by Josh Martin | Aug 13, 2014 | Research
[Josh Martin]
Frank voices a few objections to Zwolinski’s original post on the basic income at Cato Unbound. Frank agrees that a basic income would be preferable to the current system, but he fears that a basic income that raises a family out of poverty would never be politically sustainable. Hardworking taxpayers might soon hear about others who live off of their basic incomes and create animosity between the two groups. However, Frank does not write off a basic income entirely. Instead, he advocates a basic income that is not a livable amount paired with public work opportunities at sub-minimum wage levels. This would make poverty effectively a choice in his eyes, since everybody could find work that would raise them above the poverty line.
Robert Frank, “Let’s Try a Basic Income and Public Work”, Cato Unbound, 11 August 2014.
Cato Unbound is hosting a month-long discussion on "The Basic Income and the Welfare State"
by Craig Axford | Aug 12, 2014 | Research
Source: Wikimedia
[Craig Axford]
Indonesia’s aged and disabled populations are among its most vulnerable. A basic income guarantee covering the roughly 15% of Indonesia’s population that fall within these categories would significantly reduce inequality and improve quality of life.
Mickael B. Hoelman and Sugeng Bahagijo, “Arguing for Indonesian basic income”, The Jakarta Post, July 22, 2014
by Josh Martin | Aug 12, 2014 | Research
[Josh Martin]
Manzi responds to Zwolinski’s original post at Cato Unbound by attacking the basic income guarantee (BIG) using the randomized experiments from 1968 to 1980 as evidence that a BIG would reduce work hours. Manzi goes on to claim that the best way out of poverty is through work and thus welfare policies that have work requirements are the best way to address welfare. Manzi then turns towards Zwolinski’s idealism. Zwolinski argued for a constitutional amendment that would implement a BIG for each citizen, but Manzi thinks Zwolinski is too optimistic about passing the BIG into law. The democratic process contains many behind-the-scenes changes to bills, so passing a pure BIG seems far-fetched to Manzi.
Jim Manzi, “When the Basic Income Guarantee Meets the Political Process”, Cato Unbound, 8 August 2014.
Cato Unbound is hosting a month-long discussion on "The Basic Income and the Welfare State"
by Craig Axford | Aug 11, 2014 | Research
Is a basic income something that appeals to values across the political spectrum?
[Craig Axford]
“The left can agree because basic income provides economic security for all Americans. The right can get behind it because it’s a form of economic security that doesn’t interfere with market forces as much as other forms of social security, such as raising the minimum wage.”
Paul Hiebert, “Universal Basic Income: Something We Can All Agree on?”, Pacific Standard: The Science of Society, July 31, 2014
by Karl Widerquist | Aug 10, 2014 | Research
Paul Krugman, the New York Times
In this article, Noble-prize-winning economist Paul Krugman criticizes a plan for a Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) put forward by libertarians. He does not say outright whether he believes BIG is a good or bad idea in itself. He says instead that a libertarian plan to eliminate costly, inefficient welfare bureaucracy and save enough money to provide a sizeable basic income guarantee for everyone. With reference to Mike Konczal, Krugman argues that there isn’t enough inefficiency to fund such a large initiative. Krugman writes, “Actually, the cost of bureaucracy is in general vastly overestimated.” According to Krugman, “The great bulk of welfare-state spending comes from a handful of major programs, and these programs are fairly efficient, with low administrative costs.”
That’s the extent of the analysis. Krugman criticizes only this one plan for BIG. He doesn’t say anything good or bad about BIG overall or about whether it would be worth paying more taxes to create a BIG. By criticizing one plan for BIG and saying nothing good about any other plans, the overall implication is negative, but that is only an implication, and it may or may not be intended.
Paul Krugman, “Libertarian Fantasies.” The New York Times, Opinion Pages: The Conscience of a Liberal, August 9, 2014
by Craig Axford | Aug 10, 2014 | Research
[Craig Axford]
The question of whether a person would be better off with a basic job or a basic income is explored in this post.
Jeremy Scheff, “Basic income vs. basic job”, dumbmatter.com, November 13, 2013
