Posted on 07/17/2018 4:49:55 PM PDT by PROCON
In his first major speech since leaving office, former President Barack Obama endorsed the idea of providing a universal basic income.
Speaking at the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in South Africa on Tuesday, Obama raised the notion of guaranteed income as a way to reduce what he called "yawning disparities" in wealth, education, and security across different socioeconomic groups.
"It's not just money that a job provides," said Obama. "It provides dignity and structure and a sense of place and a sense of purpose. So we're going to have to consider new ways of thinking about these problems, like a universal income, review of our workweek, how we retrain our young people, how we make everybody an entrepreneur at some level. But we're going have to worry about economics if we want to get democracy back on track."
He additionally called on the rich to support higher taxation, saying that "you don't have to take a vow of poverty just to say 'let me help out a few of these folks.'"
I personally support the idea of Universal Basic Income. However it first needs to be funded via a Sovereign Wealth Fund (once the National Debt is paid off) and limited to spending each year the minimum of the average annual income the past 5 years or 5% of the lowest principal balance the past year and just 30% of that spending on Universal Basic Income.
George McGovern proposed that in 1972 and it cost him the election.
Even staunch New Deal Democrats like my granddad couldn’t stomach it.
“No problem. It will be right from your pocket..”
And your kid’s pockets. And their children’s pockets, too.
I guess he figures that since he’s getting a government paycheck for the rest of his life, everybody else should too... LOL
It’s amazing that America went from considering the word ‘Liberal’ to be equated with that dirty word Socialism during the Reagan years, to actually electing a Socialist into the White House... Thanks to McCain, Romney and of course... The Socialist media.
They’re coming out of the word work now... And soon they’ll be calling for the imprisonment of anybody who doesn’t accept their politically correct edicts and philosophy. Of course, the first to be rounded up will be the Capitalist... And they all happen to be Jewish, so you may as well round them up too... They will take over industries deemed necessary to the ‘national’ interest, like software companies and anything associated with the military industrial complex and security. Guns will need to rounded up and then the next thing you know they’ll be performing abortions after the fact... Eliminating people with ‘defects’, those who are mentally challenged and people who will taint society with their impurities and lack of intelligence... You know, the ‘rednecks’...
Margaret Sanger, Charles Lindbergh, Tommy Douglas, Adolf Hitler, ... They all believed in eugenics and they were all socialist purist who wanted society to eliminate people with a lack of ‘intelligence’ so society would be nothing but hardworking people who would better the national interest and not be a burden to society.
Let’s hope something changes, the media has already bought lock, stock and barrel into the Socialist dogma of political correctness to the nth degree... The thing that empowered them the most was their ability to hoodwink America into voting for a Socialist not once, but two times in a row... But their gambit to keep it going by getting Hillary elected fell on deaf ears, and Trump spoiled their party and they’ve been crying and screeching on a daily basis ever since.
Now they are openly supporting and cheering on antisemitic candidates like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez... Republicans better get their sh*t together and stop supporting candidates like McCain... RINO Appeasers who accept socialism and shun conservative values.
Obama & Clinton are losers, failures, has been dead beats, empty suit and empty pants suit. Neither could fill up a basketball or ice hockey arena in the USA. Both must go offshore, overseas to get any measurable notice of public attention.
Obama cannot run for our highest office and Clinton scores about 5% support for her to run for POTUS once again. the overwhelming numbers of Democrats cannot stand this unbalanced woman.
Two words for these two low life disgusting dregs of humanity...GAME OVER!!!
For how long is anyone's guess.
Milton Friedman also thought this a worthwhile idea. His caveat was to abolish all other government welfare- SS, food stamps, medicare/Medicaid , government pensions etc.. Every single program.
P.S. With the National Debt at approx. 21T and annual deficits likely to average 1T its looking improbable that we’ll ever pay off the National Debt in my lifetime :( UBI may be possible some places but never on the dime of any government in the USA this next century.
Sorry but Star Trek is a fantasy idea
Universal Basic Income is a great idea.
But do not stop at $10,000 a year basic income.
$80,000 per year, for everybody would work.
That is just enough money to pay for a house, down payment, health insurance, food, RVs, cruise ships and monthy vacations.
UBI is great.
Sorry; but that train has been derailed.
Since 'the rich' own the factories that make stuff; they'll just raise the price of the stuff that they make to cover their extra taxes.
Thus; no pain for them.
We; the middle taxpayers that BUY the rich folks stuff; will be the ones who end up paying more.
So; in order not to hurt anyone economically; and to avoid all the extra tax related expenses; the Gov't should just print enough more money each month to cover the UBI problem.
I see Mrs. Ghetto Trash is sitting their looking pleasant as always........NOT!
The sad thing is there’s probably a small handful here that would go for it if they thought it would help them....
Ideally, it would replace public assistance. However, with Obama you can bet it will simply be a supplement.
“Money.. provides dignity and structure and a sense of place and a sense of purpose.”
“Wrong. Work does. But he’s never worked, so...”
Totally wrong, I doubt that I have ever seen so much wrong in one sentence as claiming that money from any source provides all that. I don’t know how anyone can take Obama seriously, I didn’t take him seriously after the first day that I was made aware of his existence.
Other peoples money.
Charles Murray, a “conservative heavyweight”? Especially when he calls himself libertarian and is agnostic?
OK; now I see where you’re coming from.
Mr. Murray, you can say $500, but it won’t stay that amount for ling, will it? Any amount given away will never be enough. In any case, even if it were affordable, the moral hazards involved should make it a non-starter.
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