“A right must be voluntarily enjoyed, in the absence of others. As of now, all major implementations of UBI rely on taxes. And taxes are implemented through the threat of violence. So even if we need UBI, it’s still not a right. It’s a privilege.”
We live in the age of entitlements. Entitlement used to mean the fact of having the right to something. Our Declaration of Independence states “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Unfortunately, for many in this country entitlement now means that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment. Some of the expected privileges are nourishment, housing, transportation, education and healthcare from cradle to grave. The parents of past generations experienced hardships to provide for the needs of their family and accumulate wealth to pass to their following generation. The parents of the following generations sought to shield their children from hardship resulting in expectation of privilege with no appreciation of its achievement. The attitude occurs for children of the wealthy and of welfare recipients.
“By increasing the benefit of being a citizen, more people will apply for citizens, and more people will try to get across a border in order to have children in the country that offers the option.”
Citizenship should not be based on place of birth but on the citizenship of the parents. The 14th Amendment states “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are Citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” An infant born to illegal immigrants in the U.S. should not be a U.S. citizen because the parents were not subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress should pass legislation clarifying the meaning of the clause and exempt if from appellate jurisdiction in accordance with Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution. This would remove the incentive for illegal immigration to establish so called “anchor babies”.
“What we need to do is boost the number of high wage jobs and increase the size of the middle class. UBI isn’t going to do that.”
If UBI is funded by taxes it will be an additional burden on the middle class to enable subsistence of the poor. The wealthy have the means to minimize their taxes compared to the middle class. UBI will be inadequate to elevate the poor to the middle class or the middle class will not condone it. Congress can continue its tradition of ignoring the will of the people and funding social programs with deficit spending but eventually there will be consequences.
