Thursday, April 17, 2014

Guarantee All Americans an Income?

Okay...  Having Laurie bring this up recently and then seeing both these articles at lunch was enough to make it a topic...

MinnPost Headed Toward Social Democracy
CNN Guarantee All Americans an Income

Doing some simple math...
319,000,000 citizens x $10,000/yr = $3,190,000,000,000/yr
Just a bit less than our current Federal budget...
Do you think everyone would get this base salary?
Or just those that were unwilling or unable to earn it?

I thought that it was funny that Alaska and Norway were mentioned as examples.  Lots of oil and few people... Does this seem like America to you?

These folks would like to jump from our current 38% of GDP up to ~57%...  See below for perspective.

Thoughts?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

At the moment, I am focused on making sure all Americans can have affordable health care. That job is big enough.

--Hiram

Anonymous said...

In my mind, guaranteed income is a horrible idea. It breeds the concept that you can get something for nothing. On the other hand a guaranteed job might be something to discuss a bit more. If one always has a job, regardless of how low the pay is, maybe it could break the cycle of despair felt by those who struggle to find one and eventually give up. A job is a contribution to society. A handout is a drain on society. The challenge in this concept would be having excellent administration that matches jobs to talents. Obviously those at this level have either had bad luck, and will work their way out once given the opportunity, or they are truly inept and need to be placed in roles that match their limited skills.

John said...

G2A Keep America Beautiful

Unknown said...

I think a guaranteed income is a great idea, though I don't think I brought it up. As robots do more and more of the work it seems very likely to me.

John said...

Since I am so Left leaning... Maybe I thought of it on my own...

Unknown said...

While this is the first I have heard of this guaranteed income proposal, it fits well that my belief that our country is wealthy enough to ensure food, housing and healthcare to all.

It does seem to me that it is better to limit how this guaranteed income is used, however, as in a food stamp card, insurance card, and housing voucher. I think some irresponsible parents might mismanage funds disbursed to them once or twice a month.

John said...

That's funny. I thought our country was deeply in DEBT... With it getting worse every day...

And we are back to Private Property Rights... and how to balance them against the "public good"... Interesting...

jerrye92002 said...

Richard Nixon first proposed the "negative income tax" idea, and it is still good, at least as a transition back to the notion that everybody is responsible for themselves, with help from their friends and neighbors if truly needed.

Here's the whole problem with these socialist schemes: The socialists want to redistribute the wealth. Capitalists want everyone to create more wealth.

John said...

FYI. The comment string for the MinnPost Social Democracy post is still going strong is still going...

Definitely 2 different perspectives. I appreciate Ilya's...

"Unfortunately, MinnPost did not publish my article about that.... In the Soviet Union they were saying "It’s better to do nothing for 100 rubles than to do something for 200 rubles." This is what is happening in Europe now and that is where America is going...People learn quickly; if one doesn't need to work to survive, he will not."

jerrye92002 said...

Illya would feel differently if government did not hold out the possibility of "something for nothing" and might live differently if the government did not ENFORCE that idleness on her -- i.e. the "welfare trap." And there is no value judgment there; there should be. It is "better" to earn your own way.

John said...

By the way, Ilya is a Conservative...

jerrye92002 said...

Then Illya isn't really a conservative. And it wouldn't matter if she was. I can call myself the Pope; that doesn't make me infallible. If the possibility of making 100 rubles for doing nothing did not exist because government was not in the business of wealth redistribution, the comment would have no value other than philosophical, and on THAT basis, it would be morally wrong.

John said...

A. I think Ilya is a he.
B. He is arging against Socialism.

Maybe I should have copied more of the quote.

The American equivalent is if the Government gives me $20,000 in welfare, why would I work to get $30,000...

jerrye92002 said...

Ilya or Illya, Ilja, are all variants of a male name. The question is, is Ilya's last name Kuryakin? If so, he is a fiction, just like the proposition he advances.

And I believe you have incorrectly stated the proposition. It should be "if the American government gives me $30,000 provided I do not work, and the only job I can get pays me $15,000, what choice do I have?"

John said...

Posted last name is Gutman...

jerrye92002 said...

Ilya Kuryakin was the side-kick of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E" on TV-- a fiction. Just like the idea that somebody can get ANY amount of money from "the government" when government HAS NO MONEY.