Yang 2020?


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The minimum wage controversy and the effects of pay for performance will become significantly more
relevant to our lives not only as we begin to finish school and enter the working world, but also even
more so this upcoming year. Andrew Yang, democratic presidential candidate for 2020, has drew much
attention and support for his campaign centered around implementing Universal Basic Income. He
specifically proposes handing out $1,000 a month to every American adult which he claims would
supposedly stimulate the economy and improve the overall well-being of all.


Although Andrew Yang is evidently biased on this stance, he has pointed out some major benefits that
have stuck with many. Out of the many benefits Yang lists, UBI’s effect on market efficiency,
entrepreneurship, and power to the workers struck as very important economical benefits. UBI
would improve market efficiency because the amount of workers stuck in jobs solely for the money
would go down. This means that national productivity will also improve because more will be able to
seek jobs that they are more passionate about. Furthermore, UBI would also increase entrepreneurship
because it could act as a safety net if start up businesses fail. In fact, the Roosevelt Institute found that
“UBI would create 4.6 million jobs and grow the economy by 12 percent continuously.” Moreover,
UBI would increase the leverage of the workers within a company which, for example, would force
abusive working conditions to improve.
However, with the benefits of UBI, lie its counterpart potential negative consequences. One of the few
fatal potential consequence is that there may be the possibility of a decrease in the labor force. This
would mean lower overall economic output, and lower tax revenues for the future.


Overall, there are other benefits and consequences of UBI, but economically speaking, do you think
UBI could be the answer for the future?

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