The Economic Impact of Universal Income

In an age of technological marvels as we are seeing today has generated enormous wealth. But, with this wealth you would think that society as a whole would be the benefactors of all those technological advances. Today, the wealth disparity gap has only gotten wider. The rich continue to reap the rewards while the majority continue to languish far behind unable to have some of the benefits of all the advances made whether they were scientific, medical or technological. In every period in history when ever there has been scientific breakthroughs or advances in technology it is always the wealthy that immediately reap the benefits. They in turn are able to garnish more wealth, power and control. In essence mankind has yet to share the wealth generated by man’s continued quest to invent new and more wondrous ways of improving the quality of life or improve the ways of destroying life.

When we put this in context to today’s economic outlook there are numerous employment opportunities that are soon to become irrelevant and obsolete. Take for example driverless cars, automation in practically every factory, and warehousing is going to be completely automated in the near future. What this means is that people employed today will soon become like so many still are today unemployed. And, when you have the majority of populations either unemployed and underemployed the overall economy suffers. The rich will continue to get richer while the rest of us will continue to become poorer. When we have the largest income disparity gap in history today in the United States our economic and financial future is darkened by clouds of deception by what the wealthy and government continue to do. The stagnation and retardation of incomes of the majority of the population has kept the United States from becoming the economic engine we once were right after World War II. 

With the advent of newer technology is one of the major reasons why the East Coast Ports are now closed. The fear of being displace by AI has dominated why the longshoremen have gone on strike. This strike is compounded by the recent hurricane that hit the entire southern coast of the US. Now with the catastrophic devastation in the aftermath and the striking longshoreman has to be a wakeup call for economic and financial relief. For millions of now displaced Americans and if this strike lasts over a week or so the inflationary trends will decimate the purchasing power all across the country.  This crisis is threatening the very fiber of American society. When we look at the out pouring of support both financially and otherwise in the aftermath of this past hurricane by people everywhere that really couldn’t afford to pitch in but do has shown that much of the American public still have the strength to act with great empathy. This is what the American spirit is all about. Then there is the dark side in America today. We have seen it raise it’s ugly head whenever there is a disaster. The impact of devastating storms or other disasters there are always those who seek to capitalize on others who are less fortunate. The greed of people today is more evident with each instance of instability.

It is the instability in the United States that is cause for grave concern. From racial tensions to catastrophic disasters, to economic inequality all have dominated the growing instability in America today. With the advent of newer technologies that are now poised to displace workers has put a new dimension on what it would take to generate economic mobility within the US. Governmental programs, those safety nets for the poor, and the unemployed are just meager subsidies that aren’t effective in producing the economic stability for our society. For our seniors relying on Social Security those monthly checks offer just as much financial security as those meager subsidies for the poor and the unemployed. When we look at the bigger economic picture in the US today the governmental programs that are in place don’t and can’t support a growing economy. In essence what the United States is experiencing is a retardation in economic growth and stability.

The question now that now one is asking is how do we turn the tide of growing economic retardation and instability to one of economic growth, productivity, and stability? To answer that is one of great consequence to every American. First thing we have to recognize is the failure of our governmental policies both domestic and foreign. For far too long they have only benefited the wealthy and entrenched politicians. Then there is greed of individuals whether they are mega corporations run by ruthless CEO’s or the policies of government that have for years made it easier for financial institutions, large corporations and wealthy individuals to avoid their fair share of taxes. Trillions of dollars that could be infused into our society are being hoarded in the tax havens of the wealthy that our government has allowed to happen. Once we dispose of all the so called loopholes of tax shelters for the wealthy and major corporations trillions of dollars would then be available to heal the wounds that is keeping the United States economy in critical condition. 

Closing those tax loop holes is only a first step in generating economic growth. There are an additional two basic steps that must be implemented to complete the resurgence toward economic stability, financial security, and national security for the United States. The implementation of National Economic Reform’s Ten Articles of Confederation would in fact be the greatest financial and economic boost for our country. Correspondingly apply a universal income for every American would add a whole new level of economic growth, financial security and stability that is sadly missing today. 

The idea of a universal basic income has been suggested numerous times. Dr. Martin Luther King wrote that the solution to end poverty was to establish a guaranteed basic income for all. Today, Switzerland is poised to implement universal income while other European countries are seriously considering the same. To the skeptics and Republicans today who ferociously state that this is impossible the reality though is we actually could afford it. That’s if the tax loopholes were eliminated and National Economic Reform’s Ten Articles of Unification were to be implemented. Once this is done then there would be more than enough tax revenue to support a guaranteed basic income of $1,000 per month for every American who now earn less than $150,000 per year. 

Just think of the economic impact that a guaranteed universal income of $1,000 per month for all Americans who earn less than $150,000 per year would do to our economy. The economy would grow substantially, poverty rates would plummet, many of the racial tensions would be eliminated and our stability as a nation would be restored.  To do nothing is a prelude to disaster. With the advances of robotics and digital automation will undoubtedly create more poverty and instability if we fail to implement universal income. We can support universal income by spending far less than we do now. It is within our financial capacity to do the right thing for our population. But, if we let greed or lack of empathy override our compassion to ease the suffering of so many that are so impoverished the great wealth divide will only get wider and our nation will only become more divided.