This chakra asks the question of whether we are appreciated for our contributions to society. If money is the measure of value for goods and services, it doesn’t make sense that the top 1 % holds more value than the bottom 80 %, and more value than all of the goods and services produced in 2018. When we are valued for our hard work to the point where we aren’t struggling to survive, we are free to turn around and invest in the things that we value, from going to the movies to raising a family. Thus, money in the hands of the masses will greatly boost demand and stimulate cash flow.
Why is this chakra broken?
People think the US economy is working for them. It’s not. Click on each topic below to learn more.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Unemployment rate
Taxation
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Misconception: The US GDP is high, so the economy must be strong.
Reality: GDP measures the wealth of corporations, not the people. Half of all working Americans make $30,000 a year. 78 % of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck and struggle to make ends meet.
Unemployment rate
Misconception: The unemployment rate is low, so the labor market must be healthy.
Reality: This does not account for people are working part time, 2-3 jobs, or have stopped looking for a job entirely. What’s worse is, in the next 12 years 1 in 3 Americans may lose their jobs to new technologies.
Taxation
Misconception: By cutting regulations and taxes on the rich, wealthy people will spend more and start businesses that will increase supply, create jobs, and trickle down to the middle and working classes.
Reality: Money doesn’t leave the wealthy class because they simply aren’t consuming enough or creating enough jobs. We need a trickle up economy that puts money in the hands of working people to immediately spend.
Give all workers a living wage
Bobby Scott and Bernie Sanders introduced the Raise the Wage Act that would gradually increase the minimum wage to $15 / hour. It also gradually raises the sub-minimum wage rate for tipped workers until it matches the minimum wage.
Who benefits?
Will this cause inflation?
Will jobs disappear?
Who supports this idea?
What's next?
Who benefits?
This plan would help 40 million workers, which is over 1/4th of the workforce.
Will this cause inflation?
No, as long as the increases are modest and keep up with inflation. In fact, the minimum wage has not kept up with inflation for over 50 years.
Will jobs disappear?
No. Several recent meta-analyses and large-scale studies report that there would be little to no impact on unemployment.
Who supports this idea?
Over 80 % of Americans believe we should raise the minimum wage. The Fight for $15 movement has grown rapidly, and helped Bernie Sanders get Amazon to raise its minimum wage to $15/hour.
What's next?
Minimum wage must continue to keep up with inflation to be considered a living wage.
Give everyone free money
Andrew Yang’s Freedom Dividend plan gives every American adult a universal basic income of $1000/month, no strings attached. This plan is projected to grow our economy by $2.5 trillion by 2025, and increase the labor force by 4.7 million people.
Will people use this money irresponsibly?
Won't this make people lazy?
Will this solve the inevitable automation crisis?
How will we pay for it?
Does this lead to inflation?
Will people use this money irresponsibly?
The data does not show this. For the vast majority of Americans who are struggling to make ends meet, the Freedom Dividend will remove the financial boot off people’s throats. They would be able to afford to work less jobs and spend time with their family, and invest in things like consumer goods, healthcare, or their children’s education.
Won't this make people lazy?
No. People can’t live off $1000/month, so they still have to work.
Will this solve the inevitable automation crisis?
No, but it will ease our transition. Even when more people lose their jobs to machines, they will still have this safety net of income that will allow them to look for another job, go back to school, or start their own business.
How will we pay for it?
A value added tax (VAT) will place a tax on commodities provided by tech giants like Amazon, which reported record profits while paying zero in federal income taxes in 2018. By exempting the tax on various consumer staples, we would minimize the effect on low-income individuals.
Does this lead to inflation?
Because the VAT is funding the Freedom Dividend, it doesn’t change the supply of money in the economy. When people have more buying power, some companies might increase their prices, but competition should keep most of that in check and automation will continue to make consumer goods cheaper. This will not work with non-automated sectors like education, housing, and healthcare, so those would require government regulation.
Give everyone paid leave days by law
Parent-infant bonding helps the child grow to become “more independent, perform better in school, have successful social relationships and experience less depression and anxiety.” 40 % of infants do not form this critical bond with their caregiver. The US is the only industrialized nation that does not guarantee paid family and medical leave by law. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand re-introduced the Family Act to give Americans up to 12 weeks of paid leave at 66 % of their monthly wages. This would apply to both fathers and mothers to prevent unfair hiring practices. Additionally, people can use it to take care of sick family members. Paid family and medical leave has up to 84 % approval among Americans.
Fund social programs to benefit everyone
For the first time ever, the super rich paid a lower effective tax rate than the working class. Multimillionaires and billionaires continue to get rich off of their assets, not their income. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have each proposed a wealth tax, which taxes people for holding onto unproductive assets over a certain amount of value. Bernie Sanders’ plan goes further than Warren’s by taxing every dollar above $32 million for married couples, and then slowly increasing the tax for wealthier households. This raises $4.35 trillion over the next 10 years.
Isn't this basically stealing?
How many people are affected?
Can't rich people get out of it?
Is this constitutional?
Who supports this idea?
Isn't this basically stealing?
People will frame it as an attack on the super rich, but it is important to point out that…they’ll remain super rich. I prefer framing it in terms of how much wealth they still have. Someone who has $2 billion now might have $1 billion after 15 years. That’s still unfathomable wealth.
How many people are affected?
That’s a better question. Only the top 180,000 families would be slightly negatively affected, but the generated wealth will benefit the whole country when it is used to fund many of the social programs that have been proposed in the other chakras, like Medicare for All, universal education, and a Green New Deal.
Can't rich people get out of it?
Bernie’s plan cracks down tax avoidance. The tax starts at $16 million for individuals, so you can’t get divorced to avoid the tax. You can’t leave the country to avoid the tax because you’ll get penalized with a 40 % exit tax on all wealth below $1 billion, and 60 % on all wealth above $1 billion. The plan creates a national wealth registry with 3rd party reporting requirements, and enhances the international tax enforcement and anti-money laundering regime.
Is this constitutional?
Yes, and it was even supported by the Founders.
Who supports this idea?
This plan has bipartisan support, with 74 % approval among all Americans.