Resolved:
The United States federal government should substantially increase fiscal redistribution in the United States by adopting a federal jobs guarantee, expanding Social Security, and/or providing a basic income.
Articles on Economic Inequality
John Goodman grew up in Waco, TX and participated in high school debate competitions around the state of Texas. John was quite successful and won several statewide tournaments. He attended college at the University of Texas in Austin, where he became involved in campus politics and was elected vice president of the student body. All of this experience served him later in life when he became a TV debating partner of conservative polemicist William F. Buckley.
UBI Negative Arguments
Arguments against UBI in evidence card format.
Negative Case Against UBI
A collection of arguements against universal basic income.
More Details on the Debate Among Economists About inequality
Dylan Matthews at Vox has the best explanation I’ve seen yet on the technical dispute among economists about inequality – mainly focused on whether the rich have gotten richer over the past 60 years.
International Inequality Explained
2 1/2 miles. It’s not very long. Only slightly longer than the National Mall in Washington. Not even 2/3 of the length of the Las Vegas Strip.
But also … it can be the distance between two different worlds. In fact, 2 1/2 miles is the distance between Australia and Papua New Guinea at their nearest point, in the Torres Strait.
In Papua New Guinea, the national wealth averages out to about $3,500 per person per year. In Australia, it averages out to around $65,000 per person per year. Two-and-a-half miles apart … and nearly 20 times wealthier. How does this kind of thing happen? Actually, we know the answer. Because it turns out that the secret to how nations get wealthy … isn’t really a secret at all.
Reason for Poverty: Circumstances or Bad Decisions?
Almost all NFL football players are potentially rich. A career lasting 6 years (the median length) will provide an NFL player with more earnings than an average college graduate will get in an entire lifetime, plus a modest pension. Yet within 12 years after retirement, 12.7% of players have filed for bankruptcy (presumably becoming “poor.”)
Reducing Inequality Through Social Security Reform
Seniors are not getting the Social Security benefits they deserve after years of working and paying taxes. Because of bad and misleading information from Social Security itself:
- The typical retiree is leaving $182,370 (in present-value terms) on the table by claiming benefits too soon.
- 13,000 plus widow(er)s collectively have lost $130 million in Social Security benefits because of mistakes in claiming spousal benefits. (Apparently, Social Security routinely gives out bad information.)
- Married couples also lose thousands of dollars because they make mistakes in claiming spousal benefits.