I love my current project, I think of it as my third startup, but I also feel like the guy in Jaws when he said "we're gonna need a bigger boat." https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-road-not-taken-is-guaranteed-minimum-income/
Serious question: do we need more studies? UBI studies have been done, repeatedly, and show clear benefits.
Or would that 50M be better spent directly on political lobbying to enact the necessary legislation?
@nikclayton political lobbying is the same as burning the money these days. Would you rather do that.. or actual science that puts the money in the hands of the desperately poor?
I think his point is "the actual science is already done, and they are ignoring it. Shouldn't we focus on making them stop ignoring it?".
@jgg @codinghorror Indeed.
That you or I have the money to fund things like this is ultimately a political failure that needs to be addressed.
Philanthropic millionaires distributing money is no substitute for a fairer tax code.
@nikclayton @jgg no one is saying otherwise. When in doubt, I will put my money in the hands of people who desperately need it.. and generate OVERWHELMING amounts of sound scientific evidence that this works. Problem is, the red state brigade doesn't believe in science. Tell me how I fix that, and I will try my best.
@codinghorror @jgg If "the red state brigade doesn't believe in science" then why do you think more science is going to solve the problem?
Wouldn't funding political efforts to turn the red states/counties blue be more effective?
I'm not saying it has to be an either/or choice. But your blog post that started this thread made no mention of any sort of political effort alongside direct distribution of cash.
One of the main pitfalls of the US political system is allowing corporations and lobbies to fund political parties.
In most countries in Europe, it is absolutely illegal: politicians and patrons end years in jail because of it. Of course, they have ways to circumvent it, but it is hard, dangerous, and the quantities get much, much smaller.
@jgg @nikclayton Yes -- the Citizens United supreme court decision is easily the worst one in the history of the USA, excepting slavery.