Union Perspectives

For the universal basic income (UBI) to work it must be for all—the very poor to the very rich and those in-between. If the rich do not want the UBI, they can opt out and used elsewhere. If all received UBI, no group of people can be named or vilified for taking the money. The unions should want a UBI because if there were a UBI, unions could focus on work place safety, training, productivity, healthcare and pensions. The unions would no longer be vilified for wanting higher wages than the nonunion workers. The unions need to get behind the UBI as part of their strategy for the future and their survival. Union employees could possibly start their own business like I did when I received the GI Bill money to go to school. The GI Bill provided enough for me to go to school, buy groceries while working for a sheet metal union job during the day. The people who are going to fight against a UBI would like to divide workers, unemployed, rich, race, poor, gender, lifestyle, union and nonun...

Where is the outrage? Why are the old Fox television viewers not outraged over the gas prices, which are now more than $3.99 and higher a gallon? Food is also escalating in prices, as are the cost of heating and cooling our homes and businesses. Most of the Fox watchers are Social Security pensioners with limited income, which, thanks to Ronald Reagan, is taxed—again. Even with Medicare, most have to drive to the doctor’s appointment and gas at $3.99 a gallon, leaves less in the food and housing budget. All you hear from these old people is crickets about why this is happening. Think back to when President Obama was in office and how loud they screamed about gas prices and how he wore a tan suit—all because they were spoon fed outrage from Fox entertainment news. How are these people paying the difference in these rate increases? Is it by credit cards, skimping on their medications, applying for other government assistance programs, like Meals on Wheels, relying on family members or ...

What does a universal basic income (UBI) and a board game have in common? Free money. When the game Monopoly was originally invented as The Landlord’s Game back in the early 1900s by Elizabeth Magie, it was created as a teaching tool to help people understand the consequences of David Ricardo’s Law of Economic Rent and Henry George’s concept of economic privilege and land value taxation. Hence, a player buys a piece of property and then puts a railroad on it, if another player lands on that property they have to pay a price to the land’s owner. Magie’s intent in creating the game was to teach and help people understand that renting property enriches the owner while impoverishing the tenant into bankruptcy, especially those not under rent control. The concept of this game has been used as a teaching tool internationally, as well. It’s the game’s “Pass Go Collect $200” that brings it around to the UBI concept. Trump has ensured the rich receive a UBI of sorts by cutting their taxes...