This is the most in-depth article on Andrew Yang’s Freedom Dividend I’ve seen.
The math looks legit and it would appear to create revenue in the end instead of growing the deficit.
First of all, most people will see more disposable income which they then can spend. The top 10% of the income decile would see a decrease in their disposable income due to their spending habits and the value added tax.
Eh. If I understand the guy’s methodology, then he’s left out the effect of the UBI on non-commodity goods with highly inelastic demand with respect to price.
If there’s one thing US biz people are very good at, it’s in jiggering ways to seize a share of a class raise in pay. For example, look at how retailers react to tax season early each spring by offering “deals” on their stuff, best deals naturally if you finance the purchase using your refund as a down payment. Or just look at college tuition rates and how they reacted to increases by government sources (tuition has skyrocketed up as universities seized the lion’s share of financial help).
To me any serious analysis of UBI has to take into account the effect on prices for certain non-commodity, low elasticity wrtp goods like medical care, new housing construction prices, roof shingles and roofing service prices, rent prices, auto prices, cellular plan prices, internet service prices, and prices for any other goods that as an American you must have in your ordinary day-to-day life (or for which you can be made to feel that way).
That said, I’m not 100% against Yang’s UBI in concept. AI is going to massively change American life, there is no doubt about it given our cultural preference for capital over labor. At least Yang has the courage to acknowledge its existence on the horizon.
I still have Yang and Tulsi Gabbard on my 2-name list of Democrat candidates who deserve serious consideration.
I agree that UBI should help more towards non-commodity, low elasticity wrtp goods.
I remember hearing Yang mention that the prices for such goods might go up, but free market competition will help curb the price hike.
Also, I don’t think education fits in this category. Some university’s brand name has a huge impact and they can pretty much set the price to their liking.
UBI is aimed to help out those with average to low income that might be severely impacted by automation, so it make sense that it won’t help making things like private school tuition cheaper.
One thing I really like about Yang’s plan (and Yang, too) is that it predicts an increase of GDP, not a shrinking. Yang’s UBI is not a socialist program imo because it’s pro-growth, or is meant to be. That’s very important.
For example, I’m all for new environmental programs if they generate a profit and if they’re net net positive for GDP. Too many environmental proposals seem to be all about slowing economic growth as a feature, as if retarding economic activity is an aspirational goal for the US. I mean, we’re Americans not Cubans or Russians or Venezuelans.
It makes me trust Yang more than Sanders or any others in the progressive left who can’t seem to be bothered by ideas like economic prosperity and growth. Candidate Yang is all about making money and turning a profit, a very important trait to me.
Do you think the Green New Deal aims to generate net positive GDP as well?
I think the most optimistic view of the GND is that growth in GDP would be a happy accident. It is not primary, however. In fact, the GND is not about environmental law or green energy or climate change at all. It’s just wearing that particular dress at this particular time.
I think the GND aims to generate power for the Democratic Socialists of America through controlling the means of production, the means of goods distribution, and income distribution in whole.
The green new deal was so laughably bad that it cannot even be considered a program. Let’s just forget about it.
Yang’s plan to me feels a bit ahead of its times. Him and tulsi are by far the most likeable candidates on the dem side, though they’re a bit too much immigration-friendly. If they weren’t running against a sitting president that has been doing a spectacular job for the US economy I’d gladly support either of them.
I wonder if maybe after a Trump’s second term the situation will be favorable for a UBI that isn’t just another “free shit if u vote for us forever” welfare ponzi scheme, as it has traditionally been for the dems.
And I was correct.
I would love to hear Yang’s feedback on this news. Actually, any American who believes that humans can reverse, or even halt global warming and that the USA needs to act legislatively must be horrified by Chakrabarti’s, AOC’s, and the DSA’s cynical exploitation of global warming as a Trojan horse for socialism. Obviously they could not care less about climate change if they’re willing to exploit it this way.
Whatever shred of support center- and right-leaning Americans had for new climate change legislation has now gone up in a billowing cloud of red smoke. New climate change legislation is now dead on arrival, and I’ll be very surprised if Democrats ever bring it up again as long as AOC remains in office.
Chakrabarti had an unexpected disclosure. “The interesting thing about the Green New Deal,” he said, “is it wasn’t originally a climate thing at all.” Ricketts greeted this startling notion with an attentive poker face. “Do you guys think of it as a climate thing?” Chakrabarti continued. “Because we really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing.”
We like Yang
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QinQrkcXAr8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZYX0lEwtSA
I’m sold on the UBI idea. It is a much better plan than raising the minimum wage to 15 dollars.
VAT tax on unessential and luxury goods is a great idea.
Ending bidding wars for corporate relocations is an amazing plan if we have UBI is in place.
18 year term limits for supreme court justices is great. 12 year term limits for congress is also great.
Our own data should absolutely be our property, and if someone is making money off of it, we should get a share.
There should be some oversight of Crypto currency.
Yang supports medicare for all.
His proposal to fix electoral college doesn’t involve abolishing it. Yang simply wants every state to assign electoral votes proportionally.
To end partisan gerrymandering, Yang proposes to use the efficiency gap as a measuring tool to gauge whether a district map is drawn fairly.
Heck, he even has make Puerto Rico a state as one of his platforms.
This guy is just filled with sound ideas.
If he just throw in preferential and electronic voting into his proposals, I mean, why isn’t this dude president already?
If he went on a profanity-laced tirade against Trump, calling him racist, sexist and islahophobic and/or transphobic, he would rise to directly behind Biden and Warren in the polls.
Well, in that Now This interview, he said entrepreneurs regard Trump as a marketing charlatan and a fraud. Yang then called Trump a bozo. I think that’s good enough.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT YEAR IT IS?
Yeah, but Yang also said he doesn’t want to play identity politics, as that wouldn’t be the way to unite people and doesn’t offer solutions to our current problems.
Yang is obviously browsing here for ideas.
Ok there goes my support for Yang into the garbage. Now hes the one playing identity politics. Was already a bit cautious about him when he kept pushing the Russia, Russia, Russia narrative.
I don’t think millennials get that Brady Bunch reference.
Also, Russia interfered in the 2016 election, it isn’t a narrative. It’s a narrative to say they didn’t.
All countries with a capable spy agency interfere with each others elections they’ve been doing this for decades. The US was caught interfering with the French and Brazilian elections during Obama admin, the news barely made a peep about it. You can bet the US tries to interfere with Russian elections unsuccessfully. We’ve interfered with Japan, Russia, Isreal, France, much of Central/South America you can bet UK and Israel do the same to US elections…its almost standard policy for spy agencies to do this. China interferes with Taiwans elections and countries in Asia and SE Asia. Russia has been interfering with US elections long before Trump, but why the Narrative that its only now happening and tied only to Trump, MSM should have done this during the Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush sr admins and launched 2 year investigations that go nowhere too.
Unsuccessfully?
Right I spoke too soon