Obama’s Address
President Obama last night called for prompt action on energy, health care, education, and deficit reduction. We can achieve his goals more rapidly and easily if we start with income security for all.
Regarding energy: Obama called on Congress to enact a cap on carbon to drive progress toward renewable energy sources. Caps will increase costs, though he didn’t mention that. Extra income for every American citizen will help us individuals offset those costs. Everyone will be more able to afford to invest in energy efficiency. Individuals and families will be able to invest in appropriate changes by, for example, buying hybrid cars and making their homes more energy efficient. Those changes will come without the complex system of tax credits that Obama is proposing. Starting with the guaranteed income, moreover, will make those changes more politically acceptable.
Regarding health care: Many of the excess costs of our health care system are due to poverty. People who are struggling economically often cannot afford to eat well, sleep well, care for themselves and the people they love. Poverty is stressful, and those stresses are a cause of many health problems, such as high blood pressure, anxiety, digestive difficulties, and so on. Enacting a guaranteed basic income will immediately reduce health care costs for individuals and our nation. That’s a necessary step toward reforming Medicare, Medicaid, and other health programs.
Regarding education: Obama wants everyone to graduate from high school and have at least one year beyond it. Extra income will make that possible. It will be a lot easier for people to stay in school or go back to school. And the benefits will grow over time. Imagine our society when every child knows that he or she will have some guaranteed income starting at age 18. Children will grow up with greater hope than today, knowing that they have the means to pursue their dreams.
A word he used many times was “responsibility,” notably with regard to children. “Responsibility for children must begin at home” and “We have a responsibility to ensure that we do not pass on to them a debt they cannot pay.”
Income security for all will make it easier for every parent to fulfill their responsibilities. Many of the problems Obama and others talk about, after all, are rooted in or related to economic uncertainty. Parents who are struggling to pay their bills typically cannot invest the time to be with their children, and cannot fully enjoy those times. Even parents who have good jobs today are increasingly worried about their finances, and therefore distracted from their responsibilities as parents. Every parent and every child will benefit when income security is guaranteed.
With regard to our national debt: It will almost certainly be more cost-effective to give everyone a basic income than to continue with the complex and costly efforts to bail out banks and other big corporations. And the guaranteed basic income will do much more to restore people’s trust and confidence in our government and economic system.
For Obama’s supporters: Lets do what we can to educate him and others about the basic income guarantee and how it can help him achieve his goals.
For Obama’s critics: Let’s do what we can to educate everyone about the basic income guarantee and how it can help all of us work together to rebuild our nation.
Steven Shafarman
Tags: Barack Obama