Silicon Valley’s basic income fans should spare a minute to defend the actual safety net

Silicon Valley’s basic income fans should spare a minute to defend the actual safety net

Medicaid, food stamps, and housing assistance are all on the chopping block right now.

Speaking at Harvard’s commencement ceremony last week, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg became the latest titan of Silicon Valley to muse about the potential merits of a universal basic income program as a solution to hypothetical future joblessness induced by technology change. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Andrew Ng, Sam Altman, and many others in the industry have also spoken favorably about the idea, which is essentially flat checks from the government that would go out to everyone.

It’s an interesting conversation. And it’s dangerously detached from […]

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