There is nothing wrong with planning for the future. If you are a cab driver, or a truck driver, or an Uber driver, now is the time to plan for what you will do when your job disappears. And for what we should do for you.
Hamilton Nolan · 06/06/16 10:40AM
Voters in Switzerland soundly rejected a referendum that would have given a basic income to every citizen. The plan needs to be tried in a greedier country.
The idea of a universal basic income—money given to everyone each month to cover minimal living expenses—is having something of a utopian intellectual moment across the political spectrum. But the idea does have two obvious potential pitfalls.
The biggest near term threat to the stability of nations might not be climate change, terrorism, or nuclear war. It just might be robots—putting millions of people out of jobs. Where will they all go? There are only a few possibilities.
Hamilton Nolan · 05/16/16 12:38PM
In a bid to cut labor costs, Wendy’s plans to make “self-service ordering kiosks” available to all of its franchises this year. The process of robots taking our jobs has begun. Where is our universal basic income?
The idea of granting every citizen a no-strings-attached universal basic income is still treated as a utopian idea in America. In Switzerland, they’re a month away from voting on it.
The idea of a universal basic income for all citizens has been catching on all over the world. Is it too crazy to believe in? We spoke to the author of a new book on the ins, outs, and utopian dreams of making basic income a reality.
Without meaning to, the CEO of a restaurant corporation that is busily trying to automate employees out of existence is becoming one of the best spokesmen for the idea of providing all Americans with a universal basic income.
The economy, both at home and abroad, needs stimulating. Governments have been trying to do this since the 2008 recession, without full success. Is it time to just... give everyone some money?
The working poor need more money. “But retail stores can’t raise wages very much—their profit margins are too small,” say conservatives. Aha—but there is a solution!