Excellent article Ed Dolan, because it raises social questions beyond figures -- as vital as they are.

I see the UBI (we have to find a better name) even more valuable than either raising people from poverty or having a more efficient safety net. It can be more akin to mother and child -- a national Mom, if you like. One able to nurture. Many of my friends would interpret as "cradle to the grave welfare state" and shudder (although this was actually my home country New Zealand before I left 40 years ago). But I don't mean that.

We in America waste an incredible amount of talent. Look at Mississippi where medium incomes are a fraction of what they are in Connecticut. Are they stupider down there? I don't think so. There are obviously many reasons for the size of the economies. But one is that people are shut out from opportunities. Opportunities to reach anything close to their full potential. I've said in my articles here and in Op-ed pages -- Can a kid plucked out of Mali become a brain surgeon? Absolutely she can.

The UBI (or as you say, something similar) has the potential to elevate not just the poor Black person in the south but also a cross section of people in wealthy states. The beauty of the UBI is that it preserves individual decision making and is NOT the nanny state. It simply puts money into people's pockets to do their best (or their worst). For this reason it makes it an easy political sell -- maybe.

Personally, I waited around years in a job that I didn't like and, at least to my mind, wasn't particularly productive. I needed health coverage. Should a UBI have been in place, I would have contributed way more to America and in ways that were more enjoyable to me.

One huge obstacle to the UBI being adopted is SPITE. We will suffer ourselves as long as others (who are not in our tribe) are suffering more. It's a powerful and ugly trait.

Many thanks.