Andrew Yang: Chicken?
At this stage in the campaign, it makes sense to do what Andrew Yang is doing. At this stage, it is about getting the idea across. Now is not the time to implement. The idea of a Universal Basic Income is utterly new to the US political system. And so, at this stage, the idea has to be peddled as simply as possible. No new taxes. Not too much money per month. Two-thirds of it paid for by existing programs reorganized and made paperless.
The current package can go all the way to November 2020. When the work begins, and details are fleshed out, or, say, if Elizabeth Warren ends up being Yang's running mate (he has said he would like someone with legislative experience), the UBI idea might wed the wealth tax idea during the party convention summer of 2020.
When it is time to implement in January 2021, the work can begin in earnest. It might take a year or two to put it into action. I am for the VAT that Yang is proposing. I am also for the wealth tax that Warren is proposing. A YW ticket?
Sometime before 2035 it is possible that the US economy might see a growth rate of 50% some year. The Freedom Dividend will need to correspondingly go up. It can't stay stuck at 1K a month. It needs to be indexed to something. There needs to be an anchor, so it automatically goes up when conditions change. In short, when the economy gets bigger.
