Thread by @acoffman1495

@LeftwardSwing One of the most absurd thing about Yang’s FD, is that unlike he leads people to believe, it is not a solution to automation at all. Yang and his supporters themselves admit that low wage jobs will be the first jobs will be the first to be automated away. 1/

@LeftwardSwing Most adults in low wage jobs are there because they couldn’t get anything else. With UBI, when their job is replaced, sure they have $1k/month, but that’s it. They don’t have another job easily available to them. 2/

@LeftwardSwing That $1k/month isn’t going to make them magically be able to find a job any easier. Especially with all the low-wage workers who will be losing their jobs, it will only become even harder for them to find suitable replacement jobs. 3/

@LeftwardSwing Meanwhile, the FJG, which most of them bash, actually solves this. The first obvious reason is that anyone who loses a job to automation, has a job waiting for them that pays a minimum of $30k/year w/ benefits. 4/

@LeftwardSwing Now, they may not like the job they do, that’s true. But most low wage workers are already doing jobs they don’t like and they pay like crap. Giving them $1k/month doesn’t magically help poor people get a job they like. 5/

@LeftwardSwing What puts people in a better situation, should their job be replaced due to automation- $1k/month, with no guarantee of a replacement job; or a guaranteed job that pays $30k/year, where you can only be fired for non-performance? 6/

@LeftwardSwing Additionally, the FJG has provisions meant to limit what automation can do in terms of replacing workers. Also, the FJG would force private unemployment to become more competitive. 7/

@LeftwardSwing If people have a guaranteed $30k/year federal job, the private sector will HAVE to offer similar pay and benefits if they want to maintain employees. This will further improve job prospects anyone working around or below the $15/hr range. 8/

@LeftwardSwing UBI does NOT deter automation. All it does is leave people with $1k/month when they’re replaced, with no better employment prospects, and no eligibility for further assistance. A FJG does provide a viable solution to automation for workers. 9/

@LeftwardSwing Again, it’s true you may not like your job under the FJG, but UBI doesn’t help that matter either. The FJG gives a larger income floor for anyone affected by automation and predatory employers. 10/

@LeftwardSwing And between Bernie and Yang, Bernie better empowers people to find jobs they will enjoy, by offering free college. Under Bernie’s, you could work a job that pays a living wage, and attend college tuition-free to pursue a career you love. $1k/month doesn’t do that. 11/11

@LeftwardSwing Sorry for the super-long rant. I’m just tired of seeing people claim that UBI is a sort of fix-all, and I’m especially tired of hearing people say that’s it’s necessary because of automation, when it doesn’t even help on that front.