4 ms·
I read the article. The problem with any US government plan is the lack of sound policies. After you start with policy goals, then you can look at UBI, high-d
by redis_mlc 7y ago
I read the article.
The problem with any US government plan is the lack of sound policies.
After you start with policy goals, then you can look at UBI, high-density housing, service industry staffing in the Bay Area, infrastructure maintenance, etc. together.
Having said that, the most visible problems with UBI that should be addressed (in policy. see above.) are:
1) Would it further inflate rental prices?
2) Is voting for free money the fatal flaw in democracy that this unattributed quote says, "When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
Modern Greece is an economic cripple from public sector benefits for example, as are all US cities. What happens when you expand that to the population at large?
3) In this proposal, what would be the effect on the industries taxed? Would people shop out of state? Would they avoid online merchants? etc.
The political issue is that any party that promotes UBI will be accused of pandering to their base by the other party. And it's an effective argument in the absence of, again, policy.
I would go so far as to say this. The most patriotic thing that Bay Area residents could do is to finance Yang or Sanders to create a PAC to design and promote logical government fiscal policy for 10-20 years, then become the third political party for elections.
- bogidon 7y agoOn point 2) my unchecked intuition says this: US cities are forced to provide services more than non-urban communities* because their needy are more visible. Because they provide services, they attract more people needing them. My guess is that $1000/month (which as you say is like the state providing services to everyone living in it regardless of where they live), would increase the mobility of low-income recipients, allowing them to spend their money on cheaper housing away from expensive urban centers. In other words, it might alleviate some of the pressure on cities. *rural homelessness exists in the US too, I don't think it's as prevalent though
- um_ya 7y agoWouldn't it be great if California implemented some laws contingent on the funds coming from current waste and abuse? For instance, "UBI must be funded by reducing current waste and abuse in California". If Democrats wanted to implement UBI, they would have to work for it, by solving real spending problems, rather than draining the taxpayer further.
- geofft 7y agoHow do you define waste and abuse?
- cheez 7y agoThings I don't agree with of course!
- stretchwithme 7y agoOh, there is none. Government is as pure as the driven snow here.
- bluejekyll 7y ago> Modern Greece is an economic cripple from public sector benefits for example, as are all US cities. What do you mean by this statement in regards to US cities? the Cities in the US are generally our economic growth centers, and represent a substantial amount of economic vitality. Comparing them to modern Greece is really bizarre.
- nradov 7y agoMany US city governments are in financially precarious situations due to underfunded pension obligations. If pension plan investment returns come in even slightly below projections then those cities will be forced to file bankruptcy.