI Already Exists, We Just Need to Redistribute It
Capital's share is more than enough money to finance a universal basic income.
The Success of Pandemic Income Support Does Not Mean That Universal Basic Income Works
In Canada, the results of pandemic income support seem to confirm the claims of universal basic income advocates. But to make UBI work, we need to ensure it's coupled with a massive expansion of welfare state policies.
The Gray Lady and the UBI
The New York Times is wrong — the Finnish public hasn't turned against the jobless.
Post-Work Socialism Is a Tempting Illusion
Even if we were to free ourselves from the capitalist work ethic and provide everyone with a universal basic income, our society would still require some amount of socially necessary labor. Socialists should strive to reimagine work, not eliminate it.
The Rich Already Have a UBI
10 percent of all national income is paid out to the 1 percent as capital income. Why not give it to all as a universal basic income?
A Guaranteed Income Can Increase Workers’ Bargaining Power
Basic income schemes are no silver bullet to make up for the loss of well-paid union jobs. But they can allow workers say no to the most thankless, low-wage work — and provide a platform from which to rebuild our bargaining power.
The Case Against a Basic Income
A universal basic income would shore up the market. We need ideas that shrink it.
How Universal Basic Income Became the Pessimist’s Utopia
In Welfare for Markets, Anton Jäger and Daniel Zamora show that cash transfers emerged as an alternative to the welfare state favored by a left that had abandoned hope in socialism and a right hostile to democratic management of the economy.
Andrew Yang Is Ross Perot for Millennials
Andrew Yang likes to present himself as a serious policy thinker. But he's just the latest corporate salesman pitching a quack remedy to suffering people.
Pay Andrew Yang $1,000 a Month to Get Out of the Presidential Race
Andrew Yang correctly identifies some of the major problems of American capitalism today. But his solutions span from misguided to deranged.
Mitt Romney’s $1,000 Isn’t Our Universal Basic Income
The “UBI” ideas being thrown around as a response to the coronavirus are, in many cases, neither universal, basic, nor an income. But they do show how much the Left has shifted what’s considered possible over the past decade.
Why We Need a Federal Job Guarantee
Giving everyone a job is the best way to democratize the economy and give workers leverage in the workplace.
A Basic Income Is a Lifeline in This Crisis — But Can’t Solve Everything
With millions of people put out of work, analysts across the political spectrum have proclaimed that the time has come for an Unconditional Basic Income. But this safety net won’t be enough unless we take on the biggest problem we face — an economic model based on high rents and high personal debts.
Andrew Yang and the Failson Mystique
America has already witnessed the largest UBI experiment known to history — the postwar middle-class housewife. And she was utterly miserable.
Politics Is Not Arithmetic
UBI advocates have a habit of mistaking politics for arithmetic. Proving that a policy is mathematically possible isn’t enough — and it can distract from more compelling left priorities.
The Welfare State and Social Wealth Funds
The social dividend provided by a social wealth fund is not about unemployment or welfare at all. It is a socialist answer to the question of what to do about capital’s share of the national income.
The Right to a Dignified Life
People across the political spectrum support a universal basic income. Socialists must make the anticapitalist case for it.