Once simply the subject of academic books and articles, Universal Basic Income (UBI)—wherein the state provides a uniform cash grant to every citizen without a means test or work requirement—has seemingly become de rigueur for progressive activists. In their t... More »
I appreciate Andy Stern’s response to my recent post on labor law reform and UBI. I think we agree on almost everything, but disagree in a couple important respects. Let me first trace the large zone of agreement. I think we’re both committed to an egalitarian... More »
The debate between Brishen Rogers and Andy Stern points to important questions about the best strategy for achieving a progressive UBI in the United States. We look forward to publishing Rogers’ reply to Stern soon. In the meantime, I want to offer a t... More »
Brishen Rogers’ thoughtful piece: Why UBI Proponents Should Support Labor Law Reform was a good read and I would like to respond. First, there are many reasons for everyone to support reform of 80-year-old labor laws in today’s changed environment on job... More »
In recent years, political actors from a wide variety of backgrounds have begun to advocate for an unconditional basic income (UBI). The core idea is simple: the state would give all citizens or lawful residents regular cash grants without work requirements or... More »
Last week, Senator Mark Warner and Rep. Suzan DelBene introduced the Portable Benefits for Independent Workers Pilot Program Act. The Act would authorize $20 million for competitive grants to states, local governments and nonprofits to fund pilot projects aro... More »
The gig economy has been coming under a lot of fire lately. Last month, The New Yorker skewered Lyft and other businesses for their grueling work culture, running the headline: “The Gig Economy Celebrates Working Yourself to Death.” It pointed to the caution... More »
Mark Zuckerberg is changing diapers, Democratic Presidential candidates are stumping on family friendly policies, Marco Rubio is the first GOP hopeful with a (conservative) paid leave tax credit program, and even new mom Ivanka Trump is blogging with pro-tips ... More »
Fiscal considerations are at the forefront of contemporary policy debates. We often hear some version of the “can we afford this?” question coupled with a reference to our nearly $20 trillion debt—particularly when we debate the merits of social programs. Of... More »
In recent years, we’ve seen progress in the battle for paid leave. However, such progress has occurred almost exclusively at the state and local government levels, and almost all of the advances have been on the sick leave front. The family leave front, by co... More »
Today, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, chaired by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), held a hearing entitled, “Reforming the Workers’ Compensation Program for Federal Employees.” The press release about the Hea... More »
David Skeel is a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School. On Friday, the Illinois Supreme Court released its much anticipated ruling in the challenge to the 2013 Illinois pension reforms referenced in my previous post. (In re Pension Reform Litigation, 2015 ... More »