I wrote a Twitter thread where I attempted to eliminate poverty in America, build the economy, and ensure Democrats are re-elected, by admitting money is pretend. I’ll include it here for those who don’t used Twitter.
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Premise 1: Our country has enough money to solve every issue we have. More than enough money. Not exaggerating.
Example: If America was attacked today and went to war, our military would immediately have access to unlimited (unlimited!) amounts of money to fund the war.
Premise 2: The National Debt is meaningless. New research particular to our country, shows that increasing or paying down the debt doesn’t really matter. And no politician actually cares about the national debt. They are lying if they say they do.
Premise 3: Everyone likes money. I mean everybody. The wealthiest people in our country who quite literally have more money than they could spend in a thousand lifetimes, have bizarrely spent the pandemic laser-focused on what? On getting MORE money.
It’s not just rich people that like money. In the book Sapiens, Yuval Harari discusses how historically (and still today) money drove collaboration and trade between differing cultures. Communities who hate each other are willing to overcome moral repugnance for the “other” for financial benefit.
From this we could conclude that even the section of the country whose only goal is to Own The Libs, would be willing to work with the rest of us, and willing to reject Q beliefs, in exchange for money.
Premise 4: Money is pretend. It’s something humans invented, and keep inventing. Recently, humans invented Bitcoin, a made up currency that is currently trading at $ 37,379 per bitcoin.
Have you ever asked an economist to explain what the current U.S. currency is based on? The attempted responses are so complex they become nonsensical. It would honestly feel more reassuring if they told you it was based on a rodent seeing it’s shadow.
Our money system is based on nothing more or less than mutual trust. Some argue our economy, and all monetary systems, belong in the same category as religions.
As the country goes cash-less, money becomes even more pretend. A Venmo employee could write a line of code that adds $ 10,000 to every Venmo account. And magically(!) more money would then exist.
Plus, we all saw what happened with the Gamestop Stock Shorting circus. Markets can be manipulated, filling bank accounts without actually creating value. Yet further proof that money is pretend.
Premise 5: We know how to solve poverty. An article, like this one from NPR, comes out every few months featuring a new study that confirms what we already know: We need to give people money.
Let’s repeat that: We could eliminate poverty TODAY by putting money into the hands of those who live in poverty. No red tape or applications or big complicated program needed. No need to track or control what recipients do with the money.
In our country it is extremely possible to ensure no one goes hungry, to ensure no one ever has to think about how they’ll pay for shelter. We have more than enough money to make that happen.
Premise 6: Democrats will easily be reelected if they give people money. They have a small window to make this happen. Forget $ 1600 vs $ 2000. Send $ 20,000 as pandemic backpay! Seriously. Then implement a UBI for all who need it — or just for everybody. GO BIG while you can.
Because here’s the thing: People can be bought. I’m not saying this like this is a moral failing of people. People deserve to have enough money. And people will LOVE having enough money for their needs. They will vote for you if you show them you can and will give them money.
You will get reelected because you will say: “Remember how you couldn’t pay rent a few months ago, and your kids were hungry, but now you have enough money for your needs? Vote for me because I’m going to keep that going.” It’s a home run campaign. It’s unbeatable.
If Republicans run against you and suggest reversing the policies, which would plunge people back into poverty, they will get laughed off the debate stage. Even if the Republicans somehow got power, they would HAVE to keep the poverty-eliminating policies in place.
Typically a few very rich people use money to buy political influence. Let’s flip the script! Let’s put money in the pockets of millions of people who need it and “buy” the loyalty of constituents.
People can make anything “align with their morals” if there is a financial benefit. I’m not being cynical. This is maybe THE lesson of history. Consider Pro-life Conservatives who are one-issue voters, and only vote Republican no matter what. Think that could never change?
If Democrats put money in their hands, and their financial needs are met, overnight Pro-lifers will say: “I care about life in the womb AND after birth! Plus research shows that abortions always go down under the policies of Democrats. So I will definitely vote straight Democrat.”
Premise 7: Even if we can’t comprehend that money is pretend, we can STILL pay for every need in this country. Reverse Trump’s tax cut and you’ve got $ 1.5 trillion to work with. Implement Warren’s .2 cent tax on the wealthiest and you’ve got another trillion.
Better yet, make it a .4 cent wealth tax. or .15 cents! The wealthy won’t feel it (remember, this is a tax on wealth OVER $ 50 million — they will still have plenty of money; they won’t have to buy fewer yachts!), and everyone else will benefit.
Don’t forget spending. Putting money into people’s hands will drive spending. They will buy things they need like a car, and gas for the car, electricity, food(!), clothes, dish soap, books, Netflix, and date nights. Sales tax revenues will benefit. The economy will benefit.
Premise 8: We don’t give people money because of a super-engrained, completely wrong, and very harmful sense of what worthiness means. We work really hard to make sure money isn’t given to people we believe haven’t “earned” it. It’s gross. It’s wrong. It’s immoral.
Humans don’t “earn” worthiness. They are worthy because they exist and are human.
We know this even if we think we don’t. Consider how we treat babies. We do not expect them to work or to be productive. They add value to our communities simply by existing. And guess what? That’s true for EVERY person. It doesn’t change just because a person turns 18.
Related, you may worry that a rich person might benefit and get money they don’t need. Stop worrying about that. Who cares whether or not a rich person benefits?! Do millions of people in poverty benefit? Yes! Are hungry kids getting fed? Yes! Then it’s an awesome thing. So focus on that.
We have to get over the false idea that only certain people deserve enough money for their needs. If you find yourself going down that path, dig deep and cut it out. “You are inherently worthy. Before you ever do, achieve, or acquire, you are worthy.”
Premise 9: We don’t have to wait for the Abundant Future. Futurists commonly predict abundance. They predict we’ll have abundant clean energy; we’ll have more energy than we could ever use — we’ll do impossible things like air condition the open air desert!
Right now, right this minute, we have an Abundance of MONEY. Use it. Put it in people’s hands! We know that’s the best way to help people. We know that’s what works.
Premise 10: Some Economists will tell us this won’t work and it will destroy the economy. To those Economists, I say: Go away already. No one believes you. You have been going on about trickle-down economics for fifty years, and you have been wrong for fifty years!
The dangerous income inequality in our country is something we should all be deeply ashamed of. In the future, people will look back at this time and conclude humans had abandoned all morality, because how could anyone go about their day when this kind of inequality existed?
People are starving. People are being evicted. Giving them money, money that we have in abundance, will solve the problem. We know this.
Democrats, the research is clear: JUST GIVE THEM MONEY. Right now. While you can. Give them LOTS of money. No strings.
Use this valuable time while you have power to lift people out of poverty! Be the generation of political leaders that eliminates US poverty overnight. What a legacy that would be. It’s not a daydream or far-off wish. You can ACTUALLY do this. Right now. Today. DO IT.
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I originally shared this on Twitter, and then on Instagram. There is good commentary in response in both places if you’re interested. And of course, you are welcome to comment here as well. Your comments are always the best thing about this blog.
