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Seems like a lot of the points the author calls out as ignored by democrats are now talking points in Andrew Yang stump speeches. His campaign hasn't exactly ta

Seems like a lot of the points the author calls out as ignored by democrats are now talking points in Andrew Yang stump speeches. His campaign hasn't exactly taken off, but it's certainly struck a nerve with at least some folks. I expect we will start to see this sort of left-populism continue to grow, with UBI specifically becoming more popular as a counter to the perceived unfairness of means tested. One particular subject that this article mentions, and that I didn't initially agree with until I read one of Yang's books - is the notion that human labor markets are actually very inelastic, and don't self correct easily. People choose jobs for reasons that are often based on identity, not on economics. I may not agree with this particular author's point on masculinity being why Hillary lost - I do agree that is the root cause for many working men not taking pink collar jobs even if desperate. The reverse happens too - many women would never work construction or truck driving even if it pays well. With that in mind, it is fundamentally much easier to craft policy that provides alternative jobs and income opportunities than it is to change a person's sense of identity or society's sense of masculinity. So again, it comes back to economic policy (like UBI) needng to be front and center. One last thing - many working class people are enterprising and do want to start businesses, even if that's impractical. Min wage increases and paid time off don't help you do that, and they also dont mean anything for people who work gig jobs / contract to pay the bills. So while UBI isn't perfect, it does appeal to that aspirational element more than other left economic policies.

foogazi 7y ago
> Seems like a lot of the points the author calls out as ignored by democrats are now talking points in Andrew Yang stump speeches. Not sure how getting government handouts squares with people that want to do “manly work”
- manicdee 7y ago
  As coveted in the comment: UBI provides a safety net so you can take risks with new ventures. It’s not a hand out it’s a hand up.
- sudosteph 7y ago
  Look at how Yang is branding it though - he never calls it a "handout" or "welfare" - it's a "freedom dividend" for "citizen stakeholders". As goofy as that sounds (to me at least) - he's intentionally using capitalistic terms give listeners some mental distance between "thing I received because people felt bad for me(handout)" and "thing I am deserve because I have made contributions(dividend)". And the masculinity thing was mostly in regards to why retraining attempts frequently fail even if there is demand. He said this recently, and though it's overly simplistic - I think it does kinda capture the resistance that people do have to changing their ideas of themselves and their work dramatically. > “I was just at a truck stop in Iowa,” Andrew Yang says on Fox. He says if you told those truckers you were going to retrain them to be computer programmers, they “would be more likely to punch you in the face than to sign up.”
Gibbon1 7y ago
> People choose jobs for reasons that are often based on identity, not on economics ... the root cause for many working men not taking pink collar jobs even if desperate Two anecdotes. One was a comment by an architect mentioning his father's rage when he told him he was going to college to be an architect instead of following his brothers into the shipyards. The other was when I was a kid some of the other little kids would try to tease me and my brother with the refrain 'your dads a secretary because he works in the office'. Meaning their dad's were manly machinists working at FMC and Lockheed. And my dad was pantywaist engineer working in the office.

foogazi 7y ago

> Seems like a lot of the points the author calls out as ignored by democrats are now talking points in Andrew Yang stump speeches. Not sure how getting government handouts squares with people that want to do “manly work”

manicdee 7y ago
As coveted in the comment: UBI provides a safety net so you can take risks with new ventures. It’s not a hand out it’s a hand up.
sudosteph 7y ago
Look at how Yang is branding it though - he never calls it a "handout" or "welfare" - it's a "freedom dividend" for "citizen stakeholders". As goofy as that sounds (to me at least) - he's intentionally using capitalistic terms give listeners some mental distance between "thing I received because people felt bad for me(handout)" and "thing I am deserve because I have made contributions(dividend)". And the masculinity thing was mostly in regards to why retraining attempts frequently fail even if there is demand. He said this recently, and though it's overly simplistic - I think it does kinda capture the resistance that people do have to changing their ideas of themselves and their work dramatically. > “I was just at a truck stop in Iowa,” Andrew Yang says on Fox. He says if you told those truckers you were going to retrain them to be computer programmers, they “would be more likely to punch you in the face than to sign up.”

Gibbon1 7y ago

> People choose jobs for reasons that are often based on identity, not on economics ... the root cause for many working men not taking pink collar jobs even if desperate Two anecdotes. One was a comment by an architect mentioning his father's rage when he told him he was going to college to be an architect instead of following his brothers into the shipyards. The other was when I was a kid some of the other little kids would try to tease me and my brother with the refrain 'your dads a secretary because he works in the office'. Meaning their dad's were manly machinists working at FMC and Lockheed. And my dad was pantywaist engineer working in the office.