Paul Ryan is correct, according to a very recent well supported paper. The "war on poverty" has not been very successful, we need to look at new solutions. History has shown us that both sides are in the wrong, what we need is a real change. I find myself in favor of a universal basic income, something both sides should get behind, in my honest opinion. Something has to change. (It's a shame none of the candidates support a UBI.)
Paul Ryan says 'if you were raised poor, you’re just as likely to stay poor' as 50 years ago
Ryan wrote that "today, if you were raised poor, you’re just as likely to stay poor as you were 50 years ago." His support for this claim – a respected academic paper published in 2014 – found exactly what Ryan described. We rate the claim True.
I'd like to hear more (yes, I can google too) about this. Especially as lower paid (and some not so) jobs are automated.
More about a basic income? Ask away.
How is it funded? Taxes I presume, who pays it?
How does this affect our current tax structure?
What is the UBI tied to, how much?
Are there limitations on what you can do with this money (i.e. cannot buy luxury items)
Do we still have a minimum wage?
Can you have a low paying job and still receive a UBI?
Could this reduce our workforce size?
How about volunteer work to earn UBI if able?
I know, simple questions, I've had a couple beers.
I will admit that I am no expert, but I will do my best to address these.
How is it funded? Well, a UBI is made to replace all of our current "entitlement" programs, so the funding comes from that, and different plans do different things. Some plans want to give a basic income to individuals below that raises them right above the poverty line, and then cut it off once they get above the line, with safeguards in place to prevent abuse. Others want people to have a UBI regardless of income, which is what I personally support, as I feel the latter could be abused/used as as a way to further divide our nation.
The tax structure, I'm sure, would be changed. This can't be answered adequately as no serious UBI plans have taken off in america.
Limitations? No, no limitations, people are free to do what they want with the money, personal freedom and all.
A minimum wage? No need for it with a UBI.
For the low paying job part, in virtually every plan, yes.
Here's a good reading:
The Conservative Case for a Guaranteed Basic Income
The idea isn’t new. As Frum notes, Friederich Hayek endorsed it. In 1962, the libertarian economist Milton Friedman advocated a minimum guaranteed income via a “negative income tax.” In 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income.” Richard Nixon unsuccessfully tried to pass a version of Friedman’s plan a few years later, and his Democratic opponent in the 1972 presidential election, George McGovern, also suggested a guaranteed annual income.
Friedman proposed it for gods sake.
It could definitely reduce our workforce size, but keep in mind, the UBI is a bare minimum, people will need to work to get luxuries.
The volunteer work I'm not sure I understand.
