$1,000 monthly in universal basic income gets put to a test

[Recursion]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/presidential-candidate-andrew-yang-tests-universal-basic-income/

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is putting his money where his mouth is: He's giving families $1,000 a month to promote his proposal for a universal basic income -- a recurring, government-funded stipend for all American adults with no strings attached.

The 44-year-old New York City entrepreneur turned presidential hopeful will distribute $1,000 of his personal fortune to one family in Iowa and one in New Hampshire -- the first two states on the presidential caucus and primary calendar -- every month this year to prove the efficacy of his so-called Freedom Dividend.

"This would enable all Americans to pay their bills, educate themselves, start businesses, be more creative, stay healthy, relocate for work, spend time with their children, take care of loved ones, and have a real stake in the future," Yang says on his campaign website.

A handful of countries including India, Canada, and most recently, Finland, have experimented with versions of a universal basic income (UBI), which some studies show help boost an economy and allow workers to find better jobs. Preliminary results from Finland's nationwide test show that it did not lead to gains in employment, but did improve beneficiaries' health and well being.

[Dennis Donovan]

1. Rec'd for further investigation...

[Codeine]

2. I think UBI is an historic inevitably,

but that it may unfortunately prove a long time coming.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

7. needs more robots

When enough people are displaced from jobs by AI and robotics, UBI will be demanded.

[loyalsister]

3. Alaska has it

I'd love to see that get some attention. Even better would be for Sarah Palin to get unwanted credit for taking on a leadership role in a state that commits the ultimate socialist sin.

[Xolodno]

4. It will only work when...

Population > Jobs

But I could argue we need population control or colonize other planets before that happens.

[Blue_true]

8. Curious.

Why do you think that we have a right to colonize other planets? BTW, there are no other inhabitable planets in our solar system. Venus and Mars are in the inhabitable zone with Earth, but Venus has an atmosphere that is basically boiling sulfuric acid and Mars does not have a terrestrial magnetic field that is strong enough to keep solar winds from sweeping away it's atmosphere constantly.

Even if we got to a planet in another star system, what gives us the right to colonize it?

[Xolodno]

13. That's a whole new argument.

I'm just pointing out realities. Obviously the Moon and Mars are really the only places we have a chance of colonizing. And given no terrestrial life, we're not intruding. And Mars, we actually have a chance of Terra Forming.

But by some miracle chance of technology and we are able to "jump" to another planet in another solar system in short time, yeah, I would have a problem of colonizing a planet where life exists.

[Blue_true]

14. I should have been clearer.

Life would have to exist on the planet. So, it looks like we basically agree.

[FM123]

5. Yes! Stockton, CA starts this month and Chicago is getting ready too....

"In Chicago, the recently formed Chicago Resilient Families Task Force is recommending a trial to give 1,000 selected participants a $1,000 payment every month for a year and a half. In all, the pilot would cost $1 million a month or $18 million, in all.

Nationwide, other cities have been experimenting with the idea of guaranteed or universal basic income for its residents, and Chicago’s task force looked to leadership in places like Ontario, Canada; Jackson, Mississippi; and Stockton, California to form its own pilot. The Stockton pilot may be of keen interest since it’s set to kick off this month. Starting Feb. 15, 100 Stockton residents will receive $500 payments every month for 18 months."

https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/universal-basic-income-pilot-in-chicago-takes-cues-from-california/b6a2f34c-ab1b-49bc-af95-fc54b5c37251

[fescuerescue]

6. Just two families?

They won't prove anything. It'll just be anecdotal evidence that an extra $1000 is nice to have.

The idea of UBI is that it changes society and the economy in positive ways. Tossing out an extra $24k in total to the nation isn't going to do that.

[Recursion]

11. Case studies are useful

They're different from cohort studies, but they are definitely useful.

[Takket]

9. the math

$1000 a month x 12 months per year x 350,000,000 people = 4.2 trillion

Nope.

and if you make that investment inflation is eventually just going to cancel it out.

Want to help people? Cut middle class taxes, tax the rich, equal pay for equal work, criminal justice reform, provide affordable healthcare and education. Provide people from all income ranges the means to be healthy and educated.

[Recursion]

12. 15% VAT gets you $4T

Which, not surprisingly, is how he's suggesting to pay for it

[Volaris]

10. I would donate a third of it to a national high-speed rail fund.

Because the ability to get from Chicago to say, Denver in a few hours on the ground, and for cheap, would do a lot to move people, jobs and careers, and money around as well.