Put Joe Biden down as a ‘no’ on universal basic income

My guess, both from what’s in the media and talking to insiders, is that former Vice President Joe Biden is going to make a 2020 run for the Democratic presidential nomination. (He’s the very slight favorite, according to PredictIt.) In fact he just announced, Axios reports, “a big-name list of members of the Biden Institute Policy Advisory Board.”

Biden probably has the politics right here (and the policy too, for that matter), but the idea may be gaining traction among progressives. So which 2020 candidate will hoist the UBI banner? REUTERS/Charles Mostoller

In addition, he also put forward a plan to “restore the basic bargain . . . in this country that if you contributed to the success of an enterprise you got to share in its profits so you could not only make ends meet but also get ahead.” Lots in their about education, skills building, and reducing barriers to work (oddly though nothing about occupational licensing).

One thing that caught my eye is that Biden weighed in on the issue of a universal basic income. He doesn’t think much of it. Biden:

Americans don’t want a no-strings-attached check from the government, like the universal basic income proposal pushed by some leaders in Silicon Valley. They want work that provides dignity and a sense of community as well as a good paycheck. To deliver on that, we need policies that support work and ensure workers can succeed in a changing economy.

I think Biden probably has the politics right here. (And the policy, too, for that matter.) Work is still how people define themselves to a great extent, and how they order their lives. It might also seem odd to promote such a policy when the unemployment rate is 4% and likely headed lower, perhaps much lower. And what is the upside in promoting a policy that might a good one for the year 2043? Of course, the idea may be gaining traction among progressives, especially the activist class. So maybe there will be a candidate who hoists the UBI banner. Oprah?