
Andrew Yang wants to run for president promising universal basic income - jonbaer
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/11/andrew-yang-wants-to-run-for-president-promising-free-cash-handouts.html
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ergothus
I'm interested in UBI, though I won't claim enough actual understanding to say
wonderful or terrifying.

Instead, I think the big deal is that the problem UBI is being discussed to
solve is not otherwise being taken seriously. Low education jobs are becoming
lower wage and offering fewer hours, while the growth of high education jobs
is not keeping up.

America freaked out about miners, but mining declined over 80 years, while
jobs like trucking, an order of magnitude larger in terms of workers, are
expected to have a much more rapid decline.

Perhaps these fears won't come to pass anytime soon. But if we spend 20 years
denying the problem instead of considering options, in 20 years we will be no
better prepared. Same for any number you drop in.

At a minimum, it'd be good to be studying the issue. Even if technological
unemployment is temporary or a nonissue, it would be really nice to have
evidence to that effect instead of trite dismissal.

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Fjolsvith
I never understood how a government can tax its citizens and then give the
money back as income. Why not just let them keep it in the first place?

If the government had a source of income different than taxation, then I see
UBI as being viable and ethical.

