Here's why the government should give you $1,000 a month [View all]

[RKP5637]

This could work well!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/raising-the-floor-andy-stern-universal-basic-income-ubi-milton-friedman-social-security-003220195.html

It sounds more like a pipe dream than government policy. It’s called Universal Basic Income, a proposed government program that would essentially give every citizen a guaranteed floor income of say $1000 a month from Washington. It’s an idea that’s been around for a while and has more credibility than you might think—and not just from left-wingers. Richard Nixon and conservative uber-economist Milton Friedman were both proponents.

So too is Andy Stern, former president of the powerful Service Employees International Union and now a professor at Columbia University. In his new book ‘Raising the Floor,’ Stern lays out the case for UBI, and he suggests that it isn’t some pie-in-the-sky notion that would never see the light of day. I sat down with Stern to discuss.

“It is an old idea,” Stern points out. “Thomas Paine proposed it early on when we were forming the nation.”

As for why we need the program, Stern says that “at a time when our anti-poverty programs aren’t really working,” and with technology bringing massive job disruption, “we need to provide a safety net, a floor for every single American.”

UBI isn’t socialism, Stern says. Rather it’s a way to make sure every single American has stability in their life. Stern argues that middle class parents do this with their children, why shouldn’t our nation.