The bizarre tale of President Nixon’s basic income plan

The bizarre tale of President Nixon’s basic income plan

It was the summer of ’69, the end of the decade that brought us flower power and Woodstock, rock ’n’ roll and Vietnam, Martin Luther King and feminism. It was a time when everything seemed possible, even a conservative president strengthening the welfare state.

In August of that year, President Nixon presented a bill providing for a modest basic income, calling it “the most significant piece of social legislation in our nation’s history.” According to Nixon, the baby boomers would do two things deemed impossible by earlier generations. Besides putting a man on the moon (which had happened the month […]

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