Davos Man

by Peter S. Goodman

We need not engage in some progressive version of the Cosmic Lie—pretending that these investments will pay for themselves—to justify spending what it takes. We simply need to avoid falling for the usual deficit-spending fearmongering that comes from Davos Man collaborators like McConnell, forever ready to extend the next tax cut for billionaires while crying poverty when the subject is help for regular people. But the job guarantee confronts far tougher political obstacles than basic income. It involves the creation of a large-scale bureaucracy, while substantially increasing the role of the state in regulating pay. Basic income removes bureaucracy. Instead of forcing people to satisfy complex rules for individual aid schemes—from housing vouchers to subsidized childcare—it entails simply handing everyone a regular sum of money and allowing them to decide for themselves how to use it. This feature has been central to basic income’s appeal; the element that has allowed it to gain credibility across the political spectrum over centuries.