Populism Rising
On talk radio shows about economic issues, a common theme is gaining steam. Callers denounce government bailouts and handouts to banks, Wall Street, AIG, GM, and so on — and say that, instead, they want government to give money to ordinary people. Give us the money! Not to the people who caused the problems!
Depending on the day, the specific bailout being discussed, and the caller’s mathematical skills, the amount suggested might be $1,000 for every American, or $2,000, $10,000, $70,000, or a million. Hosts and invited guests routinely acknowledge the anger that drives such statements, but rarely discuss the idea in any detail.
Too bad those callers don’t know the history of guaranteed income. They’d be a lot more convincing if they cited the economists, politicians, and other authorities from the 1960s.
It’s easy and fun. When talking to conservative hosts like Rush Limbaugh, mention Milton Friedman first. With Rachel Maddow and other liberals, talk about Martin Luther King, George McGovern, and John Kenneth Galbraith. King gets favorable responses from most people, actually, though very few know about his support for guaranteed income. Few know much of anything about him, apart from the “I have a dream” speech and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
Talk about the 1930s, too. The story of Francis Townsend and Social Security is a good one (though probably not if you’re talking to Rush Limbaugh.) There’s also Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson. It’s hard to quarrel with “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” — if you can get people to think clearly and concretely, and to understand that life and liberty require at least a little bit of cash. The whole history is here.
Also fun, true, and useful is talking about what a boon Citizen Dividends will be for “the economy.” Markets will be more free and more fair when everyone can afford to participate. Lots of us will use the extra income to start small businesses, pursuing the American dream of being self-employed and creating jobs for other workers. Secure income will remove a lot of the personal risk. Small businesses have historically been, by far, the major engine for creating jobs.
This web site and the Income Security Institute seek to make these ideas much more readily available. The next time you hear anyone say that our government should give money directly to ordinary Americans, send them to www.IncomeSecurityForAll.org. Thanks.
Steven Shafarman
Tags: "the economy", George McGovern, John Kenneth Galbraith, Martin Luther King, Milton Friedman, popular education, Rush Limbaugh, Thomas Paine