NEWSLANC EDITOR: We highly recommend reading this article in its entirety.
NEW YORK TIMES: …Stepping into the vacuum, the technologically endowed of Silicon Valley are talking about a future that bypasses the labor market entirely. They are offering up a universal basic income — financed by taxing rich capitalists and an elite corps of computer programmers tasked with making sure the robots perform meticulously — as the tool to satisfy people’s basic needs without any work involved. (It’s the subject of an online conversation between me and my fellow columnist Farhad Manjoo.)…
What’s more, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the research arm for the most advanced industrialized nations, the United States suffers the highest incidence of low pay among its members. A quarter of workers earn less than two-thirds of the median wage…
Many citizens of red states and members of the struggling working class — supporters of Mr. Trump, not to mention Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida — oppose programs to benefit “poor people.” Even if the “poor people” these programs would help is them… (more)
