Now what does this have to do with a Universal Basic Income (UBI)? It's part of my project to estimate (roughly!) how many Americans would drop out of the labor market, reduce their hours, or otherwise downshift their career aspirations if they could count on an UBI.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 15% of American workers are part-time by choice; in other words, they don't want to work full-time. Another 3% of American workers are part-time for economic reasons, meaning they want to work full-time but have either had their hours reduced due to business conditions or simply cannot find full-time employment. These workers are typically young, male, single, and poorly educated.
The number of non-earners (read: non-taxpayers) and part-time workers will likely skyrocket. They will be supported by the rest of the population, especially households in the top two income quintiles.
Want to convince someone the situation is urgent and immediate action is imperative? Well, you're not going to get very far by laying it on with a sledgehammer. This approach usually backfires by triggering resistance and motivating counterarguments.
First, the energy sector. We're mostly talking methane leaks during the production, storage and transport of coal, oil, and (especially) natural gas. Fixing the leakage problem is more than affordable - it's actually profitable, because leaks cost Big Energy potential revenue to be gained from converting methane to more benign products. The reason why companies haven't moved more quickly to take advantage of this business opportunity is the upfront expense of equipment upgrades that would shut down the leaks. Making money costs money.
Home to methane-spewing microbes, wetlands are the largest source of methane emissions in the world.
Diesel transportation and household burning of solid fuels together account for almost 60% of global black carbon emissions. Transitioning to cleaner, more efficient transportation and household technologies would go a long way to making a serious dent in BC emissions.
This post will the first of many addressing the second lever: reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). The main SLCPs are black carbon, methane, tropospheric ozone, and some hydrofluorocarbons.
Wealth does not measure the inherent value of an asset, only its market value at a particular point in time. Sources of wealth include real estate, stocks, bonds, bank deposits, pensions, and mutual funds. One's own home is the main source of wealth for the majority of Americans, except the most affluent.
Slowly but surely the US is catching on to the advantages of using nurse practitioners as independent primary care gatekeepers. A big factor in the gradual acceptance of this expanded role for nurse practitioners is the shortage of GPs, which has left millions of Americans without access to primary care providers.
In the US, the incentives are aligned to test more, treat more, and charge more. It's no surprise that, on average, the US spends almost twice as much on its healthcare system than other developed countries. And it's no surprise that our doctors are among the highest paid in the world.
When we're talking about exorbitant medical fees, we're talking mostly about doctors' fees. Physicians make way more in the US than other developed countries - about twice as much. What do other countries do to contain physician fees? Lots of things, including...
I don't equate prosperity with being rich, or even being above middle-class. I think of prosperity as owning a nice home in a nice neighborhood, with health insurance and a degree of financial security. Don't need a big house, don't need fancy.
Since developing human capital requires financial resources and the returns to skills and education are higher than ever, the children of low-income families are at a disadvantage. But it doesn't have to be so. We just have to make sure the building blocks of human capital are there for all income levels.
Who are the one percent? Technically, households with an adjusted gross income of at least $465,626. But who are those people? Many work in occupations that pay so well they have plenty of money available to get richer still through profitable investments. Many work in the following occupations...
The point of raising tax rates is to raise tax revenue. However, raise the rate too high and tax payers will change their behavior to lower their tax bill. So is there a sweet spot for taxing the top earners in this country, where we can get the most revenue for our rate? Here's what the IMF has to say...
In developed countries, inequality of income is driven largely by a wage disparity between the highly skilled and the less skilled. Social mobility is stymied by lack of skills. Why don't some people acquire the skills they need to move up the economic ladder? Why are some people stuck?
What fosters social mobility? That is, what helps individuals move up the economic ladder? Mostly job skills and connections. In developed countries, job skills matter more than ever. Economic opportunity beckons those with the right skill set.
When we're talking to ourselves (silently or aloud), we're engaging in a goal-directed behavior, such as trying to strengthen our resolve (yes, I can!) or remember something (broccoli). We’re still riding on a wave of feeling, because goals can't gain traction without emotion.
...many generations of Americans wanted to do better than their parents - especially when their parents struggled. For much of American history, our parents struggled. It's only been the last 50 or so years that most of us could take a breather. Is doing better than one's parents still the be all/end all of the American Dream? Should it be?