re: "Biden’s Plan Promises Permanent Decline" (The New York Times, May 3, 2021)
So perhaps a healthier solution would be to provide all citizens an equal universal basic income (UBI) that is high enough to live decently on. How they then spend that is up to them, as are the consequences of their decisions. If they have children, they can decide to invest in education for those children or not. They can decide to pay for health insurance or not. They can decide to live well or not. They can decide to improve their skill set and work hard to improve their situation or not, free from the worry of not having a safety net.
Institution a UBI system leaves the rest of the economy in tact under the existing free market set up. Because there are no qualifying hoops to check, it requires very little administration compared to other government aid programs. And it leaves the liberty to decide on what matters to the recipient.
But will Biden, will America, have the guts to push a program that trusts Americans to make the most of such an opportunity founded on social justice that respects individual liberties?
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The above comment was submitted by Felix Qui to The New York Times article.
It is published there at https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/opinion/biden-spending-economy.html#commentsContainer&permid=112698258:112698258
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