My new post: I chat with economist @ptcherneva, whose upcoming book argues for a federal job guarantee. The idea has been considered radical in US politics, but 30 million unemployment claims have a way of shaking up the conversation. vox.com/science-and-he…
I will say: this conversation left me much more bullish on a federal job guarantee -- and much LESS bullish on a universal basic income -- than I was going in. The simple fact is that cash alone is not fungible w/ public goods or w/ non-market/intangible benefits of employment.
One thing Tcherneva noted (which got cut) was that most of the people she hears musing about UBI & the magical future free of work, where people can just raise gardens & write music ... comes from highly paid professionals. That's not dispositive or anything, but it's notable.
