My libertarian Internet friend Will Wilkinson has a post that deserves some comment. He claims the U.S. welfare state’s benefits go disproportionately to old white Republicans. I suggest some over-simplification here. I’ll note as a preamble that Will’s roost – … Continue reading
My friend Matt Bruenig does consistently great stuff, but I have to object to his recent critique of the idea of a Job Guarantee (often called the government as an Employer of Last Resort, or ‘ELR’). I want to walk … Continue reading
A couple of days ago I endured an unedifying Twitter war with a posse of Hillary Clinton supporters, led by Salon.Com editor Joan Walsh. This should be surprising since my followers are very few in number by Twitter standards — less than … Continue reading
I have to start by saying I fully expect Hillary Clinton (HRC) to win the Democratic nomination for president in 2016, and when she runs, I fully expect to vote for her. In spite of this, I would bet cash … Continue reading
Somebody’s poking their stick into my cage again. Again with the UBI? Really?? Today it’s Matt Bruenig at Demos. Matt & Demos do good work. I’ll probably talk about it some time. Meanwhile, Matt suggests that social insurance needs its own … Continue reading
Trigger warning: going into full Grinch mode! Why is there poverty? The Occupy movement pointed to the illegitimate appropriation of wealth by “the 1%.” I am looking in vain for a glimmer of that understanding in the Global Citizens Movement. … Continue reading
“I am looking for a sound means which I can recommend to provide at once security against several of the great disturbing factors in life–especially those which relate to unemployment and old age. I believe there should be a maximum … Continue reading
We speak but we also listen. Responses to commenters, in reverse order (most recent threads first) Sandwichman: Sure a UBI on the receiving side, without disturbing anything else, is an unalloyed good. But there is more to it than that. … Continue reading
Commenters point me to some illuminating work on the UBI by Ed Dolan (‘ED’). The chief burden of the UBI for some is the potentially harmful effect on work incentives. I do not share this misgiving myself. As a matter … Continue reading
My friends at Vox keep banging away for the so-called Universal Basic Income, or “UBI”, so I have to keep banging back. There have also been substantive comments here. I will try to respond to them, but it might be … Continue reading
