A basic income could boost the US economy by $2.5 trillion
I&#x27;m currently on an Amtrak train between Philadelphia and NYC.<p>Especially in leafless winter, the sheer <i>uglyness</i> of this swath of in-disrepair America is almost shocking.<p>Abandoned factories and houses. Lifeless downtowns. Trash along the tracks. Non-sweet graffiti.<p>Paying people to do <i>nothing</i> when there is <i>so much to be done</i> seems crazy to me. It&#x27;s not like we have figured out how to solve these problems with AI or robots yet.<p>I could listen to an argument for paying people to participate in FDR-style public works programs. Building a bicycle lane network. Planting flowerbeds. Demolition and recycling and then re-urbanization or re-forestation of those crumbling factory grounds. And so many more things that would make this a better place to exist.