Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called on the need to consider universal basic income for Americans during his Harvard Commencement Speech.
Zuckerberg's comments reflect those of other Silicon Valley bigwigs, including Sam Altman, the president of venture capital firm Y Combinator.
"Every generation expands its definition of equality. Now it's time for our generation to define a new social contract," Zuckerberg said during his speech. "We should have a society that measures progress not by economic metrics like GDP but by how many of us have a role we find meaningful. We should explore ideas like universal basic income to make sure everyone has a cushion to try new ideas."Zuckerberg, Altman, and fellow billionaire socialists can show us how to do it. I am sure they can put together $100 billion easily enough, which should generate $10 billion a year in income. That should be enough to take care of California.
When billionaires talk in these terms, they really mean to tax those trying to become rich. Somehow, that money mostly ends up in the pockets of the rich. And where are all the great ideas, books, etc. that should have come out of the people who were the beneficiaries of the trillions spent on the Great Society?
I considered universal basic income: nominally it would eliminate a lot of incentive to be unemployed. Then an intelligent liberal friend of mine said that failure to have universal basic income when it was affordable was slavery because people were forced to be employed. I immediately stopped considering universal basic income. He has retracted this opinion. I have not retracted my rejection of universal basic income.
ReplyDeleteRich liberals basically like policies that pull the ladder up after themselves.
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