@@zippydastrangei mean monopolising the market by copyrighting music riffs, general words, and concepts (not products)has practically killed human innovation. Its hard to make something new when 5 different companies flag you for minute things.
You think innovation will flourish when there is no ip right to protect you and any idea can immediately be pilfered by someone with pockets who can drive you out of business with larger economies of scale and margins ?
You know things are going in the wrong direction when an option for a country to LITERALLY invest in its citizens isn't widely seen as an obvious part of "the solution".
How is this an "investment"? What return are we going to get? And no, I'm not interested in vague nonsense like "a healthier citizenry" -- what, specifically, are we getting back? Answer: nothing.
@@leobigelow7021 More educated workers, lower crime, higher rates of entrepreneurship, more people able to productively participate in the economy, and no more people who are too poor to work (can't afford transportation or appropriate clothes for interviews or work, don't have an address, don't have a phone, etc). All of this leads to higher tax income and lower overall costs for social services for local, state, and federal entities. These are the effects when UBI has been implemented. There are tons of peer-reviewed studies that show this works. Check out any research database. Of course if you care so little for other people, I doubt you'll care enough to look up any of the data.
@@leobigelow7021 It's actually not complicated. Even if we did ignore all the credible aspects of society that you're referring to as "vague nonsense", the most obvious "return" we would get is the same one we expect from most investments. Money. The overwhelming majority of studies that have been done on the subject show that people have a better idea on how to spend their own money than anyone else spending it on their behalf.
It's nuts to me that we watched the Child Poverty rate get cut in half, in realtime thanks to the expansion of the child tax credit, and then decided "That's enough." and let it rise back again.
@luke5100 Shhhh. You're talking to someone who just sees "liberal" in the name and thinks it's a bad thing. Funny, considering he might be a neoliberal. He's probably the same type of person who thinks Nazis are socialist because their party was called national socialists despite the fact they first persecuted the socialists and communists as their political opponents before persecuting anyone else.
One of those experiments took place in Australia, where my stay at home mom got $29 a week. That was a good chunk of money back in the seventies and eighties. This money did allow her to save up and escape extreme domestic violence.
Those no string attached experiments have been done over and over and often they have positive results for the individuals chosen compared to the comparable programs. The Universal part has been done almost nowhere because nobody has enough money to universally give everyone money and it doesn't really help those in dire need because its not enough money.
There was a mincome experiment in Manitoba, Canada in the 70s where all citizens of a town were given basic income. The findings were incredible. More children graduated high school because they didn't have to drop out to help support the family. People refused unsafe work and there were fewer worker's comp issues. People were less stressed and hospital visits went down by 17% (huge in a country with universal healthcare). Crime and DV went down. The only group that worked less were the moms of small children. In turn, having a parent at home with them at all times made them more ready for school and their grades were better. Then a new con government was elected and they ordered the study destroyed. They didn't want "the other side" to be credited for such a success. Someone found the records decades later and published an article about it. The only people I know who oppose UBI are the "F*** you, I got mine" people. And... well.. f*** them.
Incredibly sad to see those good people’s lives improve from extreme poverty. So sad how they were so poor and couldn’t;t afford to go to school. So heart breaking that with just a little bit of extra income and they can get to avoid dangerous jobs, stay home to take care of cuildren etc…
I am a retired Army veteran and I often think about the effect of two of my benefits. 1) Guaranteed minimum income: I was in the active duty ranks for 22 1/2 years and getting about $3600 per month guaranteed is amazing. 2) Guaranteed health care coverage: We pay about $40 per month for very good health care. Now, put aside whether I earned those benefits or not. Similar arguments are made about Social Security and Medicare suggesting that their recipients are entitled to them because of their hard work. Just focus on what those two benefits do for my family's wellbeing. I can say from a personal point of view that it keeps us afloat regardless of how well employed I am. The suggestion that we have a system with guaranteed minimum income or universal health care makes people super crazy for some reason. Is it indeed impossible to provide these two things to every household in America? Why do we as Americans always have to fear other people having what we have? Because they don’t deserve it? Do we really deserve what we receive?
I'm born and bred in the tiny country of New Zealand, but have also lived many years in our friendly neighbour Australia. Both countries have a form of Universal Health Care. Visits to normal doctors is subsidised (or free for some folks. My local charges $19), and prescriptions medications cost $5 per month per item, up to a yearly maximum, then free. Treatment in normal hospitals, whether you, have a heart attack or stroke, break your arm falling out of a tree, or need treatment for cancer, will be entirely free. That includes Xrays, medicines in hospital, blood tests, and in hospital Physiotherapy. A minority of people choose to pay for Private Health Insurance (subsidised by few employers), and that may give partial payouts on cosmetic surgeries like Boob Jobs etc as well as payments towards hearing aids and spectacles. With limited budgets, there are waiting times for not immediately needed Public Hospital Treatments. (So sometimes a delay for cancer treatments to begin). There are differences between the Welfare Payment systems of both countries, but they both have, generous by some countries' measures, welfare payment and unemployment payment schemes. An Old Age Pension is payable universally upon reaching age 65 in NZ, or age 67 in Australia. (Australia's is "means tested" so folks with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of assets, excluding their main home, get a smaller Old Age pension payment). The pension is over and above any individual personal "Retirement Plan Savings" that folks may have (what in the USA might be called a "401k" or an "IRA"). . But such plans are in their infancy in NZ, having only commenced in 2007. Australia has had a Retirement Savings Plan scheme since the 1980's. The Age Pension in NZ is currently about $500 per week, for a single person (a little under double that for a couple both of pensionable age). The systems in Australia and New Zealand may not be perfect, but generally serve the population well. Universal Health Care is a large part of that equation. Yes, some taxes need to go towards paying for that healthcare. Our Petrol/Gasoline and Diesel fuel costs more than in the US, with most of that difference in price being Taxes.
Thank you for your service and I'm so glad to hear that after all that time given for our country, we are taking care of you and your family. Often, we hear about the veterans who are slipping through the cracks, or begging on tv because the govt won't pay for their care, even when they've lost limbs or complete mobility, sight, etc. It makes me so angry to see that!
@chrisb508 I'll attempt to give an answer to your closing questions: For some people, things like welfare & UBI seem like freeloading (getting something for nothing at someone else's expense). The idea being, "If I gotta work for what I want in life, then everybody else better be working too. I'm not gonna tolerate having to work to live while other people get to live without having to work or sacrifice anything." Or it's Genesis 3:19, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground..." Add to this people's prejudices to other people's race, gender, ethnic origin, religious affiliation, political leaning, etc.
1) is it possible to provide those two things to everyone in America? well, as you said, you worked to get your's. can't everyone else? sure, other nations have mandatory draft and it would be real interesting what happens to America's foriegn policy when every voter has a kid in harm's way. oh gee, i went off topic :) i do get subsidized health care, it's called Obamacare. I have to live in a blue state, where the cost of living is higher, to get that subsidy. but it costs more to live here since we do more for the poor than red states. Blue states pay more in taxes, but get fewer Federal benefits than red states (which tend to get it thru military bases and disaster relief). these states often refuse gov't help thru ACA because they want "small gummit" and so their insurance markets dry up. but that's a microcosm of the major problem--most of the social safety net nations charge twice as much in taxes to cover it. 2) why do Americans fear someone else having what we have? simple--we are damn fool enough to believe that material items are a sign of success and therefore are an end-goal. Money is really nothing more than a tool. use money to get the experiences in life that make your life better. when you do that, you answer the questoin, "how much money is enough?". that's why we fear the free-loaders--if they are keeping up with us, what do we have left to shine with? 3) do we really deserve what we get? often we do! as a vet, you probably understand what "i'd rather be lucky than good" means...there's a lot of fate, fortune, luck, whatever one wants to call it, in life. but if you smoke like a chimney, stuff your face and don't exercise...i'm betting you're going to have big medical bills in your life. is that due to luck?
I'm a disabled veteran who strongly supports more robust social nets for the exact same reasons you listed above. I joined the military because it was the most secure way to escape poverty. Because parents can claim their children as dependents until they are 25 (even if you haven't been living with them for years; I was long moved out), I was not elligible for government aid and knew taking school loans was too risky in the most impoverished state in the country. It's also notable that the 3600 a month is not enough to live on in most cities, which is where the better hospitals are. My vision has been impacted by TBI to the point that it is unsafe for me to drive. I cannot reliably walk either. So, because most American cities have atrocious public transportation, I have to Uber everywhere. I have an MSc and a pretty impressive resume, yet I live paycheck to paycheck and all of my money goes to health services that the VA takes too long (months to a year) to provide, or it's too immediate a concern for me and I didn't want to risk the red tape-like my heart surgery last month. My health issues are so variable that I cannot predict my productivity levels or participation enough to work. But I'm still grateful, because without the 3600 a month, I'd be living in an alley or dead. So what if my injuries and illness are from the military-are we really a society that wants to condemn the injured and sick to suffering and death simply because they aquired those issues as civilians? Additionally, in the richest country in the world, it is a real shame that the most stable path forward out of poverty *requires* military service. This is by design. It is economic conscription. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_conscription
I like to say that "Money doesn't buy happiness, but it DOES buy you the means and time to pursue it." Money itself will never make you happy, but not needing to worry about affording bills come the end of the month will give you room to breathe and let you start pursuing your own happiness.
I hate money that is why I work as little as possible part time work is all I need my personal time is more valuable I only spend what I need witch is not much
I've gathered that for the capitalist class, the fear of abject poverty is not a fault of the capitalist system, but rather an important feature that serves a purpose for them.
True... imagine a moneyless society where the only currency is Trust.... The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@@thequarter2 Try DEFFINATELY! UBI is so FULL of shit! It's LITERALLY serf-dom. Remember the days of Nobility abusing their indentured servants and serfs and getting away with it JUST because they were paid to be? If a measly $6400 dollars is enough for YOUR lazy ass to comply with a government to STAGNATE, be my guest! Freedom on a LEASH ISN'T true freedom!
Yep, America has a long history of creating poverty in certain populations, which makes them slaves to their jobs and increases profits for those at the top of the corporation. The corporate class also has a vested interest in keeping the poor hating and arguing with one another - so no one will complain when the rich get richer and the poor remain poor.
Most Americans live in fear of becoming homeless or becoming medically incapacitated and corporations want it that way. It's a lot easier to convince people to come to work every Monday morning when their life is at risk
flooding the market with more money just devalues the money. That's why UBI does not work and can not work. The more you have of something the less value it has. Which is why prices go up. It has to make up for the fact it has less spending power. The less you have of something the cheaper everything will be because it will have more value.
@hellothere4431 No, America's prison system has for profit elements, the more people are in prison, the more the prison owner gets payed. Not to mention Healthcare for prisoners are owned by like 2 companies that get called out for human rights violations, and then they literally just make a new company call it something else and make a bunch of tax payer dollars all over again because they have a monopoly. Right now k*lling people and doing human rights violations makes these private "medical services" tax payer dollars that they pocket as they refuse to actually help the people they were hired to help, because if they did their jobs correctly they wouldn't be able to pocket anything. And we get mad at HOMESLESS PEOPLE for taking tax payer dollars. These companies have whole webinars teaching the employees how to not do their jobs, pocket OUR MONEY, and then get rich after doing 1,000 times less and being 1,000 times safer than any homeless person begging for scraps on the streets.
It's insane to me that some people believe that people don't "deserve" to be able to do things like, live without fear of getting kicked out at any moment.
To [sort of] quote the character Babo from the manga Caravan Kidd, "...Land of the moneymakers, by the moneymakers, for the moneymakers, making money for the moneymakers!"
@@MajorHickEI have seen (or read bc... social media) people literally say that. Not word for word, but basically that. They said that Baristas and Cashier's don't "deserve" more than minimum wage bc "only teenagers should have those jobs". Like what?? Seriously ageist argument right there. Just bc someone is a teenager means they don't deserve enough money to buy food or something? Or, y'know, save up for college? These people are weirdos
That money was life changing. We are barely making it now, but for a brief moment, we got close enough that we almost could taste the American dream. They never would allow that, though. Gotta keep us so desperate we will take whatever we can get, no matter the conditions. ESPECIALLY those of us with kids. Is anybody really surprised then that they ended it?
I would dare say that it wasn't life-changing at all. It gave a glimpse of hope for a better life and then snatched it away. I think for most people it provided a small safety net to get through a tough and weird time, and afforded them some amount of normalcy that they couldn't otherwise afford. Then when the money ran out at inflation kicked up, it really came as a delayed kick in the nuts that people couldn't afford that normalcy after all. I have a couple friends who use that money for school or training to get on a better career track, and it helped them a ton! Personally we used it to pay down debts, and that put us 5 years ahead of where we thought we would be financially. But the vast majority of people just spent it as a way to pretend like nothing was wrong. And it hasn't helped much. I think a longer term program would not have this same kind of sting. But the whiplash of consistent but ending programs like the child tax credit, and the relatively large periodic windfall covid stimulus checks... The human brain doesn't account for that very well. We just assume it will keep happening, and it doesn't. Or we assume that we afforded things those years because of our work and discount the stimulus, and then wonder why our mental math budgets no longer work. It is like winning the lottery. Windfall money burns fast, raises expectations, and leads to most people being somehow poorer after the windfall is done rather than richer. Whatever UBI is put into place, we need to make sure that it is a number that can affordably go up year after year and never get turned off or lowered. It would be devistating if it did.
Its time for the people to rise up and regain what was stolen from us. The American Dream is not and has not been (for at least 30 years) a dream for the bottom 80%, it has been a total nightmare. A nightmare imposed on us by old rich men who don't remember or never experienced suffering unless their precious yacht sprung a leak… I hate the rich, because the vast majority of them did nothing to earn it, or are just shuffling money around to scrape up more and more from us. The bottom 50% of the country is suffering and they will be forced into crime because America has NO SAFETY NET *_WHATSOEVER._*
As long as we depend on them to make decisions for us, and stand around while they make everything worse and look up to them, they will continue to make everyone as desperate as possible. They do not care about us, and looking for provisions by a republic of males that don’t care about you, the planet or the protection of its people and the world will do nothing but drain you. That’s what exploration and abuse is. Misusing to the point it can barely function. When are we going to do something about this situation? We need people to come together, stop worshipping rich people, and make change. This system is slavery but with extra steps.
@@thequarter2 Is being reliant on companies, whose explicit goal is to make more money essentially no matter the cost, any better than being reliant on a government?
@@habe1717 Never ask a libertarian that question. To do so is to assault the heart of their faith. Your punishment is to listen to them stridently repeat their threadbare arguments until you are worn down to a state of nonresistance.
UBI is so FULL of shit! It's LITERALLY serf-dom. Remember the days of Nobility abusing their indentured servants and serfs and getting away with it JUST because they were paid to be? You saying you want that to return in the USA of all places? No more invention? No more ART? No more innovation or competition with the established markets all because you all DON'T want to take charge of your OWN Destinies? If a measly $6400 dollars is enough for YOUR lazy ass to comply with a government to STAGNATE, be my guest! Freedom on a LEASH ISN'T true freedom!
Education shouldn’t be an investment. I have 3 degrees. After spending ten years studying coding and marketing and networking, I regret not studying music and literature.
yes the education system needs an overhaul. it was created before our technology of today but didnt innovate with it. legal information is a perfect example. law libraries open limited hours and 1 pc in there and the law is left hard to understand unless you use law library pc which has 7k a year subscriptions to things like cebonlaw. but info artificial demand. but this age of information it should be made more clear transparent and easier access for anyone.
It's crazy how much UBI would actually help people. I would feel so much relief of i knew that at a minimum my basic needs were covered. Unfortunately America is run by the greediest and most corrupt people our society have to offer, and actually helping people is not in the agenda
Of course, it would cost $3 trillion a year, and increase the federal budget by 50%, requiring massive tax hikes when we're already $27 trillion in debt. But sure, you feeling relief is more important.
In my humble opinion. Once a month, 500$ would make a huge difference for people being able to make rent. I have so many friends that need only a small amount more to make rent. The problem is greedy politicians and landlords trying to milk us for every penny we have. The land lords are the biggest problem, though. I'm pretty sure you all know why.
True it’s called greed and it seems to be something many to most have and it’s unfixable in my opinion and pay raises across the board seem to always hit the bottom halve the most.. it’s always been that way
@brianhill8974 they would raise rent. There are people who have to play Rent chicken with there land lords constantly. So yeah, they can't directly affect it, but they can make it feel meaningless.
It's crazy that in a country that was built off of free labor & stealing land, people have the attitude that no one deserves money if they didn't work for it.... The irony....
@McRae1 I don't see it that way. However, I think SNAP should be universal as well. Feeding the people should be academic at this point. We should be demanding more from our government, as lay people, because they don't hesitate to fuck us over for big business 10 times out of 10
UBI is so FULL of shit! It's LITERALLY serf-dom. Remember the days of Nobility abusing their indentured servants and serfs and getting away with it JUST because they were paid to be? If a measly $6400 dollars is enough for YOUR lazy ass to comply with a government to STAGNATE, be my guest! You ALL are about to get sold ANOTHER bag of false goods JUST because you don't WANT to take charge YOURSELVES! Freedom on a LEASH ISN'T true freedom!
@@MrIkesimbaIsrael needs to be called out for its war crimes since the 60s. No, that does not excuse Hamas' behaviour as they have made things so so SO much worse for the other Palestinians. It's time for the two state solution that was agreed at the UN in the 60s to be a reality.
@@SquidgyPixel hamas only exists to defend palestine from isreal, so no matter their moral issues, *all* of the blood is on isreal's hands. if they wouldn't have displaced, discriminated against and killed Palestinian civilians for 70+ years and continued this terrible behavior despite the fact what they do is genocide, this wouldnt even be happening. nobody needs to jump to defend isreal as a "but hamas bad" moment, because isreal is the *cause* of hamas.
@@MrIkesimbaWell they aren't sending money, they're sending weapons sitting in a stockpile waiting to be used. Except Israel, America sends a lot of foreign aid there which should stop, they don't need it, they commit too much warcrimes
I fully support UBI because I have level 2 autism that my parents purposefully avoided addressing and that led to a significant detriment to my life. Idc if people hate Yang because he's not marxist enough. If it was not for that pandemic stimulus that he pushed for (even Bernie sadly did not jump on board until later), I wouldn't have been able to use that money to get properly diagnosed and finally get the help I need. I am now in a job program that I was only eligible for because of my diagnosis (VR). Billionaires and capitalism sucks, but leftists sometimes seem to focus more on them than actually taking practical steps to help the poor. I have always been poor and disabled, so Bernie's iob program would not have helped me. From what I saw, Yang had the best policies for helping social outliers like me. He was also the only one who wanted to replace GDP with the Prosperity Index, which would have been a massive change in shifting from a capitalistic society to a more humanist one.
I think it's a bit simplistic to say that the reason people don't like Yang is his "not being Marxist enough". He's a mixed bag of ideas, with a few really good ideas and a few absolutely terrible ideas. His overall worldview is colored by Silicon Valley TechBro nonsense. And after the election, he seemed to get a chip on his shoulder and give up all the wild ideas in favor of yet another group trying to form a centrist third party (which did not support any of Yang's good ideas and was essentially a worse version of the Democrats). I think he will overall have a good legacy, since backing UBI is the only thing people will remember him for in a few years. He does definitely deserve credit for bringing the idea back (almost) to the mainstream.
As an autistic person myself, I agree. Unfortunately society has decided we're incapable of making a contribution to society, refuses to give us a chance, but then villifies us for being drains on society. They can't have it both ways.
@@draneym2003 dont believe that. That is just not true, someone is lying to you. I have 3 grandchildren that are autistic nothing is going to hold those boys back.
I'm in Canada, but we are facing similar poverty issues as the US, and I've never been more productive and motivated to work harder than I have since being on temporary income assistance due to medical issues for the last year, I get $950/month, which is not enough to live off of in Vancouver but it has been enough to mean I don't have to priorities low wage jobs over everything else, including my health. Now I am not having to work 50 hrs a week to still be barely paying rent, I have gone back to school, gotten health issues under control, and will be able to work more productively(in a higher tax bracket) when I return to work next year. I genuinely believe UBI would help the economy and society as a large not just individuals struggling
I have Peniaphobia (the fear of being poor). I was homeless for 6 months, now I make 6 figures. But my homeless experience haunts me and prevents me from making any life choice without a crippling fear of loosing everything again. Just knowing that UBI existed to chatch me if i fell would be mental blessing 🙏
The people in Alaska LOVE the Alaska Permanent Fund payment that they get every year. This year it was $3,284 to every man, woman, and child. If you've got a family with 5 kids, that's $23,000.
That is not a UBI program... that is because the state recognizes that all residents own the oil and therefore should be paid for it when it's taken out of the ground. Stop pumping oil from the ground in Alaska and those payments go away immediately.
@@top1cat01 Things are expensive in Alaska for the same reason they are expensive in Hawaii... it all has to be trucked, shipped or flown in at great expense due to the remote area. It has NOTHING to do with any payments by the state. Please learn what you are babbling about before babbling again.
As a lifelong Alaska resident the PFD has been a godsend for so many people here. It was for me as a kid living in a rural town with no jobs for a teenager available. I’ve never known someone to quit their job after getting their PFD. I think most of the only people who might do that are high schoolers working optional low wage jobs and never planned to work those jobs for long.
there you go. Money don't mean nothing to the individual if it's just gonna be taken advantage of by the hustlers. Every appartment or house rent is gonna rise with 500$ per month if you implement this UBI.
nif you look at jobs numbers after the last government shutdown. Or jobs Biden braged about doing the weak tye government almost shutdown. Is why we need to shutdown the government
What’s universal basic housing? Maybe figure out how to get government out of so much red tape controlling properties from getting built and corporations like black rock out of buying up in mass housing stock using they’re advantage of much cheaper money vs the general public and get them out of profiting off the overall market collecting tolls on 401k accounts stealing from the public.. we should be talking about breaking up the likes of black rock and start with the real disease first..
As a homeless advocate, all volunteer non-profit director and former Yang Ganger, I am so glad you bring this back up. Plus acknowledging the large portion of our populations difficulty of falling into poverty. While we were formed to work with homeless people the vast majority of our clients now are those recently evicted or about to. Last night I took a lady shopping for $200 worth of groceries and she cried all the way home from the ptsd of being lifted of the worry of her family starving. UBI is not only common sense, it is desperately needed. Thank you.
@@johnfurr6060 No? It's money that already exists but has been moved around. Increasing the velocity of money without going out and printing more does not cause inflation, but it _does_ increase economic activity. When money moves more, more value is added from the same money supply. If I spend a dollar on an ice cream cone, then that is one dollar of value exchanged. If you buy a sandwich from me for a dollar, and I spend that dollar on an ice cream cone, then that is two dollars of value exchanged via the same dollar. That's UBI.
UBI is enticing if the people who control it are good people and AGI has not usurped your market value. If you have nothing to give in exchange to the people who give out the UBI and they give it out because they are being nice you, you are essentially a pet. A pet who disagrees with their owner and acts against them gets cut off from UBI or put down. If UBI is the only way you can live in a post AGI world then the threat of loosing it will be used to control you.
Also, don't you love how "modest reduction in work hours" (aka actually staying home from your food service job instead of making customers sick or insisting on leaving when scheduled so you can cook supper for your children) registered to Nixon et al as "laziness." If you took the 1% and made them live the lives of those with incomes in the lower 20% for 6 months, most of them would end up in psychiatric care or prison from dysregulation from lack of rest and nutrition.
Here in Europe there are much, much stronger employee laws and rights than you have in America. There are mandatory paid holidays and work hours (which one can opt out of if one wishes to), paid maternity and paternity leave, and no limit on paid sick days. Also, of course, universal health care..
A lot of necessary tasks just don't monetize well. UBI lets folks have more freedom to do that work. The vast majority of people want to be useful... we're social animals. It also makes employees truly voluntary, which is why most employers loathe the idea.
@@travcollierthe rich would lose their slave leverage against us. We would demand fairness, safety and we would no longer accept such horrible conditions and treatment by ego driven employers.
@@thequarter2 It you don't think you are already dependent on the government... well, try moving to someplace which doesn't have a functional government
Art? Pffft... What has art even done for us? Apart from entertainment, mental stability, escape from reality during tough times, entertainment... Less than what the Romans did, even!
To me, there is no reason that we, the richest nation in the history of the planet, don't distribute a minimal UBI. Even something as small as $300 a month to all citizens regardless of income would not be that hard to accommodate. The reason we have not offered one thus far is human nature, pure and simple. To many politicians, cruelty towards the poor inherent in many policies is a feature, not a bug.
I would love for ubi to be a flawless... however The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
I cannot believe that the USA is actually the richest nation in history. Perhaps you have some people living there that are very very rich, but as a nation? No. You are poor. Worst infant and maternal mortality in the western world? Lowest life expectancy in the western world? Main cause of bankruptcy is medical care? Your police are virtually bandits, your entire economy seems to be some kind of organised crime. And you want to think of yourselves as 'the richest nation in the history of the planet'? Sure, those hyper-rich people who live in America want you to believe that...
Because the government does not have the money. And no taxing the rich won't help. The government wastes more money and has no idea how to spend it right. Many people in the government have either never run a business. Or they tax the hell out of US businesses and then make up dumb laws that force US based compines to move over seas just to make money. Meanwhile people like you blindly say but if we just give more to the government. How much do you want to give them? Really how much more?
The fact that they only give you snap for 3 months before requiring you to have a job, but then you lose snap if you make more than the income limit is so freaking stupid.
Nobody's going to quit their job over getting an extra $1,000 a month. No one can live on that. It would just be a security net for food, utilities, basic necessities.
exactly. plus, this money will be taxed, you will pay taxes when you spend it, AND it goes back into the economy (low income earners spend money). the fact the the "fiscally conservative" demographic can't see this dead simple point is baffling. people with money WANT the old timey british class system (know your place).
We saw a microcosm of this phenomenon during COVID. People got a stimulus. Corporations continued to keep their prices sky high to extort the public even after they didn't have the supply chain problems and employment issues.
prices are higher now . And. Biden took for major Job increase the same week the government almost shutdown and also last government shutdown. Proves we should shutdown the government
And they were able to do this in part, because of the lock downs shutting down most of their family owned competitors and other small businesses, destroying your average Joe's livelihood in the process while granting unfair exemptions to the rich, walmart, Amazon etc etc
all i saw during covid was everyone had money, but couldn't buy anything because no one was working. Then with all the money printing rents, ect sky rocketed. So if you want to pay 10k a month for a studio apartment, lets do some UBI.
@@mw4507 - Your anecdotal experience is valid. However I really think it would help to understand how inflation works in general. How inflation works by one dime TH-cam channel th-cam.com/video/WJAqBSt0Hfc/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Unv5pwp89ppHjU-4
I think I'd be more worried about rent than anything else. If stores keep the costs of groceries extortively high for too long, they're just going to make it economically sensible for more people to invest the time and money to start raising their own food. (Which I'm all for, tbh, I think it would be hilarious if people got so fed up with being fleeced that they just started producing their own stuff and the huge corporate supply chains lost that monopolistic stranglehold on people purely through their own greed -- but I digress.) But I have no idea what to do about rent. Maybe we just need to be more open to multigenerational homes or to sharing a house with friends, so we can work together to keep rent low and be able to pay the mortgage. I honestly don't know.
I’ve been on a UBI for a few years. Back in 2016 I lost my job. My father decided he would give the UBI to me to sustain me while I looked for work. Since this was parent to child it fell under gifts and was tax free under a certain amount. It hasn’t ever stopped. I get $150 weekly (7,800 per year), and I have come to depend on it. When I found a job it kept coming and I was able to save the extra. When I lost that job in 2019, the saved money plus the continued UBI saw me through until the pandemic and getting free money from the government. I fully endorse the UBI and non-taxed like the pandemic funds were.
You missed two things, ubi is already a thing in Norway. And the main thing holding it back in the US is the one benefit you pointed out... It allows workers to not be dependent upon their jobs.
It's not a thing in Norway. What Norway has is an expanded welfare system but there are requirements you must fulfill in order to get a cash benefit, such as you must be looking for work AND you're still obligated to pay taxes. It's like unemployment only expanded. They do have universal health coverage though.
Also, five hundred dollars a month is hardly an incentive to quit a horrible job. People will be just as reliant unless they want to expand tent cities. Not many places in the US where you'd find rent that low, not to mention utilities, insurance, groceries, etc. and 12k a year is the max for food stamps unless you have children, and in that case you'll need a whole lot more money. SO no, still bound to that crappy Walmart stocking job you must grovel for to get that big 15 an hour.
A really great analog for UBI is the "3-chickens program" where a government gave any citizen 3 chickens who asked for it, and it caused a massive improvement in food security from the eggs alone.
That's awesome! I'd love to see a program like that in my area, if for no other reason than because there are several very scary tick-borne diseases sweeping through the area and chickens are really good at finding and eating ticks. It doesn't hurt that they eat all sorts of kitchen scraps, too, so they're a great way to keep a lot of food -- maybe even some stuff you wouldn't want to compost -- out of the landfills.
@@eyesofthecervino3366 yeah chickens are also great for shallow composting where you throw it all out over an area after it has initially broken down because they root through it for bugs and churn the compost in the process
I prefer this type over money... remember, the value of money fluctuates and we have no control over it...... The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@@thequarter2If you don't want to depend on the government you need to get a small plot of land off the grid, install solar and water collection, plant food and keep animals of your own. Only homesteaders are truly not dependent on the system, the rest of us all depend on it in some way and that very dependence IS basically communism in a fundamental sense. Communism is actually the oldest means of human living (deriving from community), it just doesn't work beyond the community. Once your society gets too large, it starts to break down. As for UBI, the money doesn't come from the government, they just manage it, it comes from a marginal tax rate paid for by the ultra wealthy. It's in effect being paid by us all who are prospering to those who may need more as a sort of social dividend for being part of the system. There may be a select few that band together and only live off what they get from UBI and do very little to help the overall social and economic economy, but just like with unemployment, UBI won't be enough to fully sustain a GOOD way of life, just ensure you are able to survive without eating literal trash and can at least pay for a bed somewhere, and this will be a very small portion of the population. The rest of us use it as a buffer to improve our overall life.
Yeah, abut that. Who's getting billed? When demand for chicken increases and prices increase; who's paying? UBI is an inflationary nightmare that would destroy the free markets.
I loathe when people sat "money can't buy happiness". Money can solve literally 100% of my problems. Shelter and food have been worries for people since childhood. We need something better
@@thequarter2 Communism/Marxism tries to reach a point where the means of production are no longer privately owned, but are property of the state, or of "the people". In contrast, UBI and privately owned companies do not exclude each other. UBI and communism don´t have anything to do with each other. Regarding dependence on government: It may sound like it, but I´m not sure. The devil is in the details. Usually UBI means the termination of a whole bunch of other social government programs, like welfare, etc. At least some countries in Europe that seriously consider UBI do so with the intent that UBI replaces most, if not all other forms of social programs. The problem with UBI is it´s such a huge paradigm shift that the (potentially unintended) consequences are pretty much impossible to gauge and evaluate beforehand. Much though the concept of progress through competition sounds reasonable and appealing (and in a number of areas it certainly does/did work), competition frequently means for a majority a downward spiral, and only for a few people a way up. Particularly AI shows that the individual can only lose the race against technology. Money will always circle the globe much faster than any worker can. In the current global political climate of a massive shift to the right, many times associated with a "survival of the richest" mentality, I´m not sure about the chances of UBI ever being tested seriously on a countrywide scale. More than ever though I begin to feel that there needs to be a counter balance protecting the individual worker/employee/freelancer etc. UBI might be just that.
It was really hard when the child tax credit ended, and my husband and I both worked 40 hour a week, above industry standard paying jobs. A UBI would help so many of us who are stuck between the gaps of not poor enough to qualify for assistance, but don't make enough to pay for food. Honestly, if the government refuses to address the minimum wage problem, UBI is the least they could do. 🤬
I know that gap all too well. They should factor not just income levels but expenses too. I made a few dollars too much to qualify at times. After paying for childcare, my income level was well below the poverty line, and that was just one expense.
2 things, one of the reasons the poverty rate isn't realistic. It is because it would show the true magnitude of poverty. 140 million people are poor, not 38 million. Two, I'm poor but not qualified for medicaid because I'm able-bodied.
I also earn enough to be disqualified for aid, but not enough to afford food/housing/bills. I don’t buy anything new, never eat out… I watch TH-cam instead of using streaming services. there’s no fat to trim. It’s unsustainable how many people work all the time and can’t afford food.
As an economists it's insane to me that there's people against UBI... There' have been several studies done on UBI, they found that people wont stop working just because of UBI and the ones that did ended up opening their own businesses, hence contributing to the economy and creating jobs. One study in Findland was done with people that were on welfare, they gave a UBI of around 600 a month to 2k of the group and found that people on the basic income were more likely to become employed than those without.
The problem is scale, In small sample groups it works, great for that matter. Same for communism, But at large scales it falls apart rapidly. For example: There are over 300 million Americans today. Suppose UBI provided everyone with $10,000 a year. That would cost more than $3 trillion a year - and $30 trillion to $40 trillion over ten years. This money needs to come from somewhere, the obvious answer is a hike in taxes which is exactly what the controlling class will make sure happens. I love the concept, truly, but human culture will never allow it to work. Historically we're greedy, petty species, That hasn't changed in ten thousand years or more. I don't think that giving people piles of money is going to affect that in any way at all. And what's to stop the ruling class from just leaving, which will leave a massive vacuum in finances. I'm sorry as much as I would love to see this implemented. Because I have seen the data in those studies. I realistically don't think it will pan out the way it does on paper or in small sample groups.
@SocialTourist the real political problem with a guaranteed income isn't the costs, but the benefits: poor people won't work for slave wages if they have government benefits.
@scifirealism5943 I agree with both these statements, to a degree. The tax hikes would have to happen, but doesn't that nullify the new money handouts. And yes it doesn't incentivize people to work garbage jobs. But practically starving doesn't really do that either. We have shortages in almost all of those fields. A lot of people suggest leveraging the wealthy, but the problem then is why would they stay. After all, they have the money to just leave. The real problem is culture, We prioritize and praise greed, It's built into our species to a degree as part of our survival mechanism. How do you overcome that?
@@SocialTourist remember this statement: the truth of our political values lies in the risks we refuse to accept. It is rising worker power, not continued poverty, that America finds unacceptable. If you refuse to accept the risks with change, then you don't want to change. Inflation, unemployment, taxes and deficits going up are the risks with a ubi.
@@brandonjade2146 yeah they only have infinite money to give in stimulus to failing corrupt mega corporations, tax cuts for the people who have all the money, and for war!
@@sakunthaladevi7714 well I mean they have the money printer but printing up all that money to pay for “universal fucking basic everything” is going to create inflation so bad that youll look back on now like these were the good old days
As a teacher, it would certainly be nice to see parents more involved with their kids’ education, and UBI would certainly help with that by getting capitalism’s boot off of their necks long enough to help their kids with their homework (or at least answer one of my emails)
I'm really sorry that you think that. It wouldn't help at all. It would raise the floor needed. Also, you assume that people would help with homework if they "have the time" which we know isn't true. If you want to do something, you'll find a way. Helping your children with their studies should be a priority.
@@OdinMagnus No no, don’t be sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong. Change is tough, I get it. I had an absent dad and a mom who didn’t care about my grades. I get it, man.
@fredskull1618 yeah, thanx. I was a taxi driver for 20 years. I've seen parents make time for a mistress and not their kids. I've seen people spend money on hookers and drugs when their kids are starving. But mostly I've seen what ubi does to the native Americans that get money from the casino. They get between $5 and $10k per month, most (about 70%) end up drunk and not going to higher education
Don't forget the value when it comes to art. Currently artists are mostly either starving or they need to go sell out to bring in the cash. A ubi can bring so much value to people pursuing arts without the fear of eventually facing financial ruin.
Well sadly. The fact is art will all be AI. Human art is on the chopping block. Horse and buggy. Sadly, massive amount of jobs are. Sadly it can’t be stopped. Don’t hate the messenger.
"Who's gonna pay for it?" has always been an easily answered question. Considering the mass of untouched wealth from businesses and billionaires who use foundations and other means to keep their money untaxed, it's pretty easy to see that there's a pretty large pool of cash that could pay for single payer insurance, UBI, or other "impossible" programs.
I don't really like that idea because it creates a very slippery slope. Who is to say that eventually the upper middle/low upper class families won't be having their money siphoned?
@@JohnWarner-lu8rq Can you provide any evidence to back up the claim you've made? And is it anecdotal trips to your local grocery store where mothers feed their children with government assistance? It reminds me of a beautiful comment I read somewhere once: "I wish humans were more like birds.... see an open mouth and just feed it!"
I love how all your videos ends with the same message. "Get money out of politics." No matter how you look at the problems in America it really boils down to this fact. And just like that you're my favorite TH-camr❤
Then reduce the size of the government. UBI does not reduce the size of government and all her ideas grow the government and keeps money in the government.
“That’s how you get inflation, spending money you don’t have to give to people that don’t deserve it” Meanwhile, we bail out every bank and every friend of a politician that gambles and loses. I would much rather see a single mother, a factory worker, a family, or a young college student, get that money. Way more than I would these politician buddies. And that’s just one example out of many where we waste money to corruption
@hellothere4431 You could always just make your own comment instead of thinking I or anyone else on the thread cares what you think. Sounds like you just don't want certain people to have the same rights as you and are scared of cities lol.
What I don't trust IS ANYTHING ANDREW YANG PROPOSES BECAUSE HE ALWAYS HAS PEOPLE LIKE THE KOCH BROS BACKING HIM. THEY ARE ANTI DEMOCRACY. I DON'T TRUST YANG.
Damn, having food and housing security would drastically increase my work ethic. Utterly crazy how the GOP would rather me be worried about what I'll eat for my next meal and how I'll keep a roof over my head instead...
That's the whole point, as much as they preach about a free market, they know workers don't care about making the magic line go up every year unless they are threatened with starvation and homelessness.
True... but bro... you still have to work for yourself to avoid being overdependent on the government.... The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@murzynmatthew A work ethic based on coercion is the only one of value to capitalists. If you can say no to their demands, you have an unfair advantage.
@@sentientfetus3894 You have no idea what slavery is, and you cannot compare a UBI system to animals in the wild, they're not even related in any possible conceivable way.
What pisses me off alot is that as a 60 year old woman i did my part. I worked for almost 30 years i gave birth to a girl and 3 boys who have so far multiplied to 14 children 11 boys and 3 girls. But i was denied my social security and given ssi instead. You cant live like a person on it but you have explain were every penny went of the $914 they give me for doing my part. Which is twice as much as any man can do.
30 years doing what? Just because you went and had kids doesn't mean you get more money. What's fucked up is all those traditional wife's who stayed at home and didn't do shit got the same amount of ss as their husband's when they retired....the ss discontinued that shit when they realized that 1/2 ss dissappear cuz of that. That is why most of our ss is gone....
I feel you... and now you got people trynna increase the retirement age...... The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
And the country's government wouldn't have one red cent to pay its bills with if you and all the other women like you hadn't raised up the next generation of workers and taxpayers for them. They take and take like they've got a right to it but they're damned short on gratitude when you need anything back.
One is free one comes at a cost.... The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@@LegDayLas Communism is about the collective ownership of the means of production. It has nothing to do with UBI. UBI is only required as a band-aid to keep Capitalism running. It's a basic transfer of wealth from the top to the bottom. It in no way puts the power of the economy back in people's hands.
I worked overtime in 2022 holiday season to try to pay off late rent. That boost in income kicked me off food stamps. I’ve been struggling to pay rent for a couple months with me missing work due to my undiagnosed POTS. I have a court summons for eviction in 7 days and idk what I’m going to do going into colder weather and no friends or family that will take me in
Move to California and live on the street. Republicans are always talking about how nice it is, because being homeless in California is like being above the poverty line in their states.
The real political problem with a guaranteed income isn’t the costs, but the benefits: Poor people won't work for slave wages if they have government benefits.
It would actually make it easier to be able to live and survive on lower wages..basically would would work for the things you want instead of the things you need
@@timschultz1928 That's the thing. if you can quit a job at any time, the pay has to be worth the hours. Which, for many low wage jobs today, it isn't.
Even just raise the minimum wage to an amount that workers don't need to go to the food bank to feed their kids, and then look at how much income tax you can get from them. A country can get more money easily if it actually wants to.
It's brain-cells actually. UBI would send pricing out of control. Consider how badly a 0.25% federal funds rate has sent inflation out of control from 2020-2023 and then imagine how much worse it would be by giving people free money.
I was lucky enough to get into a UBI pilot program in my home state. It gave me a set dollar amount no strings attached every month. And I gotta say: it saved my Fucking ass! I never stopped working but it supplemented the wage I earned and let me THRIVE instead of just survive. THIS WORKS PERIOD.
Someone else had to pay for that. Someone else's money funded your "thriving" and they had no choice or say in the matter. Basically, you're celebrating taking other people's money. I would be ashamed to do that. I literally refused to file for unemployment when I could have for that reason. "Works" means "it's good for you" and that's all that matters, right?
@@leobigelow7021the fed prints money like it's going out of style, the issue with UBI isn't inflation, really. And CEO's and shareholder and generally the most paid and highest net worth individuals don't work for their money, they make PASSIVE INCOME which DEFINITIONALLY IS NOT WORK. Universal basic necessities is the only way forward, though.
Universal basic income worked for you because it wasn't really universal. If it were, your landlord would figure out a way to raise rent and grocery prices would rise, too, not necessarily out of scarcity but definitely out of fiduciary duty to shareholders. So would car pricing. We need universal basic necessities, free basic shelter, food, training for certifications, and healthcare so people can fix themselves at their own pace for free and reintegrate into the workforce physically and mentally sound, with new relevant skills. F hand outs, teach a man to fish and give em a space to sleep. Imo, to do that and have a stable logistics system we would need 2 years "conscription" but not for the military, for first responders (medical, police, mental health, and fire/rescue), construction, and farming which would replace high school (2 years training, 2 years conscription). 25k/y of conscription, which would be enough training and cash to have a down payment for a house. It would mean that adults could strike and the system would still function for the most part. Also, conscription during WWII created the shared class consciousness and solidarity needed to propel unions and the working class forward during the 1950's and 1960's. Conscription is a dirty word but it shouldn't be. The system needs a radical revamp and imo UBI is not the solution, UBN is.
@@jjoohhhnn lmao UBN is not a handout? Fuck it do both! We're the richest Fucking country in the world. We could have done this instead of spending 3 Trillion in Afghanistan. We have the ability to want to for nothing. Except conservatives and SOME misguided liberals don't give a shit about the poor. I'm with you, make food, water, and shelter free for all. Try getting that bill past ghouls like Mitch mcConnel lmao 😂
I'm reminded of that Australian billionaire who said after COVID that we should have been punished with 40-50% unemployment, etc. so that we, the workers, have to submit to employers. It's 100% about power.
Well, considering that - we should all just stop working since we really only work so we can barely get by enough to make very rich people very much richer. What would happen if we really just all stopped working. Even for one day...I bet the reality sinks in for all of us that it is the workers who keep this rock spinning, not the employers...
It works fine, you mentioned it with the child tax credit and the stimulus checks during the pandemic, but it needs strong federal controls with harsh penalties to fight back against price jacking. "UwU, what's this!? You have an extra $1000/month?! What a coincidence! Your rent just went up $1000/month!"
Shit, democrats don't want to pass it either. Neither party is interested in helping us. One is just way more overt about being Captain Planet villains.
@@Raso719 Very true. If we actually solve all the major problems both political parties become obsolete. They need us to fight to justify their existence.
@@guitart4909 They need to do their donor's bidding and doing good cop/bad cops makes it look like the system isn't a complete scam and that our democracy functions.
There are only two types of people who oppose UBI, those who need to feel above others at the bottom with them and the genuinely cruel for cruelty sake.
The empirical studies are clear on the topic on what works to bring people out of poverty and what doesn't. What works is giving them cash, preferably regularly in a consistent pattern. What doesn't is sticking to unproven beliefs that giving them money kills the incentive of the poor to work to earn a better life. The science says otherwise. People are kept poor more by the stress of scrambling around under the stress of constant worry about survival than any other factor. Take that worry away and you'll see a large segment of the poor grow their lives to a better standard of living. Kind of makes you wonder if the people opposing UBI don't actually want people to do better and thus put them in a stronger position to not accept chicken feed wages at lousy jobs?
It's pretty easy to refute the "nobody will want to work" argument by pointing out that getting a wage never stops people from trying to get promotions into positions that require more work and responsibility.
@Pyxlean As for the so-called "poor," check these facts from the Census Bureau: Each year for the past two decades, the U.S. Census Bureau has reported that over 30 million Americans were living in “poverty.” In recent years, the Census has reported that one in seven Americans are poor. But what does it mean to be “poor” in America? To the average American, the word “poverty” implies significant material deprivation, an inability to provide a family with adequate nutritious food, reasonable shelter, and clothing. Activists reinforce this view, declaring that being poor in U.S. means being “unable to obtain the basic material necessities of life.” The news media amplify this idea: Most news stories on poverty feature homeless families, people living in crumbling shacks, or lines of the downtrodden eating in soup kitchens. The actual living conditions of America’s poor are far different from these images. According to the government’s own survey data, in 2014, the average household defined as poor by the government lived in a house or apartment equipped with air conditioning and cable TV. The family had a car (a third of the poor have two or more cars). For entertainment, the household had two color televisions, a DVD player, and a VCR. If there were children in the home (especially boys), the family had a game system, such as an Xbox or PlayStation. In the kitchen, the household had a microwave, refrigerator, and an oven and stove. Other household conveniences included a clothes washer, clothes dryer, ceiling fans, a cordless phone, and a coffee maker. The home of the average poor family was in good repair and not overcrowded. In fact, the typical poor American had more living space than the average European. (Note: that’s average European, not poor European.) The poor family was able to obtain medical care when needed. When asked, most poor families stated they had had sufficient funds during the past year to meet all essential needs. By its own report, the family was not hungry. The average intake of protein, vitamins, and minerals by poor children is indistinguishable from children in the upper middle class, and, in most cases, is well above recommended norms.
@@dcm621 What part do you not understand? I saw that information years ago, found it interesting, then did the research at three government agencies (I've been doing active (daily) research for 55 years) and found it to be accurare.
But even those people, if they had an income to pay their rent and buy groceries, would be pumping that money into the local economy, creating jobs for other people who are able to work. You really never go wrong with giving more money to poor people.
Even if we took the entire military budget ($842 billion) that would only be enough to fund a $12,000 UBI for 70.16 million people. The problem is that there are about 340 million people in the US. Even if you limit it to only those 18 and older, that will still be around 265-270 million people. The US likely is going to have to at least partially dismantle the welfare state. Programs like SNAP and TANF should be obsolete with UBI. Programs like Medicaid and SSI may be difficult if not impossible to phase out due to the high cost of medical care. I think we also have to look at possibly eliminating the double dip with Social Security retirement (OASI) benefits. That program is funded separately from the rest of the government through part of payroll tax revenues (as is Medicare and Federal Unemployment). People pay into Social Security as they work and collect when they retire; people would pay into UBI as they work, but they would collect now.
Im a sick and disabled queer person. We don’t know if I’ll get better. I could get worse. And Im hardly the only disabled person who could use the help. I don’t want to not work. But the systems we have in place are draconian.
I don't have kids but I 1000% support tax credits for families, especially since it will help children. I always vote for raising property taxes if that money is going to education.
I love the idea of a UBI. How much human creativity could be unlocked when people aren't scrabbling for their survival basics. My biggest concern isn't that recipients would spend it all on tobacco and booze, it's that landlords will be chomping at the bit to raise rent, taking all that money, and keeping people in poverty. The rental market must be better regulated before anyone considers a UBI.
The beauty of UBI is that everyone would receive it, including private landlords. There would be no justification for them to raise rent. And I agree that serious restrictions on price gouging would have to be addressed at the same time including the rental market.
End of the day, so what if some people spend it on drugs and booze? That's their problem if they won't use the free money to make their rent and better themselves. You aren't their parent, you aren't responsible for the shit they do to themselves. I would like to tell a story that's close to my heart. My girlfriend, right now, is trying to move out of an abusive household and a tangled parental situation. Her parents are divorced, and it only gets worse from there. her stepmother wants to keep her (and me now) practically attached to her hip. Her dad is a prick who takes his anger and issues out on the people closest to him. Her mom is vindictive, catty, treats her own daughter like one of her girlfriends, and acts like a 16 year old at 39. Her step dad, from what I've seen, seems to be the only one who just cares and wants to see her be well. She has to work full-time at 19 so she can make enough to move into a 2 bedroom with a roommate hopefully by January. If she had some kind of extra passive income, wherever that came from, she would be out that door and be thriving right now. SHE is the kind of person that would benefit from this extra income and use it well. On top of all of that, she helped to care for a cancer patient. Me. I am the cancer patient she helped care for. I managed to tank chemo like a beast, but I still had to be carted to the hospital and back home for my own safety while getting chemo. She either had to find opportunities to take me in for chemo that worked with her schedule, or she had to take off valuable hours that could have gone to savings, or car maintenance, or gas, or any number of other things. None of this would be nearly as stressful if she knew that she could just take off work every so often. Her situation could be drastically better if she could use that extra income to move out. I have said my piece.
@@metroplexprime9901 where did I say anything about drugs and booze other than I wasn’t concerned that people would do that? I know people don’t use government assistance money that way. It’s a myth perpetuated by those who are against the idea of government assistance that people are lazy and don’t want to work, it’s simply not true, and it hasn’t ever been true. Most people want to work and support themselves, even if a UBI was more than a living wage, people would still work, but maybe they’d choose work that gives them meaning and fulfillment instead of work that erodes away at their soul. THAT’S why there is resistance to UBI. Because who would do all the menial, degrading, shitty jobs unless they must, to survive? I agree your girlfriend would benefit from UBI. Many many people would.
@SeonasStudio I think you missed my point, sorry for using the word you as though I was directly addressing you, I meant it more rhetorically. I agree with your premise, impoverished people would use that income for things that they need. I just wanted to present the point that, end of the day, it doesn't matter if some people end up using it for drugs or booze. The people who would use it wisely (I gave my girlfriend as an example) make the outcomes well more than worth the potential cost and the side effects it might have, even if we consider it from just a humanitarian aspect.
UBI is essentially giving to everyone what politicians give to their wealthy benefactors. Personally, I think there has to be at least one single mom out there at least as deserving of their compassion and consideration as did Shake Shack, Elon Musk, and the crew of Jeff Bezos’ phallic rocketry club.
@@JohnWarner-lu8rq You just promulgated the idea that people should not take what others have earned. Can we -- the tax payers who are struggling right now -- have our money back that was lost to those PPP loans? Can we have the money the banks took from us in 2008? Can we have subsidies back for all those pharmaceuticals that we now get price gouged for after we footed part of the r&d? Do you really need this spelled out for you?
The studies that have been done on UBI point toward it being a positive for everyone in society and that the cost of UBI pays for itself multiple times over in the future.
The studies don't account (whatsoever) for price inflation on a national level. Economics is like kryptonite for most UBI supporters. We already saw what a 0.25% federal funds rate does to the economy; 42% inflation in 3 years according to the USD M2 Supply. UBI is essentially a 0% interest rate loan - as far as the Federal Reserve is concerned. How would you account for that? Aside from giving an annual pro-rate adjustment for UBI..
@@vladimirofsvalbard9477 nope the ubi will help more than inflation increase. The economy is bigger than you think and a ubi or minimum wage increase will not cause as much inflation as you think. There are studies on this too. Its a you problem that you havent researched.
Why is it that the person who says pull yourself up by your bootstraps, has a house on land, and a vehicle made in the last few years. Yet votes against a UBI for those that don’t have any of those things.
@@hello-sz7hp what’s finding enjoyment in life have to do with anything. Why dose life need to be a joyless experience. Work hard and make the economy grow, even though you don’t get more than at best subsistence. Work till you’re old and die. Fear the immigrants that simultaneously take your jobs, and also don’t work.
I'm stuck living on disability. The pandemic era maximum allotment of food ebt benefits made an incredible difference for me. I got something like $270 a month. I was able to handle my financial needs. But not anymore since that mandate ended. I'm now $800 in debt. Even if we just had a universal food benefit of ~$300 a month, it would make an insane difference
@@dm95422you get how dystopian that is right? It's a volunteer death camp. It's outsourcing the "rounding them up part" to the people you want rounded up and saving on brick and mortar locations by removing the need for camps.
@@dm95422 I find that really depressing... They rather kill them than give them the possibility to afford to stay alive. The governments are evil and need to be replaced.
Relatable. My mom was diagnosed with lung cancer and dead within 10 months. I quit my job and took care of her during this time, and UBI would've been a boon
@@nicholasschroeder3678 That is not called welfare. That is called subsidies. Subsidies are great for the economy. Just ask the lobbyists who give back a small portion to the politicians! My company gets $100 billion in Tax payer money, I kick back $100 million to the politicians that made it possible. Perfectly legal.
So many people have to work 2-3 jobs just to afford basic needs. That's absurd when you consider the hundreds of billions of our tax dollars that are spent overseas yet we're told there isn't enough money to help citizens here. This government is the enemy of its people.
actually, that's exactly what a government is tasked with - taking care of its citizens, its resources and its territory. Besides, the money came from us!@@JohnWarner-lu8rq
@@JohnWarner-lu8rqit literally is their job to provide services The government is meant to serve and protect the people, not be the slave of corporations who want defacto slave labor with such low wages.
@@IHateThisCommunity Care to show me in the Constitution where it says that? And, most people work for small businesses, not corporations. If you knew anything about running a business, you might think differently.
As a disabled person that can't work but also didn't have the right jobs to qualify for disability (because apparently that is an insurance that some jobs offer) this would be amazing. It would help so many people.
*I HAVE A UBI* kind of - I wrote a book 8 years ago that sells enough copies each month to pay my basic bills if I am VERY frugal. *IT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE* Since then I have done a degree in Ancient Chinese Philosophy* I have learned to be a tailor of men's bespoke historical suits, I have written 3 more books, I work part-time now due to ill health but I am NOT in a blind panic about the bills. I am hoping to go to China for a few years to write another book. *Ancient Chinese Philosophy was nothing like as interesting as I thought it would be.
Republicans are party wealthy so intensive is get more people wealthy Democrats is party of poor and want big government and control to force Ideology . So insentive is keep people poor and dependent. Look at the jobs numbers the same way the government almost shut down . Proves we need to shutdown the government
They actually love it, because it can be weaponized to coerce people and score politically. UBI would be highly conditional, strewn with caveats, prohibitions and taboos. You would get UBI, but it would be set at a level nobody could live on, would be highly regulated in what's allowed and not allowed on UBI, restricting it to mere "survival" like food stamps today. Instead of a basic income it would become a means to control people, especially the poor and minorities and used as a means to hurt them or use it as political posturing "Vote for me, I'm putting a boot on the throat of these horrible people !" UBI would also become a political battleground with some saying it should be removed to encourage people to work their shins off since working yourself to the bone is just about the only thing that justifies your existence, while others would seek to find restrictions or cut down on it to "save the budget" Of course the biggest proponents of UBI is the whole employment sector, they can shunt the cost of labour onto the government and get people to work for free and only deal out minor perks and bonuses. All the important jobs would still be handsomely paid, you just get a nice little bonus from the government on top like an extra allowance. The US is very different from Europe in that the concept of helping people has been replaced by the whip and the stocks. Attack the poor for being a drag on society, keep minorities down and rouse people into hating anyone who accepts so much as a handout. UBI would be a fantastic way to make McJobs even worse and since it's universal, all the good folks who already feel entitled will be happy to get a nice bonus, which means the GOP will fight this until they can roll it out themselves and score.
Libertarians don't support UBI in the same way that nice people support UBI. Libertarians want to be a able to use it to replace spending on healthcare and education, and so they can privatise everything
i really hope we can achieve UBI one day. not just for me but for the younger generation as well. they didn’t ask to be here and they deserve a chance at a better life.
Yep. There’s no doubt about how expensive “life” is these days. Living in poverty is no joke, and seeing comments like “you should have planned better,” or “you should have gotten a better job,” really infuriates me. These people have zero clue. I always tell them : "That's not an argument, it's a moral posture". No matter how much one "should have", these situations will continue to arise under the current economic conditions : it's a statistical fact. And therefore it's necessary to act. We need a UBI yesterday, not just for workers who are falling behind, but for the disabled, the homeless, the poor, and for pensioners. Being older doesn’t mean life gets less expensive. It doesn’t.
99% of the people who did "plan better" were either born in wealthy families, or are boomers who literally used their voting power to make the government and economy serve their needs. I'm sure if everyone else could "plan" to be born rich and powerful, we would have!
I understand your argument but on the other hand I work with several 25 year old people who can't resist new Iphones, tattoos, and daily $6 lattes. They need to THINK AHEAD.
It’s insane to me that at the beginning of the video he said “ why would we give out millions we don’t even have to people who don’t deserve it” whole time we can fund war
@@scifirealism5943You are probably the same kind of person who also thinks teens and young adults still jumping inside a bounce house sometimes is okay too
I don’t know who said the problem is giving $ to people who don’t deserve it, but that instantly made me upset. As a human we are all created equal and no one deserves to be treated differently.
1. Some people don’t properly use money and use it on drugs, gambling, or other means of crime/stupidity, 2. What you make should be based on skills you have, the work you did and the knowledge you have. Not existing. 3. All of this is completely socially and economically incorrect. If I own a business and everyone is getting $500-$1000. I will make my milk cost $25 per-gallon. Socially this is assuming people will use it for the right things and 90% of people will not. Statistically speaking it will be used on eating out, gambling, lottery tickets, etc. Now you’re increasing income taxes so people who have worked their asses off some of them coming out of those impoverished areas are now forced to have more of their money be taken from them after they worked their ass off for it. Which is unfair. Owning a business I would also simply decrease pay to my workers. Additionally, all that’s happening when they increase the income tax is now they’re just saving the money you have given them and resending it to you and MAYBE you come out with an extra 6k year and other people will come out with an extra negative 10-200k per-year. Simple fixture to this would be eliminating income taxes for certain tax brackets instead of increasing them for everyone or just eliminating them all together.
Two sorts of people in the world. One sort says that food and shelter are human rights, and that in a society where you can't access food and shelter without money, that makes an allowance of enough money to supply your needs a defacto human right. The other sort hates their neighbours and would rather see them die than have their human rights supported because they "don't deserve" to live.
This prevailing sentiment among Americans (even a lot of otherwise liberal ones) that we shouldn't give ANYONE benefits because a FEW people might abuse them is crazy. Helping people isn't the important part to them - it's making sure the wrong people don't get help. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.
@@Historia.Magistra.Vitae. no… absolutely. I’d say what really happens is that people like you forget that people has to work while Elon musk do nothing so he can accumulate by himself a crapton of money. People has to work and be fairly paid for the work that provides people with their basic needs, what can’t happen with such services is to make the boss a millionaire…. It’s impossible under capitalism, and won’t happen overnight. But it needs to change and asap.
@@seilaoquemvc2 _"I’d say what really happens is that people like you forget that people has to work while Elon musk do nothing so he can accumulate by himself a crapton of money."_ Elon Musk doesn't need to anything anymore since he has provided services and products to the people and to the society as a whole, which people are willing to buy and pay for. He already did his share of work.
@@seilaoquemvc2 _"It’s impossible under capitalism, "_ Wrong. It is not, and you don't even have Capitalism in America in the first place. You have a mixed economy system, not Capitalism.
It’s nuts that the billions of dollars that go to lobbying could be taxes that actually help people.
Yes. But have you thought about the wealthy elite having 7 yachts instead of 5? That's the real issue that needs to be addressed.
@@zippydastrangecheck out the World Economic Forum. Their plans are out of this world. Stay away from CBDC's
@@zippydastrangei mean monopolising the market by copyrighting music riffs, general words, and concepts (not products)has practically killed human innovation. Its hard to make something new when 5 different companies flag you for minute things.
You think innovation will flourish when there is no ip right to protect you and any idea can immediately be pilfered by someone with pockets who can drive you out of business with larger economies of scale and margins ?
@@jonathansykes4986 I'm more concerned with politicians that get wealthy while "Representing" citizens.
You know things are going in the wrong direction when an option for a country to LITERALLY invest in its citizens isn't widely seen as an obvious part of "the solution".
How is this an "investment"? What return are we going to get? And no, I'm not interested in vague nonsense like "a healthier citizenry" -- what, specifically, are we getting back? Answer: nothing.
@@leobigelow7021 More educated workers, lower crime, higher rates of entrepreneurship, more people able to productively participate in the economy, and no more people who are too poor to work (can't afford transportation or appropriate clothes for interviews or work, don't have an address, don't have a phone, etc). All of this leads to higher tax income and lower overall costs for social services for local, state, and federal entities.
These are the effects when UBI has been implemented. There are tons of peer-reviewed studies that show this works. Check out any research database. Of course if you care so little for other people, I doubt you'll care enough to look up any of the data.
@@leobigelow7021 OK, sociopath.
@@leobigelow7021 It's actually not complicated. Even if we did ignore all the credible aspects of society that you're referring to as "vague nonsense", the most obvious "return" we would get is the same one we expect from most investments. Money. The overwhelming majority of studies that have been done on the subject show that people have a better idea on how to spend their own money than anyone else spending it on their behalf.
@@leobigelow7021 If it's "nothing", I'll gladly take that nothing off your hands for you.
It's nuts to me that we watched the Child Poverty rate get cut in half, in realtime thanks to the expansion of the child tax credit, and then decided "That's enough." and let it rise back again.
Republicans.
Stop parroting neoliberals
@@luke5100 It's not the governments job (or taxpayers you don't even know) to take care of you.
@@JohnWarner-lu8rq that is literally what we elect them for
@luke5100 Shhhh. You're talking to someone who just sees "liberal" in the name and thinks it's a bad thing. Funny, considering he might be a neoliberal. He's probably the same type of person who thinks Nazis are socialist because their party was called national socialists despite the fact they first persecuted the socialists and communists as their political opponents before persecuting anyone else.
One of those experiments took place in Australia, where my stay at home mom got $29 a week. That was a good chunk of money back in the seventies and eighties. This money did allow her to save up and escape extreme domestic violence.
Those no string attached experiments have been done over and over and often they have positive results for the individuals chosen compared to the comparable programs. The Universal part has been done almost nowhere because nobody has enough money to universally give everyone money and it doesn't really help those in dire need because its not enough money.
What state was this in? what was it called? How interesting!
@@AW-xz9vc and on the flip side, if she was happy in her marriage there would be no need for her to become single to get an increase in Benifits
There was a mincome experiment in Manitoba, Canada in the 70s where all citizens of a town were given basic income. The findings were incredible. More children graduated high school because they didn't have to drop out to help support the family. People refused unsafe work and there were fewer worker's comp issues. People were less stressed and hospital visits went down by 17% (huge in a country with universal healthcare). Crime and DV went down.
The only group that worked less were the moms of small children. In turn, having a parent at home with them at all times made them more ready for school and their grades were better.
Then a new con government was elected and they ordered the study destroyed. They didn't want "the other side" to be credited for such a success. Someone found the records decades later and published an article about it.
The only people I know who oppose UBI are the "F*** you, I got mine" people. And... well.. f*** them.
We need this to be well known the world over.
Exactly. Also, "Don't take a bit of mine and give it to that lazy rabble."
Incredibly sad to see those good people’s lives improve from extreme poverty. So sad how they were so poor and couldn’t;t afford to go to school. So heart breaking that with just a little bit of extra income and they can get to avoid dangerous jobs, stay home to take care of cuildren etc…
Did not know this was done where i live, glad to see the party that built this program was elected recently.
I still say government should provide the basics of life directly without using private for profit companies instead of handing out money.
I am a retired Army veteran and I often think about the effect of two of my benefits. 1) Guaranteed minimum income: I was in the active duty ranks for 22 1/2 years and getting about $3600 per month guaranteed is amazing. 2) Guaranteed health care coverage: We pay about $40 per month for very good health care.
Now, put aside whether I earned those benefits or not. Similar arguments are made about Social Security and Medicare suggesting that their recipients are entitled to them because of their hard work. Just focus on what those two benefits do for my family's wellbeing. I can say from a personal point of view that it keeps us afloat regardless of how well employed I am.
The suggestion that we have a system with guaranteed minimum income or universal health care makes people super crazy for some reason. Is it indeed impossible to provide these two things to every household in America? Why do we as Americans always have to fear other people having what we have? Because they don’t deserve it? Do we really deserve what we receive?
I'm born and bred in the tiny country of New Zealand, but have also lived many years in our friendly neighbour Australia.
Both countries have a form of Universal Health Care. Visits to normal doctors is subsidised (or free for some folks. My local charges $19), and prescriptions medications cost $5 per month per item, up to a yearly maximum, then free.
Treatment in normal hospitals, whether you, have a heart attack or stroke, break your arm falling out of a tree, or need treatment for cancer, will be entirely free. That includes Xrays, medicines in hospital, blood tests, and in hospital Physiotherapy.
A minority of people choose to pay for Private Health Insurance (subsidised by few employers), and that may give partial payouts on cosmetic surgeries like Boob Jobs etc as well as payments towards hearing aids and spectacles.
With limited budgets, there are waiting times for not immediately needed Public Hospital Treatments. (So sometimes a delay for cancer treatments to begin).
There are differences between the Welfare Payment systems of both countries, but they both have, generous by some countries' measures, welfare payment and unemployment payment schemes.
An Old Age Pension is payable universally upon reaching age 65 in NZ, or age 67 in Australia. (Australia's is "means tested" so folks with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of assets, excluding their main home, get a smaller Old Age pension payment). The pension is over and above any individual personal "Retirement Plan Savings" that folks may have (what in the USA might be called a "401k" or an "IRA"). . But such plans are in their infancy in NZ, having only commenced in 2007. Australia has had a Retirement Savings Plan scheme since the 1980's.
The Age Pension in NZ is currently about $500 per week, for a single person (a little under double that for a couple both of pensionable age). The systems in Australia and New Zealand may not be perfect, but generally serve the population well. Universal Health Care is a large part of that equation. Yes, some taxes need to go towards paying for that healthcare. Our Petrol/Gasoline and Diesel fuel costs more than in the US, with most of that difference in price being Taxes.
Thank you for your service and I'm so glad to hear that after all that time given for our country, we are taking care of you and your family. Often, we hear about the veterans who are slipping through the cracks, or begging on tv because the govt won't pay for their care, even when they've lost limbs or complete mobility, sight, etc. It makes me so angry to see that!
@chrisb508
I'll attempt to give an answer to your closing questions:
For some people, things like welfare & UBI seem like freeloading (getting something for nothing at someone else's expense). The idea being, "If I gotta work for what I want in life, then everybody else better be working too. I'm not gonna tolerate having to work to live while other people get to live without having to work or sacrifice anything."
Or it's Genesis 3:19, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground..."
Add to this people's prejudices to other people's race, gender, ethnic origin, religious affiliation, political leaning, etc.
1) is it possible to provide those two things to everyone in America? well, as you said, you worked to get your's. can't everyone else? sure, other nations have mandatory draft and it would be real interesting what happens to America's foriegn policy when every voter has a kid in harm's way.
oh gee, i went off topic :)
i do get subsidized health care, it's called Obamacare. I have to live in a blue state, where the cost of living is higher, to get that subsidy. but it costs more to live here since we do more for the poor than red states. Blue states pay more in taxes, but get fewer Federal benefits than red states (which tend to get it thru military bases and disaster relief). these states often refuse gov't help thru ACA because they want "small gummit" and so their insurance markets dry up.
but that's a microcosm of the major problem--most of the social safety net nations charge twice as much in taxes to cover it.
2) why do Americans fear someone else having what we have? simple--we are damn fool enough to believe that material items are a sign of success and therefore are an end-goal. Money is really nothing more than a tool. use money to get the experiences in life that make your life better. when you do that, you answer the questoin, "how much money is enough?".
that's why we fear the free-loaders--if they are keeping up with us, what do we have left to shine with?
3) do we really deserve what we get? often we do! as a vet, you probably understand what "i'd rather be lucky than good" means...there's a lot of fate, fortune, luck, whatever one wants to call it, in life.
but if you smoke like a chimney, stuff your face and don't exercise...i'm betting you're going to have big medical bills in your life. is that due to luck?
I'm a disabled veteran who strongly supports more robust social nets for the exact same reasons you listed above. I joined the military because it was the most secure way to escape poverty. Because parents can claim their children as dependents until they are 25 (even if you haven't been living with them for years; I was long moved out), I was not elligible for government aid and knew taking school loans was too risky in the most impoverished state in the country.
It's also notable that the 3600 a month is not enough to live on in most cities, which is where the better hospitals are. My vision has been impacted by TBI to the point that it is unsafe for me to drive. I cannot reliably walk either. So, because most American cities have atrocious public transportation, I have to Uber everywhere. I have an MSc and a pretty impressive resume, yet I live paycheck to paycheck and all of my money goes to health services that the VA takes too long (months to a year) to provide, or it's too immediate a concern for me and I didn't want to risk the red tape-like my heart surgery last month.
My health issues are so variable that I cannot predict my productivity levels or participation enough to work. But I'm still grateful, because without the 3600 a month, I'd be living in an alley or dead. So what if my injuries and illness are from the military-are we really a society that wants to condemn the injured and sick to suffering and death simply because they aquired those issues as civilians?
Additionally, in the richest country in the world, it is a real shame that the most stable path forward out of poverty *requires* military service. This is by design. It is economic conscription. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_conscription
I like to say that "Money doesn't buy happiness, but it DOES buy you the means and time to pursue it."
Money itself will never make you happy, but not needing to worry about affording bills come the end of the month will give you room to breathe and let you start pursuing your own happiness.
I hate money that is why I work as little as possible part time work is all I need my personal time is more valuable I only spend what I need witch is not much
There's the other half of the proverb: "...and happiness will never make you money."
"Money doesn't buy happiness.
Money alleviates pain."
-Jordan Peterson
@@VagabondTE Money confers the right to avoid pain, because it implies you've paid the price in pain...be it yours or others'.
@@RatPfink66 hmm.. I don't actually understand. Could you explain?
I've gathered that for the capitalist class, the fear of abject poverty is not a fault of the capitalist system, but rather an important feature that serves a purpose for them.
True... imagine a moneyless society where the only currency is Trust....
The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@@thequarter2 Try DEFFINATELY! UBI is so FULL of shit! It's LITERALLY serf-dom. Remember the days of Nobility abusing their indentured servants and serfs and getting away with it JUST because they were paid to be? If a measly $6400 dollars is enough for YOUR lazy ass to comply with a government to STAGNATE, be my guest! Freedom on a LEASH ISN'T true freedom!
Yep, America has a long history of creating poverty in certain populations, which makes them slaves to their jobs and increases profits for those at the top of the corporation. The corporate class also has a vested interest in keeping the poor hating and arguing with one another - so no one will complain when the rich get richer and the poor remain poor.
Most Americans live in fear of becoming homeless or becoming medically incapacitated and corporations want it that way.
It's a lot easier to convince people to come to work every Monday morning when their life is at risk
flooding the market with more money just devalues the money. That's why UBI does not work and can not work. The more you have of something the less value it has. Which is why prices go up. It has to make up for the fact it has less spending power. The less you have of something the cheaper everything will be because it will have more value.
Universal basic income would interfere with amassing slaves for the prison industrial complex. That's just one reason it will never happen in America.
Interesting, want to elaborate alittle please?…
@hellothere4431 No, America's prison system has for profit elements, the more people are in prison, the more the prison owner gets payed. Not to mention Healthcare for prisoners are owned by like 2 companies that get called out for human rights violations, and then they literally just make a new company call it something else and make a bunch of tax payer dollars all over again because they have a monopoly.
Right now k*lling people and doing human rights violations makes these private "medical services" tax payer dollars that they pocket as they refuse to actually help the people they were hired to help, because if they did their jobs correctly they wouldn't be able to pocket anything. And we get mad at HOMESLESS PEOPLE for taking tax payer dollars. These companies have whole webinars teaching the employees how to not do their jobs, pocket OUR MONEY, and then get rich after doing 1,000 times less and being 1,000 times safer than any homeless person begging for scraps on the streets.
@hellothere4431 you win
The 13th amendment states that involuntary servitude is illegal unless it is in the punishment of a crime.
@@ZagrasNixilliswhich is why Jim Crow laws multiplied to create crimes that hit black people harder
It's insane to me that some people believe that people don't "deserve" to be able to do things like, live without fear of getting kicked out at any moment.
"Yeah we need janitors and baristas and cashiers but that doesn't mean they deserve to be happy or comfortable!"
@@MajorHickEbecause it's called being an other wallet warrior.
To [sort of] quote the character Babo from the manga Caravan Kidd, "...Land of the moneymakers, by the moneymakers, for the moneymakers, making money for the moneymakers!"
@@MajorHickEI have seen (or read bc... social media) people literally say that. Not word for word, but basically that. They said that Baristas and Cashier's don't "deserve" more than minimum wage bc "only teenagers should have those jobs". Like what?? Seriously ageist argument right there. Just bc someone is a teenager means they don't deserve enough money to buy food or something? Or, y'know, save up for college? These people are weirdos
@@falcon_arkaigbecause their ethical code says it's immoral to pay people more money than their low-level abilities entitle them to earn.
That money was life changing. We are barely making it now, but for a brief moment, we got close enough that we almost could taste the American dream. They never would allow that, though. Gotta keep us so desperate we will take whatever we can get, no matter the conditions. ESPECIALLY those of us with kids. Is anybody really surprised then that they ended it?
It was the left that ended it.
I would dare say that it wasn't life-changing at all. It gave a glimpse of hope for a better life and then snatched it away.
I think for most people it provided a small safety net to get through a tough and weird time, and afforded them some amount of normalcy that they couldn't otherwise afford. Then when the money ran out at inflation kicked up, it really came as a delayed kick in the nuts that people couldn't afford that normalcy after all.
I have a couple friends who use that money for school or training to get on a better career track, and it helped them a ton! Personally we used it to pay down debts, and that put us 5 years ahead of where we thought we would be financially. But the vast majority of people just spent it as a way to pretend like nothing was wrong. And it hasn't helped much.
I think a longer term program would not have this same kind of sting. But the whiplash of consistent but ending programs like the child tax credit, and the relatively large periodic windfall covid stimulus checks... The human brain doesn't account for that very well. We just assume it will keep happening, and it doesn't. Or we assume that we afforded things those years because of our work and discount the stimulus, and then wonder why our mental math budgets no longer work. It is like winning the lottery. Windfall money burns fast, raises expectations, and leads to most people being somehow poorer after the windfall is done rather than richer. Whatever UBI is put into place, we need to make sure that it is a number that can affordably go up year after year and never get turned off or lowered. It would be devistating if it did.
Its time for the people to rise up and regain what was stolen from us. The American Dream is not and has not been (for at least 30 years) a dream for the bottom 80%, it has been a total nightmare. A nightmare imposed on us by old rich men who don't remember or never experienced suffering unless their precious yacht sprung a leak… I hate the rich, because the vast majority of them did nothing to earn it, or are just shuffling money around to scrape up more and more from us. The bottom 50% of the country is suffering and they will be forced into crime because America has NO SAFETY NET *_WHATSOEVER._*
As long as we depend on them to make decisions for us, and stand around while they make everything worse and look up to them, they will continue to make everyone as desperate as possible. They do not care about us, and looking for provisions by a republic of males that don’t care about you, the planet or the protection of its people and the world will do nothing but drain you. That’s what exploration and abuse is. Misusing to the point it can barely function. When are we going to do something about this situation? We need people to come together, stop worshipping rich people, and make change. This system is slavery but with extra steps.
The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
Anything that benefits the regular citizen is always out of the question in the USA. Everyone's too greedy and politicians are too corrupt.
Yep... thats true... The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@@thequarter2 Is being reliant on companies, whose explicit goal is to make more money essentially no matter the cost, any better than being reliant on a government?
@@habe1717 Never ask a libertarian that question. To do so is to assault the heart of their faith. Your punishment is to listen to them stridently repeat their threadbare arguments until you are worn down to a state of nonresistance.
UBI is so FULL of shit! It's LITERALLY serf-dom. Remember the days of Nobility abusing their indentured servants and serfs and getting away with it JUST because they were paid to be? You saying you want that to return in the USA of all places? No more invention? No more ART? No more innovation or competition with the established markets all because you all DON'T want to take charge of your OWN Destinies? If a measly $6400 dollars is enough for YOUR lazy ass to comply with a government to STAGNATE, be my guest! Freedom on a LEASH ISN'T true freedom!
@@RatPfink66 lol
Education should be a free investment in the people themselves. Gatekeeping information is unethical.
🧂
💯💯💯
Education shouldn’t be an investment. I have 3 degrees. After spending ten years studying coding and marketing and networking, I regret not studying music and literature.
Exactly
yes the education system needs an overhaul. it was created before our technology of today but didnt innovate with it.
legal information is a perfect example. law libraries open limited hours and 1 pc in there and the law is left hard to understand unless you use law library pc which has 7k a year subscriptions to things like cebonlaw.
but info artificial demand. but this age of information it should be made more clear transparent and easier access for anyone.
It's crazy how much UBI would actually help people. I would feel so much relief of i knew that at a minimum my basic needs were covered. Unfortunately America is run by the greediest and most corrupt people our society have to offer, and actually helping people is not in the agenda
YES
Of course, it would cost $3 trillion a year, and increase the federal budget by 50%, requiring massive tax hikes when we're already $27 trillion in debt. But sure, you feeling relief is more important.
@leobigelow7021 so you're opposed to the inconveniences which would accompany poverty's elimination.
I agree with you totally!
...how much money does america spend on their army btw?@@leobigelow7021
In my humble opinion. Once a month, 500$ would make a huge difference for people being able to make rent. I have so many friends that need only a small amount more to make rent. The problem is greedy politicians and landlords trying to milk us for every penny we have. The land lords are the biggest problem, though. I'm pretty sure you all know why.
Landlords have no choice with these ridiculous property values. They have to pay taxes on those values
True it’s called greed and it seems to be something many to most have and it’s unfixable in my opinion and pay raises across the board seem to always hit the bottom halve the most.. it’s always been that way
@brianhill8974 they would raise rent. There are people who have to play Rent chicken with there land lords constantly. So yeah, they can't directly affect it, but they can make it feel meaningless.
@@That1powergamerThen maybe landlords are a problem. Housing should be a human right, not a fucking commodity.
Rent will just increase by 500 a month without any additional regulations or rent control.
It's crazy that in a country that was built off of free labor & stealing land, people have the attitude that no one deserves money if they didn't work for it.... The irony....
SPEAK ON IT
The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@McRae1 I don't see it that way. However, I think SNAP should be universal as well. Feeding the people should be academic at this point. We should be demanding more from our government, as lay people, because they don't hesitate to fuck us over for big business 10 times out of 10
@@jazzjupiter9545 don't engage that thing. it's either a bot, as it's repeated the exact phrase dozens of times, or it's the worst kind of zealot.
UBI is so FULL of shit! It's LITERALLY serf-dom. Remember the days of Nobility abusing their indentured servants and serfs and getting away with it JUST because they were paid to be? If a measly $6400 dollars is enough for YOUR lazy ass to comply with a government to STAGNATE, be my guest! You ALL are about to get sold ANOTHER bag of false goods JUST because you don't WANT to take charge YOURSELVES! Freedom on a LEASH ISN'T true freedom!
We're a rich country until it is time to actually help people
Only if those people aren't American citizens. Our government seems to have ZERO issues sending BILLIONS to people in Ukraine and Israel.
@@MrIkesimbaIsrael needs to be called out for its war crimes since the 60s.
No, that does not excuse Hamas' behaviour as they have made things so so SO much worse for the other Palestinians.
It's time for the two state solution that was agreed at the UN in the 60s to be a reality.
American equipment built in the United States by Americans. Sort of a New Deal program.@@MrIkesimba
@@SquidgyPixel hamas only exists to defend palestine from isreal, so no matter their moral issues, *all* of the blood is on isreal's hands. if they wouldn't have displaced, discriminated against and killed Palestinian civilians for 70+ years and continued this terrible behavior despite the fact what they do is genocide, this wouldnt even be happening. nobody needs to jump to defend isreal as a "but hamas bad" moment, because isreal is the *cause* of hamas.
@@MrIkesimbaWell they aren't sending money, they're sending weapons sitting in a stockpile waiting to be used. Except Israel, America sends a lot of foreign aid there which should stop, they don't need it, they commit too much warcrimes
I fully support UBI because I have level 2 autism that my parents purposefully avoided addressing and that led to a significant detriment to my life. Idc if people hate Yang because he's not marxist enough.
If it was not for that pandemic stimulus that he pushed for (even Bernie sadly did not jump on board until later), I wouldn't have been able to use that money to get properly diagnosed and finally get the help I need. I am now in a job program that I was only eligible for because of my diagnosis (VR). Billionaires and capitalism sucks, but leftists sometimes seem to focus more on them than actually taking practical steps to help the poor.
I have always been poor and disabled, so Bernie's iob program would not have helped me. From what I saw, Yang had the best policies for helping social outliers like me. He was also the only one who wanted to replace GDP with the Prosperity Index, which would have been a massive change in shifting from a capitalistic society to a more humanist one.
I think it's a bit simplistic to say that the reason people don't like Yang is his "not being Marxist enough". He's a mixed bag of ideas, with a few really good ideas and a few absolutely terrible ideas. His overall worldview is colored by Silicon Valley TechBro nonsense. And after the election, he seemed to get a chip on his shoulder and give up all the wild ideas in favor of yet another group trying to form a centrist third party (which did not support any of Yang's good ideas and was essentially a worse version of the Democrats).
I think he will overall have a good legacy, since backing UBI is the only thing people will remember him for in a few years. He does definitely deserve credit for bringing the idea back (almost) to the mainstream.
As an autistic person myself, I agree. Unfortunately society has decided we're incapable of making a contribution to society, refuses to give us a chance, but then villifies us for being drains on society. They can't have it both ways.
@@draneym2003 dont believe that. That is just not true, someone is lying to you. I have 3 grandchildren that are autistic nothing is going to hold those boys back.
Disabled people are seen as worthless as well.
I'm in Canada, but we are facing similar poverty issues as the US, and I've never been more productive and motivated to work harder than I have since being on temporary income assistance due to medical issues for the last year, I get $950/month, which is not enough to live off of in Vancouver but it has been enough to mean I don't have to priorities low wage jobs over everything else, including my health. Now I am not having to work 50 hrs a week to still be barely paying rent, I have gone back to school, gotten health issues under control, and will be able to work more productively(in a higher tax bracket) when I return to work next year. I genuinely believe UBI would help the economy and society as a large not just individuals struggling
I have Peniaphobia (the fear of being poor). I was homeless for 6 months, now I make 6 figures. But my homeless experience haunts me and prevents me from making any life choice without a crippling fear of loosing everything again. Just knowing that UBI existed to chatch me if i fell would be mental blessing 🙏
You vill eat ze bugs
@@lv1543 why don't you take your fear mongering back to infowars, besides bugs are probably healthier than what we're eating now
@@lv1543yummers
@@lv1543Eat my bug
So are you prepared to have you 6 figure income taxed at 50% ?
The people in Alaska LOVE the Alaska Permanent Fund payment that they get every year. This year it was $3,284 to every man, woman, and child. If you've got a family with 5 kids, that's $23,000.
That is not a UBI program... that is because the state recognizes that all residents own the oil and therefore should be paid for it when it's taken out of the ground.
Stop pumping oil from the ground in Alaska and those payments go away immediately.
Yeah and look how much more everything costs in Alaska and what is that really doing?
Just saying that things you don’t work for the majority won’t respect what’s given to them.. it’s just unfortunately human nature
@top1cat01 the usual, overused, tired, and just plain wrong, "muh human nature" argument.
@@top1cat01 Things are expensive in Alaska for the same reason they are expensive in Hawaii... it all has to be trucked, shipped or flown in at great expense due to the remote area.
It has NOTHING to do with any payments by the state.
Please learn what you are babbling about before babbling again.
As a lifelong Alaska resident the PFD has been a godsend for so many people here. It was for me as a kid living in a rural town with no jobs for a teenager available. I’ve never known someone to quit their job after getting their PFD. I think most of the only people who might do that are high schoolers working optional low wage jobs and never planned to work those jobs for long.
We need universal basic housing and universal basic healthcare and universal basic education
there you go. Money don't mean nothing to the individual if it's just gonna be taken advantage of by the hustlers. Every appartment or house rent is gonna rise with 500$ per month if you implement this UBI.
nif you look at jobs numbers after the last government shutdown. Or jobs Biden braged about doing the weak tye government almost shutdown. Is why we need to shutdown the government
@PseudeaEpimetheusdo you have any arguments or just that name
@@gargoyled_drakeit's already skyrocketing. We can try and fail and it might get worse, or we can do nothing and it will definitely get worse.
What’s universal basic housing? Maybe figure out how to get government out of so much red tape controlling properties from getting built and corporations like black rock out of buying up in mass housing stock using they’re advantage of much cheaper money vs the general public and get them out of profiting off the overall market collecting tolls on 401k accounts stealing from the public.. we should be talking about breaking up the likes of black rock and start with the real disease first..
As a homeless advocate, all volunteer non-profit director and former Yang Ganger, I am so glad you bring this back up. Plus acknowledging the large portion of our populations difficulty of falling into poverty. While we were formed to work with homeless people the vast majority of our clients now are those recently evicted or about to. Last night I took a lady shopping for $200 worth of groceries and she cried all the way home from the ptsd of being lifted of the worry of her family starving. UBI is not only common sense, it is desperately needed. Thank you.
The people who say they are trying to help children dont actually want to help children
Or they don't know enough about what they are talking about and just parrot a bunch of propaganda.
So many people miss out on the other side of the UBI: there is MORE money for people to spend in YOUR business. Your business gets more customers.
More money chasing the same goods an services...means goods and services will increase in price. Supply and Demand 101.
@@johnfurr6060 No? It's money that already exists but has been moved around. Increasing the velocity of money without going out and printing more does not cause inflation, but it _does_ increase economic activity. When money moves more, more value is added from the same money supply.
If I spend a dollar on an ice cream cone, then that is one dollar of value exchanged. If you buy a sandwich from me for a dollar, and I spend that dollar on an ice cream cone, then that is two dollars of value exchanged via the same dollar. That's UBI.
UBI is enticing if the people who control it are good people and AGI has not usurped your market value. If you have nothing to give in exchange to the people who give out the UBI and they give it out because they are being nice you, you are essentially a pet. A pet who disagrees with their owner and acts against them gets cut off from UBI or put down. If UBI is the only way you can live in a post AGI world then the threat of loosing it will be used to control you.
Also, don't you love how "modest reduction in work hours" (aka actually staying home from your food service job instead of making customers sick or insisting on leaving when scheduled so you can cook supper for your children) registered to Nixon et al as "laziness." If you took the 1% and made them live the lives of those with incomes in the lower 20% for 6 months, most of them would end up in psychiatric care or prison from dysregulation from lack of rest and nutrition.
Here in Europe there are much, much stronger employee laws and rights than you have in America. There are mandatory paid holidays and work hours (which one can opt out of if one wishes to), paid maternity and paternity leave, and no limit on paid sick days.
Also, of course, universal health care..
It's wild that there is always such a magnifying glass on UBI but blinders on with PPP and any other tax cuts.
Because it's about deservedness.
Poor people don't deserve government assistance, but rich people do.
As a 9-5 worker who's hours are in danger of being cut due to slowed company activity, I'm all for UBI so I can keep working the job that I do enjoy.
A lot of necessary tasks just don't monetize well. UBI lets folks have more freedom to do that work. The vast majority of people want to be useful... we're social animals.
It also makes employees truly voluntary, which is why most employers loathe the idea.
@@travcollierthe rich would lose their slave leverage against us. We would demand fairness, safety and we would no longer accept such horrible conditions and treatment by ego driven employers.
@@rickb06slave leverage? You make yourself a slave....
The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@@thequarter2 It you don't think you are already dependent on the government... well, try moving to someplace which doesn't have a functional government
As a starving artist, I am _fully_ in support of UBI.
Fun fact, most of the major art booms in history were the product of effective welfare programs. (In various forms)
Art? Pffft... What has art even done for us? Apart from entertainment, mental stability, escape from reality during tough times, entertainment... Less than what the Romans did, even!
@@DaniZeros I deadass was about to respond to your statement seriously, that's how popular that sentiment actually is, especially among right wingers.
I’m sure you are.
As someone who lives in Phoenix Arizona, and just came off of two and a half years of homelessness at 24, yeah. Me too...
To me, there is no reason that we, the richest nation in the history of the planet, don't distribute a minimal UBI. Even something as small as $300 a month to all citizens regardless of income would not be that hard to accommodate. The reason we have not offered one thus far is human nature, pure and simple. To many politicians, cruelty towards the poor inherent in many policies is a feature, not a bug.
At this point we need new system. But I would rather have UBI than anything they spend the money on.
I would love for ubi to be a flawless... however The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
I cannot believe that the USA is actually the richest nation in history. Perhaps you have some people living there that are very very rich, but as a nation? No. You are poor. Worst infant and maternal mortality in the western world? Lowest life expectancy in the western world? Main cause of bankruptcy is medical care? Your police are virtually bandits, your entire economy seems to be some kind of organised crime. And you want to think of yourselves as 'the richest nation in the history of the planet'? Sure, those hyper-rich people who live in America want you to believe that...
Because the government does not have the money. And no taxing the rich won't help.
The government wastes more money and has no idea how to spend it right.
Many people in the government have either never run a business. Or they tax the hell out of US businesses and then make up dumb laws that force US based compines to move over seas just to make money.
Meanwhile people like you blindly say but if we just give more to the government. How much do you want to give them? Really how much more?
The fact that they only give you snap for 3 months before requiring you to have a job, but then you lose snap if you make more than the income limit is so freaking stupid.
Nobody's going to quit their job over getting an extra $1,000 a month. No one can live on that. It would just be a security net for food, utilities, basic necessities.
Exactly
I would quit today if I got $1000 a month. I am 60. This would open a position for some young person.
facts and the reduced anxiety = less violence and crime bc mental health!!
exactly. plus, this money will be taxed, you will pay taxes when you spend it, AND it goes back into the economy (low income earners spend money). the fact the the "fiscally conservative" demographic can't see this dead simple point is baffling. people with money WANT the old timey british class system (know your place).
We saw a microcosm of this phenomenon during COVID. People got a stimulus. Corporations continued to keep their prices sky high to extort the public even after they didn't have the supply chain problems and employment issues.
prices are higher now . And. Biden took for major Job increase the same week the government almost shutdown and also last government shutdown. Proves we should shutdown the government
And they were able to do this in part, because of the lock downs shutting down most of their family owned competitors and other small businesses, destroying your average Joe's livelihood in the process while granting unfair exemptions to the rich, walmart, Amazon etc etc
all i saw during covid was everyone had money, but couldn't buy anything because no one was working. Then with all the money printing rents, ect sky rocketed. So if you want to pay 10k a month for a studio apartment, lets do some UBI.
@@mw4507 - Your anecdotal experience is valid. However I really think it would help to understand how inflation works in general.
How inflation works by one dime TH-cam channel th-cam.com/video/WJAqBSt0Hfc/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Unv5pwp89ppHjU-4
I think I'd be more worried about rent than anything else. If stores keep the costs of groceries extortively high for too long, they're just going to make it economically sensible for more people to invest the time and money to start raising their own food. (Which I'm all for, tbh, I think it would be hilarious if people got so fed up with being fleeced that they just started producing their own stuff and the huge corporate supply chains lost that monopolistic stranglehold on people purely through their own greed -- but I digress.)
But I have no idea what to do about rent. Maybe we just need to be more open to multigenerational homes or to sharing a house with friends, so we can work together to keep rent low and be able to pay the mortgage. I honestly don't know.
I’ve been on a UBI for a few years. Back in 2016 I lost my job. My father decided he would give the UBI to me to sustain me while I looked for work. Since this was parent to child it fell under gifts and was tax free under a certain amount.
It hasn’t ever stopped. I get $150 weekly (7,800 per year), and I have come to depend on it. When I found a job it kept coming and I was able to save the extra. When I lost that job in 2019, the saved money plus the continued UBI saw me through until the pandemic and getting free money from the government.
I fully endorse the UBI and non-taxed like the pandemic funds were.
I fully endorse having fathers that have enough money to give their children $150/week!
Nothing is free. And, you didn't get that money from the government, it came from taxpayers... people you don't even know.
The difference being, you received it from a family member, not a neighbor, or people you don't know.
@@people2chronically-online Reporting for hate speech.
@@AGNOSTIC_incomprehensibleXIV oh noo Wtv shall I do
You missed two things, ubi is already a thing in Norway. And the main thing holding it back in the US is the one benefit you pointed out... It allows workers to not be dependent upon their jobs.
Yes.
UBI is already a thing in Norway? Must have missed out, where did you get this info?
-relatively politically and economically competent Norwegian.
It's not a thing in Norway. What Norway has is an expanded welfare system but there are requirements you must fulfill in order to get a cash benefit, such as you must be looking for work AND you're still obligated to pay taxes. It's like unemployment only expanded. They do have universal health coverage though.
Also, five hundred dollars a month is hardly an incentive to quit a horrible job. People will be just as reliant unless they want to expand tent cities. Not many places in the US where you'd find rent that low, not to mention utilities, insurance, groceries, etc. and 12k a year is the max for food stamps unless you have children, and in that case you'll need a whole lot more money. SO no, still bound to that crappy Walmart stocking job you must grovel for to get that big 15 an hour.
@@cs5384 yep.
I would go from “might as well blow my brains out” to “ might as well keep living” with 96$ a month
A really great analog for UBI is the "3-chickens program" where a government gave any citizen 3 chickens who asked for it, and it caused a massive improvement in food security from the eggs alone.
That's awesome! I'd love to see a program like that in my area, if for no other reason than because there are several very scary tick-borne diseases sweeping through the area and chickens are really good at finding and eating ticks. It doesn't hurt that they eat all sorts of kitchen scraps, too, so they're a great way to keep a lot of food -- maybe even some stuff you wouldn't want to compost -- out of the landfills.
@@eyesofthecervino3366 yeah chickens are also great for shallow composting where you throw it all out over an area after it has initially broken down because they root through it for bugs and churn the compost in the process
I prefer this type over money... remember, the value of money fluctuates and we have no control over it......
The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@@thequarter2If you don't want to depend on the government you need to get a small plot of land off the grid, install solar and water collection, plant food and keep animals of your own. Only homesteaders are truly not dependent on the system, the rest of us all depend on it in some way and that very dependence IS basically communism in a fundamental sense. Communism is actually the oldest means of human living (deriving from community), it just doesn't work beyond the community. Once your society gets too large, it starts to break down. As for UBI, the money doesn't come from the government, they just manage it, it comes from a marginal tax rate paid for by the ultra wealthy. It's in effect being paid by us all who are prospering to those who may need more as a sort of social dividend for being part of the system. There may be a select few that band together and only live off what they get from UBI and do very little to help the overall social and economic economy, but just like with unemployment, UBI won't be enough to fully sustain a GOOD way of life, just ensure you are able to survive without eating literal trash and can at least pay for a bed somewhere, and this will be a very small portion of the population. The rest of us use it as a buffer to improve our overall life.
Yeah, abut that. Who's getting billed?
When demand for chicken increases and prices increase; who's paying?
UBI is an inflationary nightmare that would destroy the free markets.
I loathe when people sat "money can't buy happiness". Money can solve literally 100% of my problems. Shelter and food have been worries for people since childhood. We need something better
The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@@thequarter2 Ok, and?
@@thequarter2 Communism/Marxism tries to reach a point where the means of production are no longer privately owned, but are property of the state, or of "the people". In contrast, UBI and privately owned companies do not exclude each other. UBI and communism don´t have anything to do with each other.
Regarding dependence on government: It may sound like it, but I´m not sure. The devil is in the details. Usually UBI means the termination of a whole bunch of other social government programs, like welfare, etc. At least some countries in Europe that seriously consider UBI do so with the intent that UBI replaces most, if not all other forms of social programs.
The problem with UBI is it´s such a huge paradigm shift that the (potentially unintended) consequences are pretty much impossible to gauge and evaluate beforehand.
Much though the concept of progress through competition sounds reasonable and appealing (and in a number of areas it certainly does/did work), competition frequently means for a majority a downward spiral, and only for a few people a way up. Particularly AI shows that the individual can only lose the race against technology. Money will always circle the globe much faster than any worker can.
In the current global political climate of a massive shift to the right, many times associated with a "survival of the richest" mentality, I´m not sure about the chances of UBI ever being tested seriously on a countrywide scale. More than ever though I begin to feel that there needs to be a counter balance protecting the individual worker/employee/freelancer etc. UBI might be just that.
@witebatman Name one nation that has or is successfully, Communist. Where citizen's mental health and asset needs are met or exceeded.
I can't
@@TheForging Name one nation where communism hasn't been overthrown by capitalist countries and their influences?
It was really hard when the child tax credit ended, and my husband and I both worked 40 hour a week, above industry standard paying jobs. A UBI would help so many of us who are stuck between the gaps of not poor enough to qualify for assistance, but don't make enough to pay for food. Honestly, if the government refuses to address the minimum wage problem, UBI is the least they could do. 🤬
I know that gap all too well. They should factor not just income levels but expenses too. I made a few dollars too much to qualify at times. After paying for childcare, my income level was well below the poverty line, and that was just one expense.
2 things, one of the reasons the poverty rate isn't realistic. It is because it would show the true magnitude of poverty.
140 million people are poor, not 38 million.
Two, I'm poor but not qualified for medicaid because I'm able-bodied.
I also earn enough to be disqualified for aid, but not enough to afford food/housing/bills. I don’t buy anything new, never eat out… I watch TH-cam instead of using streaming services. there’s no fat to trim. It’s unsustainable how many people work all the time and can’t afford food.
@@katetrompvanholst1772 because that's the point..
To perpetuate poverty
Our government doesn't represent us, the working class. Republicans and Democrats only care about the 🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑
As an economists it's insane to me that there's people against UBI... There' have been several studies done on UBI, they found that people wont stop working just because of UBI and the ones that did ended up opening their own businesses, hence contributing to the economy and creating jobs. One study in Findland was done with people that were on welfare, they gave a UBI of around 600 a month to 2k of the group and found that people on the basic income were more likely to become employed than those without.
The problem is scale, In small sample groups it works, great for that matter. Same for communism, But at large scales it falls apart rapidly.
For example: There are over 300 million Americans today. Suppose UBI provided everyone with $10,000 a year. That would cost more than $3 trillion a year - and $30 trillion to $40 trillion over ten years. This money needs to come from somewhere, the obvious answer is a hike in taxes which is exactly what the controlling class will make sure happens. I love the concept, truly, but human culture will never allow it to work. Historically we're greedy, petty species, That hasn't changed in ten thousand years or more. I don't think that giving people piles of money is going to affect that in any way at all. And what's to stop the ruling class from just leaving, which will leave a massive vacuum in finances. I'm sorry as much as I would love to see this implemented. Because I have seen the data in those studies. I realistically don't think it will pan out the way it does on paper or in small sample groups.
@SocialTourist the real political problem with a guaranteed income isn't the costs, but the benefits: poor people won't work for slave wages if they have government benefits.
@@SocialTouristtax hikes are an acceptable risk
@scifirealism5943 I agree with both these statements, to a degree. The tax hikes would have to happen, but doesn't that nullify the new money handouts. And yes it doesn't incentivize people to work garbage jobs. But practically starving doesn't really do that either. We have shortages in almost all of those fields. A lot of people suggest leveraging the wealthy, but the problem then is why would they stay. After all, they have the money to just leave. The real problem is culture, We prioritize and praise greed, It's built into our species to a degree as part of our survival mechanism. How do you overcome that?
@@SocialTourist remember this statement: the truth of our political values lies in the risks we refuse to accept.
It is rising worker power, not continued poverty, that America finds unacceptable.
If you refuse to accept the risks with change, then you don't want to change.
Inflation, unemployment, taxes and deficits going up are the risks with a ubi.
We need Universal Fucking-Basic EVERYTHING. We are starving and weak.
The government doesn’t have just infinite money for everything man
@@brandonjade2146 yeah they only have infinite money to give in stimulus to failing corrupt mega corporations, tax cuts for the people who have all the money, and for war!
@@brandonjade2146yes government has infinite money 😂
Read about modern monetary theory
@@sakunthaladevi7714 well I mean they have the money printer but printing up all that money to pay for “universal fucking basic everything” is going to create inflation so bad that youll look back on now like these were the good old days
@@sakunthaladevi7714 they can print infinite banknotes but with out enough people to provide goods or services, you get hyper inflation
As a teacher, it would certainly be nice to see parents more involved with their kids’ education, and UBI would certainly help with that by getting capitalism’s boot off of their necks long enough to help their kids with their homework (or at least answer one of my emails)
As the child/brother/cousin/nephew of educators, I agree with your sentiment
I'm really sorry that you think that. It wouldn't help at all. It would raise the floor needed. Also, you assume that people would help with homework if they "have the time" which we know isn't true.
If you want to do something, you'll find a way. Helping your children with their studies should be a priority.
@@OdinMagnus No no, don’t be sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong. Change is tough, I get it. I had an absent dad and a mom who didn’t care about my grades. I get it, man.
@fredskull1618 yeah, thanx. I was a taxi driver for 20 years. I've seen parents make time for a mistress and not their kids. I've seen people spend money on hookers and drugs when their kids are starving.
But mostly I've seen what ubi does to the native Americans that get money from the casino. They get between $5 and $10k per month, most (about 70%) end up drunk and not going to higher education
What a great point
Don't forget the value when it comes to art. Currently artists are mostly either starving or they need to go sell out to bring in the cash. A ubi can bring so much value to people pursuing arts without the fear of eventually facing financial ruin.
Being an artist is literally a curse
@@commentbot9510yes
There are so many ways capitalism ruins art.
Well sadly. The fact is art will all be AI. Human art is on the chopping block. Horse and buggy. Sadly, massive amount of jobs are. Sadly it can’t be stopped. Don’t hate the messenger.
@@RichardWarner-df7dz you cant stop humans from making art, art is healthy, art is expression, art is beauty.
"Who's gonna pay for it?" has always been an easily answered question. Considering the mass of untouched wealth from businesses and billionaires who use foundations and other means to keep their money untaxed, it's pretty easy to see that there's a pretty large pool of cash that could pay for single payer insurance, UBI, or other "impossible" programs.
so your solution is just blatant theft?
I don't really like that idea because it creates a very slippery slope. Who is to say that eventually the upper middle/low upper class families won't be having their money siphoned?
The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@@headphonesaxolotl yeah but it would be great
@@bloxer9563 what would
It's almost like having social safety nets leads to better lives for all.
It's Marxism/communism. If that's what you want, move to Venezuela, Cuba or a similar country.
It comes down to poor people having too good of lives.
@@scifirealism5943 "Poor" people do a whole lot better than people think / have been told.
@@JohnWarner-lu8rq yep.
@@JohnWarner-lu8rq
Can you provide any evidence to back up the claim you've made? And is it anecdotal trips to your local grocery store where mothers feed their children with government assistance?
It reminds me of a beautiful comment I read somewhere once: "I wish humans were more like birds.... see an open mouth and just feed it!"
3rd video in less then a week and is presumably very informative makes me very super duper happy. 🙂
Wow
I love how all your videos ends with the same message. "Get money out of politics." No matter how you look at the problems in America it really boils down to this fact. And just like that you're my favorite TH-camr❤
Then reduce the size of the government. UBI does not reduce the size of government and all her ideas grow the government and keeps money in the government.
i love conservative excuses to never improve anything
“That’s how you get inflation, spending money you don’t have to give to people that don’t deserve it”
Meanwhile, we bail out every bank and every friend of a politician that gambles and loses.
I would much rather see a single mother, a factory worker, a family, or a young college student, get that money. Way more than I would these politician buddies. And that’s just one example out of many where we waste money to corruption
What he is saying is he believes poor people don't deserve government benefits.
Usually, if a program is disliked by conservatives then I am all for it.
@hellothere4431Oh no, sounds like a Stalinist to me /s kinda
@hellothere4431No, You’re completely right leaning and bad at trolling.
@hellothere4431 You could always just make your own comment instead of thinking I or anyone else on the thread cares what you think. Sounds like you just don't want certain people to have the same rights as you and are scared of cities lol.
Which ones? I personally like it.
What I don't trust IS ANYTHING ANDREW YANG PROPOSES BECAUSE HE ALWAYS HAS PEOPLE LIKE THE KOCH BROS BACKING HIM. THEY ARE ANTI DEMOCRACY. I DON'T TRUST YANG.
Damn, having food and housing security would drastically increase my work ethic. Utterly crazy how the GOP would rather me be worried about what I'll eat for my next meal and how I'll keep a roof over my head instead...
That's the whole point, as much as they preach about a free market, they know workers don't care about making the magic line go up every year unless they are threatened with starvation and homelessness.
You mean instead of billionaires (who typically use tax loopholes to get out of paying a lot of taxes) making as much profit as possible??!?
True... but bro... you still have to work for yourself to avoid being overdependent on the government....
The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@@thequarter2 no one said they don't want to work. Where is that even coming from? You think UBI would be sufficient without a paycheck alongside it?
@murzynmatthew A work ethic based on coercion is the only one of value to capitalists. If you can say no to their demands, you have an unfair advantage.
The idea that we could have the freedom just live because we aren't bearing the awful weight of poverty hit me in my soul. 😢
are animals in wild free. How anyone free if responsible for themselves.
Your definition of freedom requires slavery.
@@sentientfetus3894 Source? Trust me bro.
@@HirschfeldWillamette source's 🤷🏻♂️ those were questions in your definition 🤷🏻♂️
@@sentientfetus3894 You have no idea what slavery is, and you cannot compare a UBI system to animals in the wild, they're not even related in any possible conceivable way.
I don't understand what you wrote, are you missing a bit in your statement? Usually, a question is followed by a question mark.@@sentientfetus3894
What pisses me off alot is that as a 60 year old woman i did my part. I worked for almost 30 years i gave birth to a girl and 3 boys who have so far multiplied to 14 children 11 boys and 3 girls. But i was denied my social security and given ssi instead. You cant live like a person on it but you have explain were every penny went of the $914 they give me for doing my part. Which is twice as much as any man can do.
30 years doing what?
Just because you went and had kids doesn't mean you get more money.
What's fucked up is all those traditional wife's who stayed at home and didn't do shit got the same amount of ss as their husband's when they retired....the ss discontinued that shit when they realized that 1/2 ss dissappear cuz of that. That is why most of our ss is gone....
I feel you... and now you got people trynna increase the retirement age......
The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@@thequarter2 keep copy pasting
And the country's government wouldn't have one red cent to pay its bills with if you and all the other women like you hadn't raised up the next generation of workers and taxpayers for them. They take and take like they've got a right to it but they're damned short on gratitude when you need anything back.
SS or SSI wasn't and isn't something to provide for your retirement. It was up to you to build your own retirement/savings.
There is a MASSIVE difference between tax credits and UBI. Absolutely massive.
So true we always say who’s gonna pay for it
But Biden gave Israel 🇮🇱 money
Where did that come from?
Who’s gonna pay for that JOE???
Well, the methods differ but the end result is that it puts more money your hands,
One is free one comes at a cost....
The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@@thequarter2 It's not "in a way", it literally is communism. It's not necisarially Stalin's communism.... but it's by definition communism.
@@LegDayLas Communism is about the collective ownership of the means of production. It has nothing to do with UBI. UBI is only required as a band-aid to keep Capitalism running. It's a basic transfer of wealth from the top to the bottom. It in no way puts the power of the economy back in people's hands.
I worked overtime in 2022 holiday season to try to pay off late rent. That boost in income kicked me off food stamps. I’ve been struggling to pay rent for a couple months with me missing work due to my undiagnosed POTS. I have a court summons for eviction in 7 days and idk what I’m going to do going into colder weather and no friends or family that will take me in
Move to California and live on the street. Republicans are always talking about how nice it is, because being homeless in California is like being above the poverty line in their states.
The real political problem with a guaranteed income isn’t the costs, but the benefits:
Poor people won't work for slave wages if they have government benefits.
It would actually make it easier to be able to live and survive on lower wages..basically would would work for the things you want instead of the things you need
@@timschultz1928 That's the thing. if you can quit a job at any time, the pay has to be worth the hours. Which, for many low wage jobs today, it isn't.
@@witherschat exactly.
@witherschat Not to mention, all of the welfare programs we have are complicated, instead of being direct cash assistance.
@timschultz1928 when I was a cashier, I made $10.50/hr.
I didn't qualify for welfare, despite being poor.
If we outlawed lobbying, and held donors to contribute 50% of previous lobby contributions, I bet we’d have all of the money we need.
What is the point the population of that places that do vs the USA?
Yep
Even just raise the minimum wage to an amount that workers don't need to go to the food bank to feed their kids, and then look at how much income tax you can get from them. A country can get more money easily if it actually wants to.
Wow. Humane strategies that actually make sense and improve people's lives? What planet is this?
mind blowing!!!
It isn't apathy that keeps UBI from happening---it's hatred from the top.
It's brain-cells actually.
UBI would send pricing out of control.
Consider how badly a 0.25% federal funds rate has sent inflation out of control from 2020-2023 and then imagine how much worse it would be by giving people free money.
@@vladimirofsvalbard9477so why does that not happen in Alaska?
I was lucky enough to get into a UBI pilot program in my home state. It gave me a set dollar amount no strings attached every month. And I gotta say: it saved my Fucking ass! I never stopped working but it supplemented the wage I earned and let me THRIVE instead of just survive.
THIS WORKS PERIOD.
Someone else had to pay for that. Someone else's money funded your "thriving" and they had no choice or say in the matter. Basically, you're celebrating taking other people's money. I would be ashamed to do that. I literally refused to file for unemployment when I could have for that reason. "Works" means "it's good for you" and that's all that matters, right?
@@leobigelow7021the fed prints money like it's going out of style, the issue with UBI isn't inflation, really. And CEO's and shareholder and generally the most paid and highest net worth individuals don't work for their money, they make PASSIVE INCOME which DEFINITIONALLY IS NOT WORK. Universal basic necessities is the only way forward, though.
Universal basic income worked for you because it wasn't really universal. If it were, your landlord would figure out a way to raise rent and grocery prices would rise, too, not necessarily out of scarcity but definitely out of fiduciary duty to shareholders. So would car pricing. We need universal basic necessities, free basic shelter, food, training for certifications, and healthcare so people can fix themselves at their own pace for free and reintegrate into the workforce physically and mentally sound, with new relevant skills. F hand outs, teach a man to fish and give em a space to sleep. Imo, to do that and have a stable logistics system we would need 2 years "conscription" but not for the military, for first responders (medical, police, mental health, and fire/rescue), construction, and farming which would replace high school (2 years training, 2 years conscription). 25k/y of conscription, which would be enough training and cash to have a down payment for a house. It would mean that adults could strike and the system would still function for the most part. Also, conscription during WWII created the shared class consciousness and solidarity needed to propel unions and the working class forward during the 1950's and 1960's. Conscription is a dirty word but it shouldn't be. The system needs a radical revamp and imo UBI is not the solution, UBN is.
@@jjoohhhnn lmao UBN is not a handout? Fuck it do both! We're the richest Fucking country in the world. We could have done this instead of spending 3 Trillion in Afghanistan.
We have the ability to want to for nothing. Except conservatives and SOME misguided liberals don't give a shit about the poor.
I'm with you, make food, water, and shelter free for all.
Try getting that bill past ghouls like Mitch mcConnel lmao 😂
@@leobigelow7021 Then tax the rich, they barely work and don't need 99% of their money.
I'm reminded of that Australian billionaire who said after COVID that we should have been punished with 40-50% unemployment, etc. so that we, the workers, have to submit to employers. It's 100% about power.
Well, considering that - we should all just stop working since we really only work so we can barely get by enough to make very rich people very much richer. What would happen if we really just all stopped working. Even for one day...I bet the reality sinks in for all of us that it is the workers who keep this rock spinning, not the employers...
Exactly.
You caught us. You're right. It's a big power conspiracy and you found us out. So wise you are.
It works fine, you mentioned it with the child tax credit and the stimulus checks during the pandemic, but it needs strong federal controls with harsh penalties to fight back against price jacking. "UwU, what's this!? You have an extra $1000/month?! What a coincidence! Your rent just went up $1000/month!"
In a market system landlords should not have the power to raise prices based on the UBI.
Tax the bejeezus out of multiple homes owned by one person.
UBI is totally impossible while the Republican Party exists. I think Eugene McCarthy proposed such a plan in the early 70s.
Shit, democrats don't want to pass it either. Neither party is interested in helping us. One is just way more overt about being Captain Planet villains.
@@Raso719 Very true. If we actually solve all the major problems both political parties become obsolete. They need us to fight to justify their existence.
@@guitart4909 They need to do their donor's bidding and doing good cop/bad cops makes it look like the system isn't a complete scam and that our democracy functions.
The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
Well even democrats arent fully on board.. remember politics is a game of hypocrisy
This show is awesome. I look forward to every episode as much as last week tonight. Leeja kills it everytime
aw wow that's high praise! thank you!
@@LeejaMiller it's true really. Please keep up the amazing work. If at some point it all drives you crazy, we'll understand you need to take a break.
There are only two types of people who oppose UBI, those who need to feel above others at the bottom with them and the genuinely cruel for cruelty sake.
The empirical studies are clear on the topic on what works to bring people out of poverty and what doesn't. What works is giving them cash, preferably regularly in a consistent pattern. What doesn't is sticking to unproven beliefs that giving them money kills the incentive of the poor to work to earn a better life. The science says otherwise. People are kept poor more by the stress of scrambling around under the stress of constant worry about survival than any other factor. Take that worry away and you'll see a large segment of the poor grow their lives to a better standard of living. Kind of makes you wonder if the people opposing UBI don't actually want people to do better and thus put them in a stronger position to not accept chicken feed wages at lousy jobs?
It's pretty easy to refute the "nobody will want to work" argument by pointing out that getting a wage never stops people from trying to get promotions into positions that require more work and responsibility.
@Pyxlean As for the so-called "poor," check these facts from the Census Bureau: Each year for the past two decades, the U.S. Census Bureau has reported that over 30 million Americans were living in “poverty.” In recent years, the Census has reported that one in seven Americans are poor. But what does it mean to be “poor” in America? To the average American, the word “poverty” implies significant material deprivation, an inability to provide a family with adequate nutritious food, reasonable shelter, and clothing. Activists reinforce this view, declaring that being poor in U.S. means being “unable to obtain the basic material necessities of life.” The news media amplify this idea: Most news stories on poverty feature homeless families, people living in crumbling shacks, or lines of the downtrodden eating in soup kitchens.
The actual living conditions of America’s poor are far different from these images. According to the government’s own survey data, in 2014, the average household defined as poor by the government lived in a house or apartment equipped with air conditioning and cable TV.
The family had a car (a third of the poor have two or more cars). For entertainment, the household had two color televisions, a DVD player, and a VCR. If there were children in the home (especially boys), the family had a game system, such as an Xbox or PlayStation. In the kitchen, the household had a microwave, refrigerator, and an oven and stove. Other household conveniences included a clothes washer, clothes dryer, ceiling fans, a cordless phone, and a coffee maker.
The home of the average poor family was in good repair and not overcrowded. In fact, the typical poor American had more living space than the average European. (Note: that’s average European, not poor European.) The poor family was able to obtain medical care when needed. When asked, most poor families stated they had had sufficient funds during the past year to meet all essential needs. By its own report, the family was not hungry. The average intake of protein, vitamins, and minerals by poor children is indistinguishable from children in the upper middle class, and, in most cases, is well above recommended norms.
@@b.w.6535
Not to mention that ,well, people get bored.
@@dcm621 Sorry, but I only do research from the original sources.
@@dcm621 What part do you not understand? I saw that information years ago, found it interesting, then did the research at three government agencies (I've been doing active (daily) research for 55 years) and found it to be accurare.
The only people who aren't going to work with UBI are the same people who aren't working now.
But even those people, if they had an income to pay their rent and buy groceries, would be pumping that money into the local economy, creating jobs for other people who are able to work.
You really never go wrong with giving more money to poor people.
Nonsense. At age 60 it would push me to retire NOW. That would open a nice job for some younger person.
@@MrSteeDooeven better!
Imagine if we turned even a fraction of our bloated military budget to actually supporting our society.
Even if we took the entire military budget ($842 billion) that would only be enough to fund a $12,000 UBI for 70.16 million people. The problem is that there are about 340 million people in the US. Even if you limit it to only those 18 and older, that will still be around 265-270 million people.
The US likely is going to have to at least partially dismantle the welfare state. Programs like SNAP and TANF should be obsolete with UBI. Programs like Medicaid and SSI may be difficult if not impossible to phase out due to the high cost of medical care.
I think we also have to look at possibly eliminating the double dip with Social Security retirement (OASI) benefits. That program is funded separately from the rest of the government through part of payroll tax revenues (as is Medicare and Federal Unemployment). People pay into Social Security as they work and collect when they retire; people would pay into UBI as they work, but they would collect now.
Im a sick and disabled queer person. We don’t know if I’ll get better. I could get worse. And Im hardly the only disabled person who could use the help. I don’t want to not work. But the systems we have in place are draconian.
By systems, you mean to have to get off your butt and work to live? What a concept.
People who thinks having a $1,000 cheque/month could live comfortable lives, never had to live on a $1,000 a month budget
I don't have kids but I 1000% support tax credits for families, especially since it will help children. I always vote for raising property taxes if that money is going to education.
I love the idea of a UBI. How much human creativity could be unlocked when people aren't scrabbling for their survival basics. My biggest concern isn't that recipients would spend it all on tobacco and booze, it's that landlords will be chomping at the bit to raise rent, taking all that money, and keeping people in poverty. The rental market must be better regulated before anyone considers a UBI.
The beauty of UBI is that everyone would receive it, including private landlords. There would be no justification for them to raise rent. And I agree that serious restrictions on price gouging would have to be addressed at the same time including the rental market.
End of the day, so what if some people spend it on drugs and booze? That's their problem if they won't use the free money to make their rent and better themselves. You aren't their parent, you aren't responsible for the shit they do to themselves. I would like to tell a story that's close to my heart. My girlfriend, right now, is trying to move out of an abusive household and a tangled parental situation. Her parents are divorced, and it only gets worse from there. her stepmother wants to keep her (and me now) practically attached to her hip. Her dad is a prick who takes his anger and issues out on the people closest to him. Her mom is vindictive, catty, treats her own daughter like one of her girlfriends, and acts like a 16 year old at 39. Her step dad, from what I've seen, seems to be the only one who just cares and wants to see her be well. She has to work full-time at 19 so she can make enough to move into a 2 bedroom with a roommate hopefully by January. If she had some kind of extra passive income, wherever that came from, she would be out that door and be thriving right now. SHE is the kind of person that would benefit from this extra income and use it well. On top of all of that, she helped to care for a cancer patient. Me. I am the cancer patient she helped care for. I managed to tank chemo like a beast, but I still had to be carted to the hospital and back home for my own safety while getting chemo. She either had to find opportunities to take me in for chemo that worked with her schedule, or she had to take off valuable hours that could have gone to savings, or car maintenance, or gas, or any number of other things. None of this would be nearly as stressful if she knew that she could just take off work every so often. Her situation could be drastically better if she could use that extra income to move out. I have said my piece.
@@metroplexprime9901 where did I say anything about drugs and booze other than I wasn’t concerned that people would do that? I know people don’t use government assistance money that way. It’s a myth perpetuated by those who are against the idea of government assistance that people are lazy and don’t want to work, it’s simply not true, and it hasn’t ever been true. Most people want to work and support themselves, even if a UBI was more than a living wage, people would still work, but maybe they’d choose work that gives them meaning and fulfillment instead of work that erodes away at their soul. THAT’S why there is resistance to UBI. Because who would do all the menial, degrading, shitty jobs unless they must, to survive? I agree your girlfriend would benefit from UBI. Many many people would.
@SeonasStudio I think you missed my point, sorry for using the word you as though I was directly addressing you, I meant it more rhetorically. I agree with your premise, impoverished people would use that income for things that they need. I just wanted to present the point that, end of the day, it doesn't matter if some people end up using it for drugs or booze. The people who would use it wisely (I gave my girlfriend as an example) make the outcomes well more than worth the potential cost and the side effects it might have, even if we consider it from just a humanitarian aspect.
@@metroplexprime9901 gotcha! No worries :)
This was a really great video, Leeja! Thoroughly researched and had a blanaced view. I can tell you put a lot of work into it. Well done!
UBI is essentially giving to everyone what politicians give to their wealthy benefactors. Personally, I think there has to be at least one single mom out there at least as deserving of their compassion and consideration as did Shake Shack, Elon Musk, and the crew of Jeff Bezos’ phallic rocketry club.
Educate yourself and do better, instead of wanting what others have earned.
Not the phallic rocketry club! 😂😂😂
@@JohnWarner-lu8rq So we can have our money back from Shake Shack?
@@noosphericaltarzan That makes no sense.
@@JohnWarner-lu8rq You just promulgated the idea that people should not take what others have earned. Can we -- the tax payers who are struggling right now -- have our money back that was lost to those PPP loans? Can we have the money the banks took from us in 2008? Can we have subsidies back for all those pharmaceuticals that we now get price gouged for after we footed part of the r&d? Do you really need this spelled out for you?
The studies that have been done on UBI point toward it being a positive for everyone in society and that the cost of UBI pays for itself multiple times over in the future.
The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@@thequarter2 having something to depend on is better than perishing to poverty
@@thequarter2 Stop repeating that dammit. Engage the issue or get lost.
The studies don't account (whatsoever) for price inflation on a national level.
Economics is like kryptonite for most UBI supporters.
We already saw what a 0.25% federal funds rate does to the economy; 42% inflation in 3 years according to the USD M2 Supply.
UBI is essentially a 0% interest rate loan - as far as the Federal Reserve is concerned.
How would you account for that? Aside from giving an annual pro-rate adjustment for UBI..
@@vladimirofsvalbard9477 nope the ubi will help more than inflation increase. The economy is bigger than you think and a ubi or minimum wage increase will not cause as much inflation as you think. There are studies on this too. Its a you problem that you havent researched.
UBI is an awesome idea and would transform the lives of millions and millions for the better… which is exactly why we’ll never get it..
Why is it that the person who says pull yourself up by your bootstraps, has a house on land, and a vehicle made in the last few years. Yet votes against a UBI for those that don’t have any of those things.
You are probably the same kind of person who also thinks teens and young adults still jumping inside a bounce house sometimes is okay too .,;,
@@hello-sz7hp what’s finding enjoyment in life have to do with anything. Why dose life need to be a joyless experience. Work hard and make the economy grow, even though you don’t get more than at best subsistence. Work till you’re old and die. Fear the immigrants that simultaneously take your jobs, and also don’t work.
I'm stuck living on disability. The pandemic era maximum allotment of food ebt benefits made an incredible difference for me. I got something like $270 a month. I was able to handle my financial needs. But not anymore since that mandate ended. I'm now $800 in debt. Even if we just had a universal food benefit of ~$300 a month, it would make an insane difference
270 for sdi or ebt? do you get sdi? or is it all under ebt?
Does it matter? Ebt went down and food prices went up. EBT should reflect inflation in a realistic and necessary way
I can’t imagine the future because of AI without UBI. Our society just won't be able to cope.
Canada has a MAID program for those who can't get jobs. (MAID is basically a medically assisted suicide...no forms needed)
@@dm95422you get how dystopian that is right? It's a volunteer death camp. It's outsourcing the "rounding them up part" to the people you want rounded up and saving on brick and mortar locations by removing the need for camps.
True... sooner or later, we will indeed own nothing and be happy..
To me, an ideal world is one where robots and AI can safely do most things and we are given UBI.
@@dm95422 I find that really depressing... They rather kill them than give them the possibility to afford to stay alive. The governments are evil and need to be replaced.
So we pay a lot towards the military... i bet we can pull a few billions from that😂
Having a well equipped and trained military is in the Constitution. Taking care of individuals is not. Why? Because it's Marxism/socialism/communism.
Yeh, like half our tax dollars
@@down-to-earth-mystery-school I really doubt that 13.2% of the FY 2023 U.S. federal budget is like "half our tax dollars"...
@yourneighbourhooddoomer535 Yeah, it's a lot of billions but not half
@@cuckoo-clockheart True, but having a well trained and equipped military is authorized by the Constitution, not so for 95% of what government does.
As a Medical caregiver to an elderly parent who suddenly past away and the suddenly lost of income, UBI is a floor I need.
Relatable. My mom was diagnosed with lung cancer and dead within 10 months. I quit my job and took care of her during this time, and UBI would've been a boon
UBI would be far preferable to the current welfare system as it exists today.
True. The way corporations benefit is outrageous.
It would be cheaper too.
@@nicholasschroeder3678 That is not called welfare. That is called subsidies. Subsidies are great for the economy. Just ask the lobbyists who give back a small portion to the politicians! My company gets $100 billion in Tax payer money, I kick back $100 million to the politicians that made it possible. Perfectly legal.
We are getting pampered this week! Thank you!
So many people have to work 2-3 jobs just to afford basic needs. That's absurd when you consider the hundreds of billions of our tax dollars that are spent overseas yet we're told there isn't enough money to help citizens here. This government is the enemy of its people.
It's not governments (taxpayers) jobs to take care of you.
actually, that's exactly what a government is tasked with - taking care of its citizens, its resources and its territory. Besides, the money came from us!@@JohnWarner-lu8rq
@@JohnWarner-lu8rqit literally is their job to provide services
The government is meant to serve and protect the people, not be the slave of corporations who want defacto slave labor with such low wages.
@@IHateThisCommunity Care to show me in the Constitution where it says that? And, most people work for small businesses, not corporations. If you knew anything about running a business, you might think differently.
@@JohnWarner-lu8rq The Covid business grants beg to differ
Amazing research. Thank you for this.
Even Nixon. Wow!
As a disabled person that can't work but also didn't have the right jobs to qualify for disability (because apparently that is an insurance that some jobs offer) this would be amazing.
It would help so many people.
The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@@thequarter2you're really copy pasting that comment everywhere huh...
*I HAVE A UBI* kind of - I wrote a book 8 years ago that sells enough copies each month to pay my basic bills if I am VERY frugal. *IT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE*
Since then I have done a degree in Ancient Chinese Philosophy* I have learned to be a tailor of men's bespoke historical suits, I have written 3 more books, I work part-time now due to ill health but I am NOT in a blind panic about the bills. I am hoping to go to China for a few years to write another book.
*Ancient Chinese Philosophy was nothing like as interesting as I thought it would be.
lol….if they hate food stamps, section 8, Medicaid, daycare assistance and Pell grants then do you really think they want to help people 🤷🏽♀️
Republicans are party wealthy so intensive is get more people wealthy Democrats is party of poor and want big government and control to force Ideology . So insentive is keep people poor and dependent. Look at the jobs numbers the same way the government almost shut down . Proves we need to shutdown the government
No, so maybe don't vote for those j*ck*sses. Or better yet, work to get better people elected. (Yang is a m*r*n, so clearly he's not worth backing)
And yet we have illegal food stamps, section 8, Medicaid, daycare assistance and Pell grants. You don't have a clue.
They actually love it, because it can be weaponized to coerce people and score politically. UBI would be highly conditional, strewn with caveats, prohibitions and taboos. You would get UBI, but it would be set at a level nobody could live on, would be highly regulated in what's allowed and not allowed on UBI, restricting it to mere "survival" like food stamps today. Instead of a basic income it would become a means to control people, especially the poor and minorities and used as a means to hurt them or use it as political posturing "Vote for me, I'm putting a boot on the throat of these horrible people !"
UBI would also become a political battleground with some saying it should be removed to encourage people to work their shins off since working yourself to the bone is just about the only thing that justifies your existence, while others would seek to find restrictions or cut down on it to "save the budget"
Of course the biggest proponents of UBI is the whole employment sector, they can shunt the cost of labour onto the government and get people to work for free and only deal out minor perks and bonuses. All the important jobs would still be handsomely paid, you just get a nice little bonus from the government on top like an extra allowance.
The US is very different from Europe in that the concept of helping people has been replaced by the whip and the stocks. Attack the poor for being a drag on society, keep minorities down and rouse people into hating anyone who accepts so much as a handout. UBI would be a fantastic way to make McJobs even worse and since it's universal, all the good folks who already feel entitled will be happy to get a nice bonus, which means the GOP will fight this until they can roll it out themselves and score.
It's about deservedness.
Items about conservatives believing poor people don't deserve to be middle class.
Love the graphic of A. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. Well researched and this video gives much to consider.
Libertarians don't support UBI in the same way that nice people support UBI. Libertarians want to be a able to use it to replace spending on healthcare and education, and so they can privatise everything
i really hope we can achieve UBI one day. not just for me but for the younger generation as well. they didn’t ask to be here and they deserve a chance at a better life.
Maybe in 250 years, if we're lucky.
UBI wouldn't last 3 years; I guarantee you.
How do you account for inflationary pricing from UBI?
Yep. There’s no doubt about how expensive “life” is these days. Living in poverty is no joke, and seeing comments like “you should have planned better,” or “you should have gotten a better job,” really infuriates me. These people have zero clue. I always tell them : "That's not an argument, it's a moral posture".
No matter how much one "should have", these situations will continue to arise under the current economic conditions : it's a statistical fact.
And therefore it's necessary to act. We need a UBI yesterday, not just for workers who are falling behind, but for the disabled, the homeless, the poor, and for pensioners. Being older doesn’t mean life gets less expensive. It doesn’t.
99% of the people who did "plan better" were either born in wealthy families, or are boomers who literally used their voting power to make the government and economy serve their needs. I'm sure if everyone else could "plan" to be born rich and powerful, we would have!
I understand your argument but on the other hand I work with several 25 year old people who can't resist new Iphones, tattoos, and daily $6 lattes. They need to THINK AHEAD.
It’s insane to me that at the beginning of the video he said “ why would we give out millions we don’t even have to people who don’t deserve it” whole time we can fund war
So you're fine if Russia conquers Ukraine, and is right on the border of Poland? Neat.
Because he believes only rich people deserve government help.
@@scifirealism5943You are probably the same kind of person who also thinks teens and young adults still jumping inside a bounce house sometimes is okay too
Universal basic income isn't radical it's just a band-aid on a wound much bigger than we think.
Yes. The answer is yes.
People will be able to leave abusive relationships too. It's a win win.
I don’t know who said the problem is giving $ to people who don’t deserve it, but that instantly made me upset. As a human we are all created equal and no one deserves to be treated differently.
No there are plenty of people who don't deserve it
@@zackt6120 - like who?
1. Some people don’t properly use money and use it on drugs, gambling, or other means of crime/stupidity, 2. What you make should be based on skills you have, the work you did and the knowledge you have. Not existing. 3. All of this is completely socially and economically incorrect. If I own a business and everyone is getting $500-$1000. I will make my milk cost $25 per-gallon. Socially this is assuming people will use it for the right things and 90% of people will not. Statistically speaking it will be used on eating out, gambling, lottery tickets, etc.
Now you’re increasing income taxes so people who have worked their asses off some of them coming out of those impoverished areas are now forced to have more of their money be taken from them after they worked their ass off for it. Which is unfair. Owning a business I would also simply decrease pay to my workers.
Additionally, all that’s happening when they increase the income tax is now they’re just saving the money you have given them and resending it to you and MAYBE you come out with an extra 6k year and other people will come out with an extra negative 10-200k per-year.
Simple fixture to this would be eliminating income taxes for certain tax brackets instead of increasing them for everyone or just eliminating them all together.
Two sorts of people in the world. One sort says that food and shelter are human rights, and that in a society where you can't access food and shelter without money, that makes an allowance of enough money to supply your needs a defacto human right.
The other sort hates their neighbours and would rather see them die than have their human rights supported because they "don't deserve" to live.
UBI would cut down on petty theft. People wouldn't need to steal from grocery stores because all their paycheck went to mortgage, rent, gas, bills.
This prevailing sentiment among Americans (even a lot of otherwise liberal ones) that we shouldn't give ANYONE benefits because a FEW people might abuse them is crazy. Helping people isn't the important part to them - it's making sure the wrong people don't get help. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Very enjoyable and informative. It’s crazy how something so good never gets implemented in this country.
The only peoblem with UBI is that it makes people dependent on the government.... Which in a way might be equated to communism...
@McRae1 speak for yourself 🤓🖕
In our society, people’s basic needs aren’t a right, but a privilege…. That absolutely needs to change ….
No, it doesn't. If you like that, move to China.
_"That absolutely needs to change …."_
People like you always seem to forget that other people have to work, so that you can have those "basic needs".
@@Historia.Magistra.Vitae. no… absolutely.
I’d say what really happens is that people like you forget that people has to work while Elon musk do nothing so he can accumulate by himself a crapton of money.
People has to work and be fairly paid for the work that provides people with their basic needs, what can’t happen with such services is to make the boss a millionaire…. It’s impossible under capitalism, and won’t happen overnight. But it needs to change and asap.
@@seilaoquemvc2 _"I’d say what really happens is that people like you forget that people has to work while Elon musk do nothing so he can accumulate by himself a crapton of money."_
Elon Musk doesn't need to anything anymore since he has provided services and products to the people and to the society as a whole, which people are willing to buy and pay for. He already did his share of work.
@@seilaoquemvc2 _"It’s impossible under capitalism, "_
Wrong. It is not, and you don't even have Capitalism in America in the first place. You have a mixed economy system, not Capitalism.
Actually, Alaska has had UBI for quite awhile now. It has maintained staying power.