10/27/2019
I have been reading democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang's book, the War on Normal People. The future looks frightening for people who will lose jobs to automation, predicted to be in the millions in the USA. Part of a continuing and yet accelerating trend due to technology getting smarter in more ways that can replace more functions that used to be performed by people for pay. This is largely a sociological dilemma, in that how it will affect a society that is living in an over-abundant, over-produced world of material goods but yet a greater portion of that society will have a reduced capacity to purchase such goods and will live with greater anxiety and shame while those who can access (buy) the abundance are all around them.
Mr. Yang's solution to give every adult $1,000 a month seems unrealistic, but an interesting fantasy. It would never fly as a policy in the USA. But if you imagine a country where this is not so radical having a base income could be a small way to cushion the bottom and give those with adequate incomes a generous discretionary fund for "extra" spending. Though I like how Mr. Yang thinks outside the box, I believe we live inside the box of political reality that would not get enough votes in the US House and Senate to pass such an across the board hand out, nor fund it.
That said, what are the realistic options? The sky is the limit for wealth, but barely surviving on the street is the bottom for poverty.