MC’s October 16, 2022 public forum— Universal Basic Income: Utopian Fantasy or Transformative Policy?—drew a small but passionate crowd to the Mohonk Mountain House parlor. NYU Professor Almaz Zelleke educated the audience about the history of “cash transfer” programs in the U.S., crediting the conceptual basis to Thomas Paine. Paine proposed that all citizens should receive money for their loss of ‘natural right to the land’ when society made the transition from an agricultural to industrial economy. Zelleke outlined programs from the 1930s Social Security program which exists today, to Nixon’s failed efforts at a Family Business Plan, which instead became the Earned Income Tax Credit. The Child Tax Credit in place recently pulled millions of children out of poverty status. Steve Nunez from the Jain Family Institute followed with information about the economics of a Universal Income program and well as delineating what is meant by “Universal, Unconditional, and Unrestricted”, explaining how programs that don’t have all three of these elements tend to fail people and society in various ways. Hudson Valley artist/activist Keiko Sono highlighted her work for Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign, leading the local “Yang Gang”, inspiring adolescents and others to discuss and spread the word about UBI. Documentary filmmaker Conrad Shaw shared a clip of the inspiring docuseries he is making with his wife, filmmaker Dhea Schlossberg. Their film follows a two-and-a-half year UBI program and its participants to see how it impacts their lives. Shaw spoke passionately about his own journey to advocate for UBI, and “the big two” questions people tend to have about it. Number one being how it will be paid for, and number two being whether we trust humans enough to allow them to do something good with the money. Within this discussion, Shaw explored theories of human nature and the “job” of being human.
All of this led to rich questions for the panel during Q & A, which further elucidated the pros/cons of pilot programs going on around the country. The panelists highlighted the need for more affecting storytelling to change the hearts and minds of the public and move the discussion from abstract policy to “a movement.”
Following the panel, discussion groups of participants of varied ages, incomes, genders, and backgrounds were given four questions to answer:
- How do you feel about UBI?
- What would you do with $1000 a month?
- How would it affect your family (or someone in your family)?
- How would it impact society?
Viewpoints varied widely, particularly regarding how we value people we see as “other than us,” and whether we trust them to make good decisions for themselves. For some it was easier to see giving the money to others than to themselves. For all it was an exercise in considering the value placed on simply “being” human, as opposed to the construct of being worth the amount of work one does for society.
See this Hudson Valley One article for additional details about the program.