Andrew Yang seems pretty awesome

Quote: Evenbob

You mean getting free money every
month caused less stress than going
out and earning it? Remarkable!

Laughing out loud

Quote: Evenbob

You mean getting free money every
month caused less stress than going
out and earning it? Remarkable!

That was one of your better posts, I must say.

Quote: AZDuffman

The "Freedom Dividend" will just become a road to serfdom. You cannot just hand out wealth. That wealth has to be stolen from someone else first.

It does seem to me that schemes that are solely based on distributing wealth are almost by definition illegal "Pyramid schemes". They are zero sum games so for everyone that makes money, someone else has to lose it.

Also there is anger that people feel towards someone getting something for free. Some people literally get furious that people on food stamps can purchase soda, or that they sell their SNAP benefits to be able to buy cigarettes and booze. Can you imagine the civil discontent when people use UBI to buy filet mignons.

Starting to really like this guy

“I'm going to mass pardon everyone who is in jail for nonviolent marijuana-related offenses"

Quote: terapined

Starting to really like this guy

“I'm going to mass pardon everyone who is in jail for nonviolent marijuana-related offenses"

I agree 100%.

Mike you are the math guru. My look at the numbers show that the cost of UBI is about the total federal spending currently. The saving from welfare are only about 10 - 15% of the new cost. This means that most of the cost of UBI would need to come from new taxes and almost double current government spending. Do you think this is actually sustainable? I would be very interested in your analysis of the UBI proposal.

Quote: Gandler

Yang frequently uses it to compare to the Freedom Dividend.

It is based on oil profits, which all AK citizens are allocated a share (dividend) of profits. Yang wants a national one based on Tech.

Based on tech? Meaning what? Stealing money from tech companies?

Quote: Pacomartin

Can you imagine the civil discontent when people use UBI to buy filet mignons.

When I was in the cab thing, every
month there was a frenzy to sell
food stamps for cash so they could
buy liquor and cigs. If cab fare was
$10 I would take a $20 food stamp
from them and buy groceries with it.
They got a free ride and I got $10
in free food. Thanks, gov't.

This was in the 80's when they
got booklets full of actual food
stamps that looked like EU euros.
They don't do that anymore.

Quote: kenarman

Mike you are the math guru. My look at the numbers show that the cost of UBI is about the total federal spending currently. The saving from welfare are only about 10 - 15% of the new cost. This means that most of the cost of UBI would need to come from new taxes and almost double current government spending. Do you think this is actually sustainable? I would be very interested in your analysis of the UBI proposal.

I haven't crunched any numbers yet, but whatever it costs I would raise through sales taxes, energy taxes, property taxes, and capital gains taxes. If I have to double all those taxes, so be it. Again, my goal is the average person breaks even.

Quote: Wizard

I haven't crunched any numbers yet, but whatever it costs I would raise through sales taxes, energy taxes, property taxes, and capital gains taxes. If I have to double all those taxes, so be it..

But you aren't creating anything,
you're just taking from the wealth
that's already there. Why don't
people understand that taxes are
the same as stealing.

Look at it this way. In the old old days
nobody had money, so taxes were
collected in the form of farm animals
and harvested crops. The tax collectors
would come to your property and
take half your livestock and half your
crops and almost impoverish you.
It's just a form of legal stealing of
already created wealth.