I’d like to get a group of people to work on this together. Here would be the bios. I generally don’t like to make my name visible, but I’d like to share why I think I’m qualified to opine on this matter.
Bob Weishaar believes strongly in the idea of coordinated unconditional cash transfers like UBI. He also thinks it should appeal to folks across the political spectrum. He wants to tell the story boldly but respectfully, coming at it from all different angles. As luck would have it, Bob has a few experiences that shaped his view of why cash is the answer.
He is (or at least was) good at math. Pure luck. He knows he did nothing to deserve it. And that led to a well-paying job.
He works as an actuary and loves the role insurance plays in making people more resilient. Resilience means you need a smaller buffer. A smaller buffer means more freedom. UBI is resilience for (much, but not all of) life.
He was asked to lead a youth group in a church 30 years ago. That led him to eventually co-found a nonprofit teen center. He tutors math and hates having to tell talented kids that, if their goal is money, silly jobs too often beat important or interesting ones.
He’s met some of the hardest working people in the world. These are the single moms, living on the edge, and served by a nonprofit that shares space with the teen center.
His role models almost all took the sacrificial route, bringing their A-Game to charitable efforts, and piecing a living together with the time that was left over. He wants role models spending more time helping people thrive, not constantly pulled into helping them survive.
He has good friends on both the left and right who aren’t afraid to challenge him.
He was encouraged to repeat certain prayers as a child and reminded to pay attention while doing it. “… Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven ….” We’re not called to just be generous to the poor, we’re called to end poverty.