Universal Basic Income: Visionary or Wishful Thinking?

By Susan Boskey

Universal Basic Income, also known as UBI, social credit and Basic Income Guarantee, is not a new concept. However, it is being looked at newly by the State of Hawaii as a solution to how AI (artificial intelligence) is likely to take over many of their jobs.

Having lived in Hawaii, I understand why the concern there may be greater than for other places. My experience showed me that the income disparity between wealthy mainlanders who bumped-up real estate prices in Hawaii, and everyone else who had to work for a living, was crazy severe. To survive a cost-of-live higher than the San Francisco Bay area at minimum-wage levels, I observed that most locals had to work more than one job just to survive. Today, I imagine this disparity is even greater.

UBI is a dividend-type proposal similar to the one in Alaska since 1982 via the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation distributing an annual share of oil revenues to each resident of the state (including children in the family). In 2007, the amount to each resident was $3,269 and in 2016, only $1022.

Former Democratic Congressman, Dennis Kucinich, a proponent of this economic strategy for every American, not just Alaskans, said after former Treasury secretary Henry Paulson announced the 2007 $700 billion bank bailout:

“Since the bailout will cost each and every American about $2,300, tomorrow I will offer legislation to create a United States Mutual Trust Fund, which will take control of $700 billion in stock assets, at market value and not higher, convert those assets to shares, and distribute $2,300 worth of shares to new individual savings accounts in the name of each and every American.”

According to another UPI proponent, Richard C. Cook, former Treasury employee and author of the book, We Hold These Truths, (for which I wrote the forward) one of UBI’s most recent sources is Scottish Major C.H. Douglas. In 1918 he was an industrial engineer who authored the book, Economic Democracy, which addressed the gap of purchasing power for the average person, and therefore the need for government-distributed dividends.

Cook, in a Global Research article, discusses “Credit as a Public Utility: The Key to Monetary Reform,” asserting that social credit “should be treated as a public utility, like water, electricity, and clean air.”

A citizens’ dividend could work wonders in rebuilding the economy from the bottom up, including small business and local agriculture. To assure that dividends are spent for necessities, they could be issued initially as tax-free food, fuel, and housing vouchers from a government recovery account not dependent on taxation or borrowing. Rather the backing for the vouchers would be the productive potential of the economy. This way new economic production could be generated without bank loans. The vouchers, when spent, could be funneled into a network of community savings banks that would re-lend the money at zero percent interest. (Richard C. Cook, “How to Save the U.S. Economy,” Global Research)

At the time, in 2007, when Richard Cook asked me to write the forward to We Hold These Truths, the social credit concept sounded good to me: a practical solution to the purchasing-power gap Americans had continued to suffer in the early to middle 2000s. That said, in 2017 I am no longer a fan of social credit having had the time to look into it more deeply.

Would this government strategy create economic justice providing a spiritual basis for the economy as Cook and others suggest? Or would it simply be the next step towards larger government and its increased control over matters of our personal lives? And how exactly would social credit affect the national debt? The UBI, in my view, is short-sighted; it would enhance, not end, the grip financial elites already have on Central Banking, a system destined to underwrite a world government with a world currency.

Frederick Hayek in his 1960 book, The Constitution of Liberty, predicted that egalitarian redistribution would end up only as a new approach of the “old aims of socialism.”

Visionary? No. Short-sighted wishful thinking? Yes.

Susan Boskey is author of the book, The Quality Life Plan®: 7 Steps to Uncommon Financial Security. After exposing the bottom-line of why more and more families need credit each month just to make ends meet, Susan provides game-changing practical strategies, tactics and templates to help you create a life of greater ease. You can reverse the downward trend of credit and debt while learning how to establish a long-term, debt-free lifestyle; a life that allows you to build both financial wealth and the wealth of well-being midst the challenges of today. To learn more or to purchase the book, please visit her website at http://TheQualityLifePlan.com 

Image Credit: AFP

From Great Recession To Grand Illusion

By Susan Boskey

From the Great Recession to the Grand Illusion of recovery, growing household debt and the number of families struggling to make ends meet is the story left behind the curtain. Only a few leaders, authors and bloggers expose the underbelly reality hoping for strength in the numbers of those who wake up to the window dressing. As Charles Hugh-Smith puts it, “Welcome to debt-serfdom, the only possible output of the soaring cost of living for the unprotected many who are ruled by a hubris-soaked, subsidized Protected Elite.”

I could not have said it better, myself. Yet first-world culture appears to be all about looking good for those in it even if living in a world of hurt.

Not unlike the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes, we’re supposed to go along to get along and never mention the emperor is butt naked, i.e. that you’re living precariously on the edge. As an issue deemed “negative” in a “think positive” world and way too personal to talk about, people tend to consider they are the only ones navigating rough financial waters. Conversation must stay upbeat. However, this tacit agreement to silence seems to only eventually lead them to deeper and murkier circumstances, until they are betrayed as if by a cheating spouse.

Methinks suffering in silence (by the little guys) is part of the big guys’ strategy to assure the longevity of their own financial domination. All along, you honestly believed you were doing everything you were supposed to because that’s what the experts said to do. But, alas, you learned the hard way. Bad news for you; good news for the Emperor.

Given corporate commerce has the mandate of a profitable bottom line, if to stay in existence, markets must expand and sales must grow. Marketing and advertising serves to cloud the non-commercial human’s innate ability to recognize their array of choices as they head down the road of increased consumption. The banking industry touts the benefits of their product, credit, and since everyone else relies on credit, why not? Some call the outcome, debt-slavery.

Despite the distraction of a booming stock market promoted as an expression of a healthy economy, the household debt levels tell another story; they surpass debt levels of the Great Recession in 2008. The Federal Reserve reports on household debt for the 1^st quarter of 2017.

Aggregate household debt balances increased in the first quarter of 2017, for the 11^th consecutive quarter, finally surpassing the 2008Q3 peak of $12.68 trillion. As of March 31, 2017, total household indebtedness was $12.73 trillion, a $149 billion (1.2%) increase from the fourth quarter of 2016. Overall household debt is now 14.1% above the 2013Q2 trough.

A Bankrate Inc. January 2017 survey revealed 57% of American respondents (6 of 10) didn’t have enough cash to cover a $500 unexpected expense. Almost half of the 1,003 adults surveyed said they or a member of their family were hit with a major expense in the past year.

However, if you discern with eyes wide open, you can see marketing manipulation for what it is. Greater awareness brings into focus the greater range of choices available to you beyond those prescribed by a marketplace that benefits at your expense. With a curiosity to advance your financial IQ, alternatives to traditional wealth building and management start to make sense.

What this proves, in my estimation, is that suffering in silence does advance the cause of financial and personal well-being in the lives of everyday people. Bottom line, the problem is systemic, not personal. Until more people are willing to discover how the monetary system undermines their best efforts, and speak up about it, I fear more suffering behind closed doors.

Susan Boskey is author of the book, The Quality Life Plan®: 7 Steps to Uncommon Financial Security. After exposing the bottom-line of why more and more families need credit each month just to make ends meet, Susan provides game-changing practical strategies, tactics and templates to help you create a life of greater ease. You can reverse the downward trend of credit and debt while learning how to establish a long-term, debt-free lifestyle; a life that allows you to build both financial wealth and the wealth of well-being midst the challenges of today. To learn more or to purchase the book, please visit her website at http://TheQualityLifePlan.com 

Image Credit: Pixabay

The Cumulative Effective Tax Rate

By Susan Boskey

Early Americans would roll over in their graves if they heard about modern-day America’s topsy-turvy departure from many of the hard-won freedoms and liberties of the American Revolution. They would be unable to make sense of all the different taxes we pay today, and especially the government’s legal entitlement to a portion of an American’s labor via an income tax. There was no such tax on labor for the earliest Americans; it was unconscionable to tax someone’s personal property, which one’s labor was then considered. The concept of paying one’s “fair share” did not exist until after mid-20^th century.

In general, operating expenses of private corporations and the federal, state and corporate-county municipal governments are passed on to the end users (public) in the form of taxation.

A partial list of the transparent as well as all the unseen hidden taxes include: federal and state income tax, county taxes, federal and state sales tax, accounts receivable tax, alcohol tax, alternative minimum tax, building permit tax, cigarette tax, corporate tax, dog license tax, education tax, estate tax, excise tax on imports, food license tax, fuel permit tax, gift tax, hotel tax, inheritance tax, inventory tax, car rental tax, IRS interest charges, IRS penalties and levies, license tax, labor tax (withholding), marriage license tax, Medicare tax, municipal state tax on insurance premiums, worker’s compensation and unemployment tax, property tax, recreational vehicle tax, sales tax, self-employment tax, road usage tax for truckers, school tax, Social Security tax, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), telecommunications tax, travel tax, utility tax, vehicle licensing registration tax, vehicle sales tax, watercraft registration tax, well permit tax, hospitality tax and last but not least, the hidden tax of inflation of a debt-based central banking system and all finance charges.

I’m sure I must have missed something!

While on a TV talk show in 1981, President Reagan mentioned that 46 different taxes contributed to the price of one loaf of bread. Imagine how many more taxes have been added since then. How many taxes and fees are hidden in an airline ticket? Seldom considered is how the cost of doing business has the effect of decreasing one’s purchasing power as more and different kinds taxes make up the retail price you end up paying.

The retail price accounts as the total of the multiple costs of doing business. Throughout a company’s chain of events from production to sales and marketing, labor costs take a huge bite; they are the wages, taxes and fees imposed on the labor of every employee from the factory-floor worker to CEO. Materials, essential resources, and the interest amounts on a company’s business loans are all rolled into the price you pay.

Americans take a beating from taxes that appear to now exponentially erode earnings (personal property). “Bracket creep,” as it is called, over time automatically moves a taxpayer into new, higher tax brackets. For example, in 1970, private pensions and Social Security retirement were not considered taxable income, though today, they are. These sort of official changes often move people into a higher income bracket with subsequent increased amounts due to state and federal governments.

What if mainstream media routinely reported on the cumulative total of what everyday American pays annually in taxes? Would you connect the dots to the direct impact this has on your personal finances, e.g., actual disposable income and increasing dependence on credit? The addition of all taxes, transparent and not so transparent, (hidden taxes mentioned above, upfront fees and regulation costs of federal and state regulatory compliance, federal fines (like what British Petroleum passed on to consumers after the Gulf oil spill) lead this writer to the educated guess that the average American pays somewhere in the range of a cumulative 30 to 60 percent of their annual gross earnings in taxes, depending on their tax bracket.

Are you powerless when it comes to this topic? I don’t think so. Knowledge is power, and power can lead to informed action.

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Susan Boskey is author of the book, The Quality Life Plan®: 7 Steps to Uncommon Financial Security. After exposing the bottom-line of why more and more families need credit each month just to make ends meet, Susan provides game-changing practical strategies, tactics and templates to help you create a life of greater ease. You can reverse the downward trend of credit and debt while learning how to establish a long-term, debt-free lifestyle; a life that allows you to build both financial wealth and the wealth of well-being midst the challenges of today’s economic landscape. To learn more or to purchase the book, please visit her website at http://TheQualityLifePlan.com 

Susan can customize her strategies and templates for your particular situation and is available to coach you through this process. She can be reached through her website.

Cashless Society, India, And Big Brother

By Susan Boskey

“The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” ~ H. L. Menken

The short story is that American banking and government institutions are partnering on a do-or-die global ultimatum to shift all countries from cash to digital currency. The ultimatum is that if a country does not play ball by cooperating, they lose out in trade since digital will become the default platform.

Quietly, India was chosen to kick-off off the campaign. The so-called “financial-inclusion” drive that started in India November 9, 2016, is anything but. Additional promotional language states the goal to create “a holistic ecosystem approach” to solve the merchant and customer issues limited by cash-only systems. Translation: Think…Big Brother.

This well-thought-out globalist scheme was not simply the brainchild of India’s Prime Minister Modi.

In early November, without warning, the Indian government declared the two largest denomination bills invalid, abolishing over 80 percent of circulating cash by value. Amidst all the commotion and outrage this caused, nobody seems to have taken note of the decisive role that Washington played in this. That is surprising, as Washington’s role has been disguised only very superficially.  ~ Norbert Haering, Global Research, 1 January 2017

The shock and hardship resulting has been palpable since India is one of the most dependent countries on a cash economy, especially for the millions of very poor. Literally overnight more than 80% of the value of cash in circulation was extracted, nullifying all 500 and 1,000 rupee bank notes. Now street vendors and the poor, in general, suffer ever more. India has become the guinea-pig harbinger of a cashless future, spun as an effort towards new economic opportunities. But… for whom?

The primary partnership with the country of India is India’s Ministry of Finance and The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The Beyond Cash report is their source document (globalinnovationexchange.org/beyond-cash) but it does not end there.  To expand and execute digital payment in India, the US/India partnership introduced, Catalyst: “Inclusive Cashless Payment Partnership” “to digitize economies” and to make “everyday purchases cashless.” (cashlesscatalyst.org)

Not surprisingly, the war on cash has been mounted mostly by payment providers in IT services. Their plan, obviously, is to make more money directly from digital payments or downstream from data, also of benefit to governments. Some of the bigger players are the Better Than Cash Alliance, the Gates Foundation (Microsoft), Omidyar Network (eBay), the Dell Foundation Mastercard, Visa, and the Metlife Foundation.

In 2012, the above mentioned umbrella organization, Better Than Cash Alliance (betterthancash.org), was established with the byline: Moving from cash to digital payments to improve people’s lives. With generous donors, the Gates-Foundation and the Master-Card-Foundation, its membership is of  large US institutions: Mastercard, Visa, the Ford Foundation, USAID, the Gates Foundation, Omidyar Network of eBay-founder Pierre Omidyar, and Citi, to name but a few of its 35 members.

There you have it. It’s only a matter of time until we hear of the next country with a fate similar to that of the most-unfortunate Indian people. Will the big dogs continue to use the surprise-attack strategy to ensure no one messes with their campaign? The momentum builds in the interest of international business community to eliminate cash, increase digital payments, and to expand the ability of payment service providers and mega corporations to track every penny you spend. Are you ready for the “financial inclusion” of a “holistic ecosystem approach” to improve your life? Ha!

Susan Boskey is author of the book, The Quality Life Plan®: 7 Steps to Uncommon Financial Security. After exposing the bottom-line of why more and more families need credit each month just to make ends meet, Susan provides game-changing practical strategies, tactics and templates to help you create a life of greater ease. You can reverse the downward trend of credit and debt while learning how to establish a long-term, debt-free lifestyle; a life that allows you to build both financial wealth and the wealth of well-being midst the challenges of today’s economic landscape. To learn more or to purchase the book, please visit her website at http://TheQualityLifePlan.com 

Susan can customize her strategies and templates for your particular situation and is available to coach you through this process. She can be reached through her website.