Just making a joke out of your sky is falling secret organization , controlling your life. " They are hiding behind every bush. I find great humor in people that think the way you do. wouldn't want to be you , I wouldn't want to live in your scary world inside your head.
U.B.i. can work within an ambitious predominantly caucasian society.I have read all, or almost all, of Thomas Paine's writings. I think we have a user on this forum who has adopted Paine's name.
Thomas Paine is perhaps most well-known to Americans as being the author of Common Sense, a pamphlet which inspired every patriot to independence.
He also published a series of pamphlets under the title American Crisis. The most famous line most of us have heard from that series is, "These are the times which try men's souls."
Lesser known today, but quite famous during its time, was The Age of Reason. In this three part tome written after we gained independence, Paine completely deconstructed the Christian Bible. He ripped it to pieces.
Paine was an advocate of Deism.
The Age of Reason was a huge bestseller in the US. and led to a revival of deism here.
Not so well known today is Paine's Agrarian Justice.
Like most of our Founders, Paine believe in Natural Rights. He believed "landed property" was an inevitable violation of Natural Rights that needed to be mitigated as the poor were worse off under such a system than when humans had lived in a state of nature.
Paine's solution was for America to provide a tidy sum to every American who reached the age of 21, and to provide an annual sum to everyone who arrived at the age of 50.
The latter half is Social Security. The former is a precursor to a universal basic income, though Paine intended it to be a one time payment so the poor could buy cows or other means to support themselves.
What? Social Security proposed way back in 1797? And UBI, too?!?
It's a very fascinating piece to read, so here it is: http://www.piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/Paine1795.pdf
Just as an aside, Thomas Jefferson also felt the same about the landed class violating Natural Rights, and he proposed a progressive tax on the wealthy, with most Americans being exempt from taxation. (Editing note: I originally posted it was James Madison, but I got the recipient and the sender reversed. See letter in post 4 below. My apologies.)
Our Founders were proto-commies!
Kamala Harris proposed a universal basic income when she was a US Senator in 2018, which puts here squarely in the Liberal column.
More in my next post.
It serves as a safety net for the poor. It would help the economy in general because it would boost consumer spending. Paying for it, as a start, would be by cuttitng our bloated defense budget. It could also replace any current welfare for the poor such as SNAP or TANF.
Where do you think the money will come from the tooth fairy? #extremesarcasm
UBI is completely different than a negative income tax.
Isn't the point of UBI to give every adult citizen (universal) a small amount (basic income) unconditionally (no work requirements)? So let's pretend all you've proposed is true .. what is the proposed payment and payment frequency?
Some might have proposed no work requirements but isn’t the mainstream idea of it. The payment and frequency would just be based on current economic need. It would be a reflection of the status of cost of living.
That's a nice subjective stance that provides no insight.
Those aren't all "basic questions". Asking someone exact dollar amount is not a basic question.
lol this is so stupid. Why is it so important that I specifically say what these metrics would be? Why would that somehow undermine the entire idea of it? You think you’re making some witty argument by demanding specific metrics but it wouldn’t matter. With any economic policy, right wing or left wing, someone has to decide on specific numbers. Imagine if you proposed we cut more taxes for the middle class and then someone says to you “by how much? For who? How long? How would the tax cut be paid for in other revenue sources?” Do you have those metrics figured out for any theoretical economic idea you have? No. You don’t. You wouldn’t play by the same rules. You just want me to throw out an amount and then say “well who would decide that?!” Idiot. ANY economic idea has to be measured with specific amounts.
Having a government assigned number for each individual?
sp2.upenn.edu
I have read all, or almost all, of Thomas Paine's writings. I think we have a user on this forum who has adopted Paine's name.
Thomas Paine is perhaps most well-known to Americans as being the author of Common Sense, a pamphlet which inspired every patriot to independence.
He also published a series of pamphlets under the title American Crisis. The most famous line most of us have heard from that series is, "These are the times which try men's souls."
Lesser known today, but quite famous during its time, was The Age of Reason. In this three part tome written after we gained independence, Paine completely deconstructed the Christian Bible. He ripped it to pieces.
Paine was an advocate of Deism.
The Age of Reason was a huge bestseller in the US. and led to a revival of deism here.
Not so well known today is Paine's Agrarian Justice.
Like most of our Founders, Paine believe in Natural Rights. He believed "landed property" was an inevitable violation of Natural Rights that needed to be mitigated as the poor were worse off under such a system than when humans had lived in a state of nature.
Paine's solution was for America to provide a tidy sum to every American who reached the age of 21, and to provide an annual sum to everyone who arrived at the age of 50.
The latter half is Social Security. The former is a precursor to a universal basic income, though Paine intended it to be a one time payment so the poor could buy cows or other means to support themselves.
What? Social Security proposed way back in 1797? And UBI, too?!?
It's a very fascinating piece to read, so here it is: http://www.piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/Paine1795.pdf
Just as an aside, Thomas Jefferson also felt the same about the landed class violating Natural Rights, and he proposed a progressive tax on the wealthy, with most Americans being exempt from taxation. (Editing note: I originally posted it was James Madison, but I got the recipient and the sender reversed. See letter in post 4 below. My apologies.)
Our Founders were proto-commies!
Kamala Harris proposed a universal basic income when she was a US Senator in 2018, which puts here squarely in the Liberal column.
More in my next post.
THIS JUST IN!!!
