There Are Solutions is my favorite political slogan, and in this year of crisis 2020 there are many solutions in the air. One of my favorite political quotes is by Thoreau, “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
Remember when marriage equality and legalizing marijuana seemed like radical ideas that would never happen any time soon? Then boom, they happened. Of course they didn’t drop from the sky; many organizers had been putting the foundations under those ideas for years.
Right now there are far-reaching positive solutions that could come out of the crises of 2020. If the elected politicians are on our side, we can implement Public Banking and improved Medicare for All. There’s no excuse not to implement them, especially in California, where politicians cannot blame Trump. In 2016 California voters gave Clinton 4,000,000 more votes than Trump — a lead of almost 2 to 1 — 62% to 32%.
Other solutions are in the air too, especially during these times of COVID and of heightened awareness of racism. Every day the ideas are seeming less like radical ideas and more like common-sense solutions that could make life in the U.S. not only a lot more fair, but a lot happier, healthier, safer, and more meaningful.
Universal Basic Income (UBI) and Reparations — Why?
The need for UBI and reparations is extreme. Unemployment and financial inequality are both going through the roof. Real-life experiments show that giving unconditional subsistence income to every citizen does NOT reduce their motivation to work and it DOES produce benefits that other approaches do not produce.
As to reparations, we could look at many areas like housing and education where it’s clear that blacks in America have been given a raw deal (for example, denied the benefits of the G.I. Bill, which affects generations to come), but for right now, a focus on the criminal justice system gives us enough reason to say, “Yes! Reparations now!” Look at who gets stopped, fined, arrested, charged, given longer sentences, and even killed. You can not find statistics that show it happens to white people more than black. Given similar circumstances, all the statistics point the other way. Individuals, families, and communities pay a tremendous price for those disparities. Reparations can be individual and collective, such as restoring community health clinics and parks.
How do we pay for them?
The money is there.
The money is in the portfolios of the growing number of billionaires. We can increase public income the way we used to in the 1950s, by taxing the rich. The rich back then could still get richer, but not obscenely so. Start by organizing and pressuring for a YES on PROP 15 in November if you are a California voter.
The money is in the massive budget of the pentagon. We can increase the safety of people around the world and in the U.S. by reducing the military budget. The U.S. now spends almost as much as the rest of the world combined on the military and a lot of it is pure waste that does not keep anyone safer.
The money is in the coffers of the police. Police forces consume roughly half of many municipal budgets, and meanwhile police handle situations with guns that should never be handled with guns. “Defund the police!” is an idea that was practically unheard of even a year ago. Sounds shocking, but it makes sense. Let’s start by handling in more effective and less expensive ways those situations that do not need guns, and certainly do not need riot gear and militarized uniforms, weapons, and vehicles.
Altogether, these castles in the air of Public Banking, Medicare for All, Universal Basic Income, and Reparations go a long way toward a real Green New Deal. And with that, we can also take much better care of our planet.
Another world is possible,
Laura
LauraWells.org
@LauraWellsCA
P.S. If you want more information, you may find these pieces interesting.
https://www.ted.com/talks/rutger_bregman_poverty_isn_t_a_lack_of_character_it_s_a_lack_of_cash
TED Talk by author of Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World, focused on Universal Basic Income (UBI), open borders, and a 15-hour workweek, with examples from around the world, including the U.S. (April 2017, Rutger Bregman)
https://howiehawkins.us/martin-luther-king-jr-was-a-radical-socialist-advocate-of-reparations/
“As we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. today and the commemorations of his life this coming weekend, I think it is important to recall that King was a radical, a socialist, and an advocate of reparations for African Americans.” (1/15/20, Howie Hawkins)
https://www.democracynow.org/2020/7/16/headlines/asheville_nc_apologizes_for_slavery_offers_reparations_to_black_residents
“Asheville, North Carolina, has formally apologized to Black residents for the city’s role in slavery. A resolution approved unanimously by Asheville’s City Council Wednesday calls for investments in Black businesses and homeownership as a form of reparations.” (7/16/20, Democracy Now headline)
https://www.democracynow.org/2020/7/9/belgium_colonial_legacy_leopold_ii
“Belgian Princess Condemns Her Family’s Brutal Colonial History in Congo & Calls for Reparations” (7/9/20, Amy Goodman)
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/29/why-andrew-yangs-push-for-a-universal-basic-income-is-making-a-comeback.html
“The gravity with which a UBI is now regarded is a complete reversal of the reaction Yang first got when unveiling his platform. Pundits and Democratic strategists didn’t take his campaign seriously, but suddenly the push for a UBI does not seem so far-fetched.” (7/29/20, Yelena Dzhanova)
https://truthout.org/articles/we-need-a-universal-basic-income-now-and-after-covid-19/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=f709889b-e4d0-437f-bcc3-197b763f5207
“In April 2020, under the coalition government led by the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Spain passed a permanent minimum income program — a policy of guaranteed income for qualified low-income workers and families . . . in response to the economic fallout generated by COVID-19.” (6/7/20, Jack Delaney)