Category: Update

Universal Basic Income: A New Future

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Universal Basic Income: A Stepping Stone to the Future

By Ross Turner

 

Not a New Idea

How often it is that in times of turbulence and upheaval, ideas once thought fantastical suddenly seem quite rational.  Such is the case of Universal Basic Income (UBI), also called a “basic income guarantee” or “Social Security-for-all.”  The concept was first introduced in the  16th century, with notable advocates such as Thomas Paine and then revived in the early 20th century by Bertrand Russell, but only in the modern age has there been a true necessity and demand for it.

UBI May Be an Idea Who’s Time Has Come

The idea, at its core, is to give every citizen a regular, untaxed sum of money regardless of employment status or income.  The thought is that this will raise the poorest recipients out of poverty and help the overall economy by boosting consumers’ purchasing power and economic mobility.  Many people, however, have a negative visceral reaction to “handing out” free money, worrying that people will stop working, or worrying about how to pay for such a program in the first place.  First, let’s look at why something like Universal Basic Income will be needed in the very-near future.

A Robot Took My Job

Since the Industrial Revolution, technology has displaced workers. Machines were capable of higher productivity than their human counterparts, forcing some to take up work in these new “factories” that housed them. As industrialization spread, businesses, consumers, and workers became dependent on these machines for their livelihoods.  Though this technological boom disrupted many traditional professions, it often created new ones, shifting more and more workers from farm to factory, country to city.

Technology Today and Tomorrow

Over time, technology became even more productive, efficient, and cost-effective, shifting workers yet again from manufacturing to retail, from city to suburb.  Many economists believed that technology would continue to create enough new jobs to replace the ones it destroyed, but few predicted just how efficient technology would become.  Automation has simply become too productive and cost-efficient for businesses to not embrace.  And the more businesses automate, the more others do so to stay competitive.

An Economic Shot in the Arm

The result is the rapid and economically incentivized displacement of workers, a shrinking job market, and growing income inequality.  Technology is doing more and more of the work, while workers and consumers are less and less able to afford the goods produced.  This also hurts businesses, as too few people have money to spend on what they’re selling. A Universal Basic Income is a shot in the arm of the economy, seeking to better circulate the vast wealth captured by a small handful of big businesses and super-wealthy.

With Whose Money?

Aside from the perceived “moral” questions, the foremost concern people usually raise is the cost: how does one pay for such a massive program?  The short answer is: it depends.  The funding and need itself for a UBI depends on each individual country.  For one, it need not be fully universal, though this often helps “sell” it.  There are different payout schemes where high-earners receive less or not at all.

Income Inequality Growing

One proposal is to end current welfare programs and use that money for a Universal Basic Income.  This would free up that cash, but also eliminate many government agencies and bureaucracy.  Another, obvious way is to raise taxes on the super-rich, which is similar in effect to cutting their payouts.  Income inequality has grown steadily for 30 years, with America’s top 10% now averaging more than nine times the bottom 90%.

The Projected Price Tag

A combination of cutting redundant government programs, shifting funds from others, and taxing the rich in varying degrees could cover a large part of the roughly $3 trillion annual cost of a UBI, (assuming a $1,000 monthly payment for every adult.)  Many might still balk at that price tag, but it’s important to remember that a Universal Basic Income will actually grow the economy, by some estimates as much as $2.5 trillion over 8 years.

Good for Growth

One of the most basic principles of economics is that businesses need consumers to survive, and consumers can’t consume if they’re broke.  Giving everybody a monthly income would simply allow people to spend more.  According to the Institute for Policy Studies, every extra dollar given to low-wage workers adds about $1.21 to the national economy, while every dollar going toward high-income earners adds only 39 cents. Put another way with a UBI every poor person will spend $1,210 of the $1,000, while the wealthy will only spend $390.

Many Voice Concern

Experimental Universal Basic Income programs have found that many spent their extra money on furthering education, finding a better job, or starting their own business, all of which help the individual and society at large.  Still, many are concerned that giving free money will make people lazy, or that they’ll just spend it on drugs or alcohol.  On the contrary, drug and alcohol usage went down when people were given a UBI, likely due to reduction of stress and gaining of opportunity.

What Studies Tell Us

As far as laziness, a Canadian UBI study in the 1970’s found that less than 1 percent of recipients stopped working, mainly to take care of children.  In the same study, recipients reduced their working hours on average by less than 10 percent.  This is in part because Universal Basic Income doesn’t discourage work in the way that welfare programs can.  In many cases, earning even a penny over the welfare cap – say, $1,000 –  results in a loss of benefits.

 A Better Way?

Combined with taxes, bills, and transport expenses, someone earning $1,200 may only come home with $800.  For many, it becomes financially rational to stay on welfare and not work.  With a Universal Basic Income, working can only improve one’s money situation.  Furthermore, welfare often forces people to take poorly paying jobs, keeping them in poverty.  A UBI gives people the money and time to search for better opportunities.

No Silver Bullets

Of course, some people will have a moral or ideological opposition to the idea of handing out “free” anything, and the idea of people not necessarily having to work.  Yet, this is money that in many ways the working classes have earned many, many times over and have been denied through decades of wage suppression, tax evasion, and countless types of financial trickery on part of the wealthy.  People who make their living solely through and inheritance and financial manipulation can hardly be said to work for a living, either. At any rate, a Universal Basic Income is not even an attempted fix to income inequality.

A Financial Floor For the Most Vulnerable

In an economy such as ours, inequality is a feature.  A UBI rather is trying to provide a financial floor for the most vulnerable citizens and even the playing field, giving workers leverage for better pay, better representation, and better benefits.  However, a UBI won’t address the problem of infinite growth on a finite planet and the unsustainable strain that capitalism puts on the environment.  It could, in fact, exacerbate it, with increased demand resulting in increased pollution and resource overshoot.  A Universal Basic Income, in this sense, is not a total fix or permanent solution.

Check, Please

In any society, there will always be a small number of people who simply hitch a free ride if they can.  But anyone who has been unemployed for long can attest that doing nothing gets boring fast.  The majority of people are driven by accomplishment, whether through a job or own their own, and a UBI empowers people to better their situations in the ways that make sense for them.  For some, this will just mean getting a better job.  For others, it will mean starting a business.  And yet others, who may be financially secure already, can pool and invest their UBI into non-profits, political organizations, or charities.  It’s a program that can help people survive, thrive, and organize the transition to the next socioeconomic phase of civilization.  It’s an acknowledgment, for the first time in a long time, that we are in fact a society, that we have contributed to this wealth over generations, and that we are entitled to a fair and reasonable slice of that wealth by birth.  Indeed, that realization itself may be the catalyst for change and the true legacy of a universal basic income.

 

 

https://archive.intereconomics.eu/year/2017/2/on-the-economics-of-a-universal-basic-income/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_income
https://academic.oup.com/wbro/article/32/2/155/4098285
https://buildthefloor.org/
https://ips-dc.org/wall_street_bonuses_and_the_minimum_wage/
https://www.marketplace.org/2016/12/20/world/dauphin
https://web.archive.org/web/20080621140909/http://www.basicincome.org/bien/aboutbasicincome.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGMO78A7YJU

Introducing Ross Turner

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Introducing Ross Turner

Ross Turner is a writer, artist, and sustainability activist. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Ross received a BFA in Illustration from Massachusetts College of Art and Design before relocating to the magical land of Oregon. Now 31, he lives in Portland with a very special cat, and enjoys drawing, running, learning languages, retro games, and of course, writing.

Mr. Turner’s first piece for Calamity Politics is “Universal Basic Income: A Stepping Stone To The Future” and will be available 12/16/18

The Long, Hard Fall Of Julian Assange

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The Long, Hard Fall of Julian Assange

by T.K. McNeil

 

Julian Assange Has Been Living At The Ecuadorian Embassy In London

Rogue Hacker Julian Assange Has Been Living At The Ecuadorian Embassy in London

It Is All In The Perspective

The difference between a “terrorist” and a “freedom-fighter” is essentially one of goals. One area where terms make a difference is the world of hacking. Used freely, and inclusively by the mainstream news media, “hacker” is little more than a general descriptor. All it really means, is someone who uses non-standard means to enhance their experience with technology.

They Wear Hats

If you have ever used a video-game cheat code or made non-factory improvements to your computer, congratulations, you are a hacker. The hacker world is diverse. The simplest distinction is between so-called “Black Hat” and “White Hat” hackers. Also known as “the criminal minority and the rest of us.” Though just as very few in the hacker community are nefarious, shadowy criminal types, equally few are virtuous, “White Hat” “Hacktivists.”

I Said It Was All Relative

Julian Assange Computer Programmer, Hacker, Activist and Wikileaks Founder

Computer Programmer, Hacker, & Founder of Wikileaks

As with the rest of humanity most are somewhere in-between. For most, hacking is surfing. Experimenting and testing to see what can be done with no particular goal in mind. Julian Assange is a “White Hat”. At least until recently. “Recently” being 2016 but like I said, everything is relative. Rather than being “done” as many have suggested Julian Assange and his notorious info-dumps are back in the news and not in a way many could have imagined.

Gray Hat

Assange is a lightning rod for controversy. Can you truly be controversial and popular?  Assange has never achieved popularity, but he has reached world-wide fame. I’d wager that even the most news ignorant of the populace have at least heard his name. His closest associates have said he is barely tolerable, and they continue to engage with him only because they believe in the importance of the work. Bringing truth to the world and bringing light to the dark places. Apparently forgetting that Lucifer was the bearer of light before the Fall.

Before The Fall

Julian Assange Was Accused Of Espionage And Theft In His Native Australia

Personal failings aside, Julian Assange was, and likely still is, a brilliant hacker. One of the best. This is after-all, the guy who figured out how to use and decode government data wires while still in his teens. He was however, “ratted out” and was charged with espionage (originally treason) and was tried in 1996 in a Melbourne, Australia.

Intellectual Inquisitiveness

He was convicted of 24 counts of “hacking” for crimes dating back nearly a decade. He received  leniency. The judge speaking to the matter said Assange’s “intellectual inquisitiveness” was extremely dangerous, however he “did not seek personal gain” and that was given weight. Assange was unique. He was a kid who had attended 37 different schools, lived in a cult with his restless mother and faced daily unpredictable circumstances growing up. But by the age of 15 he was sophisticated and expert enough to attack military computers, at a time before most Americans didn’t even have a personal computer.

Dr. Alina Polyakova Believes The Russian Government Is In Fact Using Wikileaks

Dr. Alina Polyakova

Motive

Another thing that was never at question was Julian Assange’s motives. The biography website Biography.com lists him as a “Computer Programmer, Hacker and Activist”. This was not to last long however, his uncompromising drive and near-pathological hatred of government (nearly being charged with treason will do that), shaded that white hat a distinctive shade of gray. Alina Polyakova, Director of the Eurasia Center volunteered this, “In his attempt to bring ‘transparency’, he ends up siding with the very regimes that deny transparency and human rights. That’s the irony of my enemy’s enemy is my friend.”

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Trust In Government In Trump’s America

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Trust in Government in Trump’s America 

Just My Opinion: By Brett Kondratiew

From The Outside Looking In

At the outset, I am not an American, instead I live in Australia but I have an interest in American Politics. Pretty much because its brutality is unlike anything I have ever seen. However under Donald Trump, it has reached unprecedented ferocity. Is trust in government a victim of Trump intention and rhetoric? Or, a reaction to five decades of government disregard for a growing disgruntled and distrustful electorate?

Controversy And Division

To witness a presidential candidate, openly condone the physical and often violent behavior by his supporters, certainly piqued my interest. Yes, the battlegrounds of immigration and race will always cause controversy and division but when used as an explicit, electoral “plan of attack”, was extraordinary to watch. So here we sit, some two years into the Trump Administration and the question is, “Has Trump’s America altered our trust in government”?

Statistics May Have The Answer

As an observer I would say yes, America has lost faith and trust in her government. Statisticians examining and correlating their numbers all have reached a somewhat different conclusion. Fewer than three-in-ten Americans express faith that their government will do the “right thing.” This distrust in government has been consistent in survey after survey since 2007. So, increased distrust in government is not just a phenomenon of Trump. Perhaps Trump’s election was more about the lack of trust in government than we will ever understand.

How Low Can We Go

Confidence and trust in Trump, the man, is also staggeringly low. Eugene Scott, a writer for The Fix and the Washington Post, presents the following figures.  In Sept 2018, only 36% of people approved of Trump’s job performance. When questioned further, less than 30% believed that Trump would do the “right thing”.  This is the lowest figure seen over the earlier 10 months. Factor in the following stats; more than 50% of men believe that the media have more credibility than the government. It is significant that only 8% of African-Americans  trust Trump. His trust numbers among women are dropping so fast it is hard to get an exact number. Taking all groups together the average of expressed trust in government is at an all time low of 19%.

Is Trust in Trump a Ship that has already sailed?

I like to have a bet on horses but there is no way that I would put any of my hard-earned on someone with so little support. When I decided to write this editorial, I was given a copy of Bob Woodward’s new book “Fear- Trump in the White House.” I did not expect that so early into the read, I would find a man so ill-informed and totally unsuitable to be the “world’s most powerful individual”. Bob Woodward is a highly respected journalist and his book is based on many hours of interviews with multiple firsthand sources. The material presented doesn’t surprise me. Nor, does it surprise me that Trump has refused to comment, other than to call Woodward a “liar” and his book a pack of “lies.”

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Hi, I’m Brett Kondratiew

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Hi, I’m Brett Kondratiew

Calamity Politics is happy to welcome a new contributor, Brett Kondratiew.  Brett was lucky enough to grow up on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach. I so envy the beach life. Brett now 58, lives on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Brett obtained his BA at the University of Technology in Education; with a dual major, English & Physical Education. Brett is married and has 2 boys, ages 18 and 21.  Of course, there is 7-year-old English Staffy dog. In his time off, Brett fishes and kayaks. Watch for Mr. Kondratiew’s article entitled, “Trust in Government In Trump’s America,” scheduled for release 12/5/2018.

Two Sides of Sexual Assault

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The Two Sides of Sexual Assault

T.K. McNeil

Motivated Hashtags

Most hashtags are little more than shouts into the void. #MeToo being an obvious exception.

Most hashtags are little more than shouts into the void. #MeToo being an obvious exception

Most politically motivated hashtags are little more than shouts into the void. #MeToo being an obvious exception. The #MeToo movement is a social reaction against sexual harassment and sexual assault. Few hashtags, other than those associated with the “Arab Spring,” have had the same sort of real-world results.

Support the Victim

It is both interesting and disheartening to watch how the conversation and narrative has shifted on the issue of sexual assault. Mostly for the negative. I don’t think this says anything negative about the hashtag itself. Because the hashtag really is about supporting the victims of sexual assault.

Going Viral

Social media erupted sending the hashtag viral. The explosive growth in size and importance of the hashtag went beyond what was expected, or perhaps, even intended. The problem with a bandwagon is that anyone can jump on board. The most shocking turn, at least to me, was the statement that #MeToo is for “women and victims, not men and perpetrators.”

Empathy not Agreement

I can empathize with the frustration behind such a statement, particularly in the context it was first made. The answer was given in response to questions about what the movement will do to help any men unfairly accused of sexual assault. There is, however, a much deeper implication and assumption to the statement which is wrong, by which I mean incorrect, in a fundamental way.

It Just Takes a celebrity

Alyssa Milano used the MeToo in a moving video and Twitter question

Alyssa Milano used the MeToo in a moving video and Twitter question.

On 10/15/17 film star Alyssa Milano in response to the media uproar over the sexual assault and harassment charges against Harvey Weinstein tweeted the following: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or sexually assaulted write “Me Too” in reply to this text”.

The Big Response

Within 24 hours social media was flooded with more than 12 million stories of sexual assault, and sexual harassment. #MeToo quickly became a way for users to talk about their experiences of sexual violence and just as importantly, stand in solidarity with other survivors. Despite gaining steam in light of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse case, this is not actually where the hashtag started.

Tarana Burke

The true progenitor of the phrase that would gain both fame and notoriety is African-American social and civil rights activist and community organizer Tarana Burke. Burke began using Me Too in 2006.

Tarana Burke, African-American sexual assault activist and civil rights organizer began using #]MeToo in 2006

Tarana Burke, African-American sexual assault activist and civil rights organizer began using #MeToo in 2006

Canada Too

Kelly Oxford is a Canadian humorist and blogger who in April of 2017 wrote a collection of essays in which she relates many of the worst things that have happened to her through her life in a funny self-reflective “When You Find Out The World Is Against You”, drew thousands of #MeToo replies within the first few hours.

Clearly a Creeper

Oxford’s accounts of sexual assault do not take a “men are evil” tone, which some #MeTooer’s have done. The closest thing is when she recounts a doctor, who was clearly a creeper, gave her an unnecessary breast exam when she was 14. The most egregious case, however, an attempted rape when Oxford was in high school, was stopped by the intervention of the assailant’s much smaller male friend.

Reasonable Reactions

Stories of intervention and help by men and boys are told far too rarely in the context of sexual assault. We all know at least one person who has been sexually assaulted. We also know at least one or more stories of men either intervening in the middle of an incident or supporting someone in the aftermath of an attack. Clearly, most men are appalled by sexual assault. Continue reading

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: The Newcomer

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AOC: The Newcomer

By Megan Wallin

An Emerging Star

No matter what your political leanings, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one to watch. She is the youngest woman ever elected to congress. Ocasio-Cortez was born in The Bronx, NY on 11/13/89 of Puerto Rican descent.

Political Upset

“Women like me aren’t supposed to run for office,” began the political rocket ship of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s primary campaign. Not only did she win 77.92% of the vote to defeat 10 time incumbent Joe Crowley she did it spending less than $200,000. Contrary to Ocasio-Cortez Crowley spent $3.4 million dollars. The fact that she won was a huge surprise, but the margin of victory, in combination with her minimal spending, caused what can only be described as a political earthquake. She went on to trample her Republican opponent in the 2018 mid-terms by more than 72%. Those facts alone have made her an emerging political star.

Puerto Rican Ancestry

Some media outlets didn’t even bother mentioning her name, pre-election results, as if to imply that her chances were so slim it didn’t matter that she was running. A day before the primary, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had tweeted that “some journalists still refuse to say [her] name,” simply referring to her as Joe Crowley’s opponent. Some people attributed her win to political trends, while others noted that she was of Puerto Rican descent, and had huge support from the Hispanic community. According to New York times reporting, “Her strongest support came from areas that were not predominantly Hispanic.”

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The Revolution Won’t Be Live-Streamed

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The Revolution Won’t Be Live Streamed

By Trevor K. McNeil

 

I wrote a song today, I hope you like it……

The Revolution Won’t Be Live-Streamed

In this brave new world

we all have a voice/

Though not every woman

legally has a choice/

Social Media is the best invention,

though we’re still not big on intervention/

YouTube can be

a great place for learning/

How better to forget

forests are burning?/

When you’re feeling ill,

you can Netflix and chill/

Escape your fears for a while/

Like how the leader of America,

is really just a tall child/

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Whitaker: Who Will Watch The Watcher?

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Whitaker: Who Will Watch The Watcher?

Trevor K. McNeil

 

How Did This Happen?
It seems there never was an ancient Chinese proverb “may you live in interesting times.” A pity; because rarely has it applied more than now. The term “post-truth” was coined for the age of Trump but has moved quickly past “alternative facts” and “post truth” to the point of “post-irony.”

Life is Theater
“Post irony” is a descriptor used to refer to a type of comedy in which the line between the performer and their character is intentionally blurred. I can think of no better way to describe Trump’s America. It is also a way to explain what happened in the aftermath of the most electrifying Midterm election in American history.

Error Upon Error
King Trump finally made good on his long simmering threat to fire AG Jeff Sessions. True to form Trump managed to create more problems for himself and his administration by his new appointee choice. “Now how could that happen?” you ask, with a barely concealed smile. “By appointing a successor illegally,” I say, minus the smile.

Intent to Obstruct
This is not how it is supposed to work. By law and established norms Rod Rosenstein should have been next in line for the appointment. Numerous legal pundits are claiming Trump acted “unconstitutionally” by appointing Mathew Whitaker to succeed Sessions at the Justice Department, even if only “temporarily.” Whitaker had been Jeff Sessions’ chief of staff. He had never been confirmed by the Senate for such a primary job.

Please Repeat
What’s his Name Again? Matthew Whitaker, Matthew Whitaker, Matthew Whitaker, keep repeating it, like the license plate on the fleeing car after a hit and run, so you don’t forget it.

Out of the Shadows
Most of Trump’s appointees have been famous or infamous, in one way or another. Initially, Matthew Whitaker appeared to be a nobody, who came out of nowhere. Some suggested the “mafia enforcer” listings of central casting. To me; more an “over-buffed” steroid abuser.

Past Behavior
Looking at Trump’s recent track record, Whitaker’s relative obscurity could well have been an intentional move, particularly after a rolling round of scandals and brew-ha-ha surrounding Trump associates and appointees. Such strategic thinking was quickly dispelled as Whitaker’s life has come under intense scrutiny.

Hiding in Plain Sight
Not 24 hours had passed before the NY Times published an Op Ed by George Conway III (well-known DC attorney and Kellyanne Conway’s hubby) and Neal Katyal (former Solicitor General and esteemed constitutional law expert). The Times piece questioned the constitutionality of Whitaker’s appointment. The state of Maryland later asked a Federal judge to invalidate the appointment and install Rosenstein “acting” AG.

Just Give Us a Couple Minutes
By the time the Conway-Katyal Op Ed hit the streets the skeletons in Whitaker’s closet had started rattling and clattering ominously. The elevation of Mathew Whitaker to replace the fired Sessions has brought new and intense scrutiny to his writings, his speeches, his tweets, and comments made by him as a cable news commentator.

World Patent Marketing
Whitaker’s involvement with World Patent Marketing may lead to criminal charges. *In May 2018 World Patent Marketing was ordered by a federal court in Florida to pay a settlement of more than $25 million to defrauded clients and shutter their operations. There are continuing investigations into the actions of multiple board members.

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