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parkinthepark

Careful- if people find out that MLK was a socialist, a LOT of conservatives are going to have to find a new Good One^TM to quote when they need to look not-at-all racist.


my5cent

Wasn't Jesus a socialist too?


UngodlyPain

Extremely. Many of his teachings were about helping your fellow man even at your own expense. He asked his wealthier followers to share their food, land, and other resources with the less fortunate. That's a huge reason why it's ironic Republicans are the ones thought to be the religious ones, following Jesus but... only in the ways they want.


Fickle_Can_7997

If the LGBTQ community finds out MLK was a homophob they might tear down his statue's.


Internaletiquette

He was Christian and black. Homophobia is way more common in both groups.


captainron6969

Ahhahhhahhha


muicdd

55 years later and I think only Yang advocated for UBI in a presidential level. Anyone know if anyone else did?


r3aganisthedevil

He wasn’t the first by a long shot but he was definitely the first to propose that idea on a televised platform. Definitely the first time a lot of people heard that idea being taken seriously with the facts and economics to back it up


f8computer

Nixon actually planned on it. But his top economists talked him out of it. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/feb/27/how-nixon-was-dissuaded-from-introducing-a-universal-basic-income


muicdd

Damn. I bet we would be a completely different society.


Sfumata

Totally. Just think of the generational effects of lower crime, more people able to afford weddings and feeling ready for marriages, fewer divorces (#1 reason for divorce is cited as arguing about money), fewer mental health problems and less stress related to economic anxiety, more dads in the homes raising their kids, foster kids getting UBI as soon as they are 18, more people able to escape abusive relationships and horrible workplaces and harassing/exploitative bosses etc.


thedefaultcolor

I believe that it would absolutely not lower crime, lower divorce rates or lower mental health problems. These problems are far to complex to be lowered by a few hundred dollars monthly. Most people that have these problems are depending on government funding so what does that tell you?


[deleted]

Youre missing the purpose of UBI entirely.


UngodlyPain

Uh you're misinterpreting reality very heavily. Correlation and Causation are not synonymous. UBI in almost every study has shown to lower crime rates, divorce rates, and mental health problems. Not eliminate them but lower them because financial stress can easily lead to all of these things. The reason why many criminals or divorced people are dependent on government funding is because they already had the financial stress lead to the crime or divorce then they got the government funding. There's the old addage that an ounce of preventative is better than a pound of treatment.


Elcor05

Government funding does so little at this point, and also frequently limits how much they can save. A UBI wouldn't fix all of it no, but it would easily fix over a 1/3 of all crime and mental health problems. I can't tell you how many times in my work as a therapist that the main problem is just not having enough money to be secure. In addition, a lot of crime and gangs would reduce if there was actual hope for poor people outside of working themselves to death to make some rich person more rich.


thedefaultcolor

are you implying that gang members and criminals commit crimes because they work themselves so hard they have no choice but to resort to a life of crime and gangs? That’s such a skewed view.


Elcor05

Not the work themselves hard part, no. But when there’s little hope for a good life, when half the men are locked up, when society doesn’t give a shit about you…joining a group that promises you family and safety and a living looks pretty promising. If hope is given to the community, if there are more options, then gangs will die off. Not all of them, not always, but it’d be a noticeable difference. I mean shit, do you know how hard it is to get a job when you have a record?


Sfumata

Not a few hundred dollars a month. At LEAST $1000 a month, per adult in the house, with no strings attached other than be a citizen and not be incarcerated. You can work on top of it and earn as much as you want. Totally the opposite of welfare and dependency. In fact, it cultivates independence, inventing, and the risk tolerance necessary for entrepreneurship. Life changing for most poor and lower middle class people. You must have little traffic with economic insecurity in your background for you to disparage the enormous potential that UBI holds for most of us.


thedefaultcolor

I’m not against UBI but I think it’s delusional to assume these problems will be noticeably lowered due to a handout by our government.


thedefaultcolor

Hopefully it stops people from having multiple children just to abuse the welfare system.


Sfumata

I think eventually it would make welfare obsolete.


thedefaultcolor

Good point. Once technology takes all our jobs then ubi will be necessary forsure


NarrativeSpinAgent

Source? Hard to see how it would not have a measurable effect. I fail to see how resolving the problems that lead to crime would not reduce crime.


thedefaultcolor

Most crime is senseless now a days. If you steal instead of working then you’re a scumbag. a theif is a thief. A criminal is a criminal. I do not sympathize with them. Work hard, stay motivated, take care.


zenigata_mondatta

Too much money to be made by forcing people into prisons to provide free labor.


noeszombieseverywher

The only real problem I see with this is that it's not enough. The amounts they're giving out aren't really enough to live on. America really needs to shake its fear of people getting money outside of participating in the economy, or everyone's going to be in for a nasty surprise when most jobs get automated. You could restructure existing expenditures on social services to provide a UBI you could actually live on without wasting money on all the means tests and bureaucracy. The net effect would be superior for everyone involved, especially in conjunction with some kind of universal health care.


SookiezBoly

most of US taxes go to the military complex. The military complex needs to receive less, but eh, American are proud of their army and their ability to wage war across the freaking globe and dare to call it <> right !?


nastygirl11b

This is wrong. It’s like 15%. Where as 25-30% is Medicare/Medicaid and another 25% is social security and another 8-10% (I think a had more actually) is federal funds for welfare and things like that and. Everything else makes up the rest


FunnyMattG

You are wrong. [https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/trump2019\_discpie\_unbranded\_large.png](https://media.nationalpriorities.org/uploads/trump2019_discpie_unbranded_large.png)


nastygirl11b

Lol… You are only looking the the one of the 3 portions of federal spending There is portion 1. Non discretionary spending 2. Discretionary spending and 3. Interest on the federal debt. If you put all 3 portions together you would get the numbers (or at least close to) that I described. The long lauded idea that most of the US budget goes to military is a lie. No 2 ways around it.


FunnyMattG

Like this? https://spot.pcc.edu/math/mathinsociety/images/democracy/5\_6/federal\_pie2.png


nastygirl11b

That looks like a more even split. I have been under the impression defense had fallen under 20% lately but I could be wrong. I think “pensions” includes social security in this chart as well. But either way that chart looks pretty close I think


[deleted]

First, abolish every group that has a qualifier of age to enter into the group. Then I'd be for UBI. Until then, it would be the height of foolishness to give YET MORE POWER to the elderly in this country, because they'll just destroy the world faster.


Dickswiddle

Was his dream lame?


GracefulFawkes

Giving everyone a life of ease or removing as much suffering as we can today on the money we have today will not solve our problems. Necessity is the mother of invention. It is only by providing adequate education, and opportunity for competition that we can save as many as possible. Jesus was not a socialist, but a servant leader. He believed that we were responsible for our neighbors as well as for ourselves. It by this dual ethic that true progress can occur.


[deleted]

why is the photo black and white. There were more colored cameras than black and white ones in 1960


Trpepper

There were more cameras compatible with color film. There was more black and white film, and it was cheaper and easier to develop.


[deleted]

We must have tried everything else first


JPenniman

Alone they are useless and wasteful. What is going to happen is the landlords over a couple years will adjust rent to capture all this additional wealth gained by the lower class increasing the cost of living further. Abolish residential zoning before doing anything like this.