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1/ To me, this is the core of the FJG v UBI debate 👇. (I expect this will change, but these are my thoughts after two absolutely massive debates with UBIers that I've had in the past weeks.)
[#LearnMMT thread v.2]
[#LearnMMT thread v.2]
2/ A major objection UBIers have to the FJG is that in the hands of our corrupt government and their for-profit bribers, the FJG would be outright slave labor. Here is a leading UBI advocate, evoking the Nazi holocaust.
3/ If not slave labor, then indentured servitude. Here’s 2020 candidate Andrew Yang (at 12min, 45sec).
Rubin: “As a small gov’t advocate, the FJG sounds like indentured servitude."
Yang: [laughs] "Yeah, why don’t we just give everyone grey jumpsuits?"
Rubin: “As a small gov’t advocate, the FJG sounds like indentured servitude."
Yang: [laughs] "Yeah, why don’t we just give everyone grey jumpsuits?"
4/ If not indentured servitude, some UBIers fear the FJG would be, **at best**, meaningless makework.
5/ As for the UBI, its intentions are pure: the money is a tool to live a life as YOU (not The Man) see fit and as YOU define work, value, and meaning. The UBI would allow you to volunteer for personal fulfillment, not to avoid starvation or homelessness. scottsantens.com/basic-income-f…
6/ The problem is not the intent, the problem is that UBI's specific way of achieving the things would be harmful to society. The reality is that some of it is indeed incompatible to a functioning society – and us literally existing as a species in 2100. vice.com/en_us/article/…
7/ ... – and us literally existing as a species in 2100. 
8/ ... – and us literally existing as a species in 2100. forbes.com/sites/jeffmcma…
9/ A check will undoubtedly help millions. A primary concern of any gov’t, however, is society as a whole. UBI will harm the whole, which in turn will harm citizens, starting of course with the most vulnerable. Economist Pavlina Tcherneva (@ptcherneva): dropbox.com/s/xf2srr9vacy9…
10/ More from Tcherneva, who is a lead economist on the #MMT-FJG and has been studying and developing the topic for twenty years.
11/ Unfortunately, most UBI supporters – indeed, most people – don't understand the fallacy of composition. They're so passionate about the check being good for *them*, they don't look deeper to see that scaling it up for the entire economy is detrimental. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacy_o…
12/ So how do we best give UBIers what they want in a way that is compatible with our long term survival? MMT isn’t saying you *shouldn't* have these things (total freedom from a job or however you'd phrase it). You absolutely should.
13/ #MMT does demonstrate, however, that to a significant degree, some of these things are simply incompatible with a functioning society.
So what do we do?
So what do we do?
14/ We must first redefine the terms work, job, and value. In our corrupt society, they currently mean "make a rich guy richer." This needs to be changed to "caring for others": children, elderly, community, environment. This is what can make "work" more pleasant and fulfilling.
15/ Given this new caring economy, the FJG is probably not as far off from a UBI as most think. The #MMT-FJG is a suite of jobs you can voluntarily – voluntarily! – take or not take. It provides dignified wages and benefits (such as vacation).
16/ Whether you accept the JG job or not, you *still* have your free universal healthcare and education benefits (and all existing federal benefits – the #MMT-FJG does not reduce or eliminate any of them!). These core benefits would no longer be chained to a capitalist job.
17/ Under the #MMT-FJG, those who can't or shouldn't work would get a truly basic income. Those who don't *want* to work would also get a dignified check, but a modestly lower one. (In addition to all our universal benefits!)
18/ To learn what the #MMT Federal Job Guarantee **from the economists who developed it**, start here.
20/ Regarding the holocaust reference in tweet two above. The concentration camp victims forced to create this sign turned the “B” upside down as a warning to those entering.
Who really wants a UBI?
Another African American economist, @DarrickHamilton, discusses how the UBI does more harm than good.
Related to the UBI/FJG debate is this paper by African American economist @SandyDarity. Reparations must be massive and meaningful, but if it consists of simply giving millions of people trillions of dollars in cash, it would cause more harm than good. researchgate.net/publication/47…
@SandyDarity Need to look into this... bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
@SandyDarity At what point does this change?
@SandyDarity @threadreaderapp Unroll
