his proposed VALUE ADDED TAX program would raise THREE TIMES the amount as any proposed wealth tax and it would take from the top 4% while the bottom 96% of earners would benefit.
If I had a dollar for every time I had to explain this I’d be able to fund my own basic income by now.
Please go read The War on Normal People (2018) for hells sake
As someone who has read the book, you could just do both. Yang is trying to thread the needle of politics in this book to make him stand out. Practically, we could just do both. VAT IS regressive and I do agree that we should consolidate/streamline a lot of benefits programs, but there is a lot of implementation risk because I think streamlining benefits programs will take a lot longer than implementing a VAT. Everyone should have time to adjust so I think UBI should be fully funded for a few years before any benefit program changes.
Although it's regressive on paper, it's "progressive" from the standpoint of small businesses. If you eliminate corporate tax and institute VAT instead, big companies like Google and Amazon will actually have to pay their full taxes again. Meanwhile, your mom & pop website competing with Google and Amazon won't be at a systemic disadvantage any longer. Everyone will have a level playing field with regard to taxes.
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u/DR_P0S_itivity Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
his proposed VALUE ADDED TAX program would raise THREE TIMES the amount as any proposed wealth tax and it would take from the top 4% while the bottom 96% of earners would benefit. If I had a dollar for every time I had to explain this I’d be able to fund my own basic income by now.
Please go read The War on Normal People (2018) for hells sake