Universal Basic Income, Andrew Yang, and Me.
Andrew Yang is a "dark-horse" candidate campaigning to become the 2020 Democratic Presidential nominee. The first and largest plank in his policy platform is a version of Universal Basic Income (UBI) he calls the " Freedom Dividend ". Many view UBI as a non-starter issue. While the general notion is easily understood, detailed definitions and proposed implementations vary widely. Andrew Yang's reconceptualization of implementing UBI does add a solid dose of practicality, and deserves a closer look and ongoing discussion. I believe my own story may be relevant to the UBI debate: On my 60th birthday in October of 2016 I started receiving $1000/month from the government as a delayed result of retiring from the US Navy Reserves back in 1996. I'm from a family with a history of living active lives into their 90s. Several worked into their 80s. Getting a "retirement" at age 60 seemed a bit ironic to me, as I expect to work for two more decades (I'v...