For those following the Democratic primaries there have been some solid policy positions floated as part of the general debates.

One of the more interesting candidates in my book is Andrew Yang and one of the primary issues he brings to the table is Universal Basic Income (UBI).

I was fascinated to see how it would play out in an American context given the hyper-capitalistic nature of that country. I really believed he would drop it at some stage.

Instead he has seen quite a few presidential hopefuls off and is still in the race albeit just and it seems he is still gathering converts, not just from the left either.

Here is a Youtube podcast from Joe Rogan interviewing him. While it goes for over an hour they pretty well get straight into UBI at the start.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTsEzmFamZ8

I feel Yang has really elevated UBI into the political discussion in the US and given it a degree of credibility it would not have otherwise enjoyed. It will be interesting to see how much traction in gets after him.

Sounds like a really bad idea. Hope he has something worthwhile also, because that policy would be a dud.

If you want to find a socialist/communist, just look for someone who wants to give away something that is not theirs to give, someone else's money.

Dear NNS,

Joe Rogan is hardly a leftist and until he really started thinking about the impact of AI he was dead against any notion of a UBI. He has changed his mind. Andrew Yang has essentially taken the same path as he relates in the start of the video.

Alaska is one of the most conservative states in the US yet it has a form of UBI.

Republican president Richard Nixon came the closest to introducing a version of it;

"This led to the Family Assistance Plan (FAP), an ambitious social welfare program prepared by the democrat senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927-2003) on behalf of Republican President Richard Nixon’s administration. The FAP provided for the abolition of the aid program targeting poor families (AFDC) and incorporated a guaranteed income with financial supplements for workers which came close to a negative income tax scheme. It was publicly presented by President Nixon in August 1969, adopted in April 1970 by a large majority in the US House of Representatives, rejected by the relevant Commission of the US Senate in November 1970, and definitively rejected in 1972, despite several amendments meant to assuage the opposition, owing to a coalition between those who found it too timid and those who found it too bold."
http://basicincome.org/basic-income/history/

I would be interested in hearing which of Yang's arguments you find objectionable or without basis because I can't find any.

Dear Hasbeen,

So obviously you are not prepared to change your entrenched views on this and probably didn't even bother clicking the link.

Progressive minds with new ideas helped create Medicare, something you have admitted you rely on heavily. That too is "someone else's money".

The Alaskan scheme is funded through its oil revenues. Why can't a similar one be set up here with a decent mining tax?

We have already established a targeted welfare system which is effectively an established UBI.

No to UBI, since this will be the excuse to abandon the targeted welfare system, as the wealthy find ways to avoid tax and qualify for UBI.

What is needed is a means test applied to existing welfare benefits across the board, to prevent the plunder of the welfare dollar by the wealthy.

Dan