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There’s a lot of policy changes that could be done to press the Accelerator pedal on the economy. Let in 10 million new immigrants. Eminent domain a hyper loo
by beamatronic 7y ago
There’s a lot of policy changes that could be done to press the Accelerator pedal on the economy. Let in 10 million new immigrants. Eminent domain a hyper loop from New York to LA. Rollback building restrictions in the bay area.
- Scoundreller 7y agoDon’t forget giving money to poor people. Just think of the wage growth and increased recreation if anyone could say “screw it” to bad employers and still have a roof over their head. Give people a year off for parental leave, then young people get a 1yr placement in increasingly senior positions.
- frockington1 7y agoDon't we already heavily subsidize poverty via welfare programs? I don't see how throwing even more money at a problem would have a different outcome.
- Apocryphon 7y agohttps://www.fastcompany.com/3049642/how-to-fight-poverty-its-simple-give-cash-to-poor-people https://www.fastcompany.com/3049642/how-to-fight-poverty-its...
- frockington1 7y agoInteresting article, thanks for the link. Would you be in favor of scrapping all social programs and instead and replacing them with something similar to a negative income tax? It seems reducing regulatory burden and possible points of corruption could really help those in need
- semi-extrinsic 7y agoIf "we" == "USA", then no you don't "heavily subsidise poverty". As for empirical evidence that "throwing more money" at it gives an improved outcome, you can look at basically any country in Western or Northern Europe.
- frockington1 7y agoI did some quick research by googling poverty rate in {country} USA: 12.3% Spain: 12.1% France: 14.1% Norway: 0.2% Germany: 15.7% Besides Norway, they all seem relatively consistent. I initially thought this might be due to their oil reserves but it seems oil rich US states are still in the 11-12% range
- charwalker 7y agoOf those, Norway probably has the strongest social programs. It also has the lowest population by a lot.
- semi-extrinsic 7y agoPoverty rates are almost by definition useless metrics to compare by here, because they are computed from the gross income distribution. Poverty aid programmes are almost all focused on reducing the cost of living for poor people, which has literally zero effect on poverty rates. Subsidized housing/childcare/healthcare, food stamps, progressive taxation, you name it, they all leave gross income unaffected yet give a large increase in quality of life and discretionary income.
- ianai 7y agoNot only that, but removing all of the artificial tariffs. Normalizing trade to where it was before trump would have serious upside and his successor will likely do it day 1. Legalize weed at the federal level and even more upside. Etc. what that president won’t have is a Fed with any ability to lower rates as by then they will be 0.
- frockington1 7y ago'China is bad' is a bipartisan stance now. I doubt any successor will back down. Warren wants to go even further with cutting ties to China, haven't heard much from the rest of the pack (admittedly, I don't pay attention too much at this stage)
- ianai 7y agoChina is definitely bad. I have been furious with how they steal and abuse international laws for well over a decade now. But their blockages on soy and other American exports are a large factor in the US subsidies for farmers. I’d rather those farmers be able to make a living without subsidies. The sad fact though is those markets have moved onto other sources now and regularizing trade might do nothing for them. That’s the legacy of trump.
- yowlingcat 7y agoBoy, if only that were the exact campaign of a specific 2020 tech branded candidate. I'd be on board in a heartbeat.