Campaign season!

 July 6, 2022

It’s campaign season, boys and girls! SCOTUS ended its term and campaign’s the only game in town. Your only government of the moment is all running to get their guys and gals the re-elect and the new votes in Congress. Campaign season!

What’s really going to be important this time around - that is, everyone subtext - is “Constitutional Mischief”. Long faces are gonna bemoan “whether the constitutional system can survive” but keep in mind they’re really talking about an inherent part of the constitutional system and how it is supposed to be contributing to the common goals of the country overall. Constitutional mischief time. That’s what they do. How can it help? And why cede that role to some fanatic hooligans in Arizona? No reason to. It’s one of the people’s roles too. 

Campaign season! What’s an idea that should be a legitimate part of the discourse? It’s campaign season - now’s the time for that. 

I want to talk about UBI. But not just the way it’s been talked about. I don’t just want a check from the government. I take very seriously Andrew Yang’s argument about automation being the best reason for a UBI. So, therefore, I think that UBI should also be something like Universal Basic Provisions. Instead of money, I want things: basic provisions for my job, yes - also, computers and automation. If we are going to be fighting against the automation of society and the economy with UBI ideas, I want the very things that are “supposed” to replace me in the workplace, given to me instead of a check. There is no way I’ll be replaced by it then, if we structure it that way. 

Campaign season! My idea is not that different from rural broadband or cell phone subsidies and it might actually fix the problem and not just heal it. Campaign season! Now’s the time for your ideas to seize legitimacy.