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Give People Money
- How a Universal Basic Income Would End Poverty, Revolutionize Work, and Remake the World
- Narrated by: Annie Lowrey
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
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Publisher's summary
New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
Short-listed for the 2018 FT & McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award
A brilliantly reported, global look at universal basic income - a stipend given to every citizen - and why it might be necessary in an age of rising inequality, persistent poverty, and dazzling technology.
Imagine if every month the government deposited $1,000 into your bank account, with nothing expected in return. It sounds crazy. But it has become one of the most influential and hotly debated policy ideas of our time. Futurists, radicals, libertarians, socialists, union representatives, feminists, conservatives, Bernie supporters, development economists, childcare workers, welfare recipients, and politicians from India to Finland to Canada to Mexico - all are talking about UBI.
In this sparkling and provocative book, economics writer Annie Lowrey examines the UBI movement from many angles. She travels to Kenya to see how a UBI is lifting the poorest people on earth out of destitution, India to see how inefficient government programs are failing the poor, South Korea to interrogate UBI’s intellectual pedigree, and Silicon Valley to meet the tech titans financing UBI pilots in expectation of a world with advanced artificial intelligence and little need for human labor.
Lowrey explores the potential of such a sweeping policy and the challenges the movement faces, among them contradictory aims, uncomfortable costs, and, most powerfully, the entrenched belief that no one should get something for nothing. In the end, she shows how this arcane policy has the potential to solve some of our most intractable economic problems while offering a new vision of citizenship and a firmer foundation for our society in this age of turbulence and marvels.
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Critic reviews
“Lowrey, a journalist who covers economic policy for The Atlantic, musters considerable research to make the case for a universal basic income - a government-funded cash handout for all.” (New York Times Book Review)
“Lowrey is a policy person. She is interested in working from the concept down.... Her conscientiously reported book assesses the widespread effects that money and a bit of hope could buy.” (The New Yorker)
“Annie Lowery has given basic income a wonderful upgrade…[bringing] first-hand accounts of struggling workers all over the world…. A must-read as basic income becomes a more mainstream idea.” (Forbes)
Editorial Review
Minimum income for all Universal Basic Income ("UBI") will probably be a hot topic in the next election cycle. Annie Lowrey’s audiobook—she’s a proponent of UBI, as the title implies—feels less like a political argument and more like a "what if" conversation with a well-informed friend. Lowrey surveys places where UBI is working or has been tried, and takes into account possible objections to a minimum income plan for the US She invites listeners to contemplate an "ethos" of UBI, a society that is inclusive, simple, and humane. How would $1,000 each month, no strings attached, change your life? —Christina H., Audible Editor
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In his previous book, The Elusive Quest for Growth, William Easterly criticized the utter ineffectiveness of Western organizations to mitigate global poverty, and he was promptly fired by his then-employer, the World Bank. The White Man's Burden is his widely anticipated counterpunch - a brilliant and blistering indictment of the West's economic policies for the world's poor.
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A Bit Repetitive
- By Amazon Customer on 04-27-19
By: William Easterly
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FairTax
- The Truth
- By: Neal Boortz, John Linder
- Narrated by: Neal Boortz
- Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Offering stunning new insights not covered in the original book, FairTax: The Truth debunks the negative myths and gross misrepresentations of this groundbreaking idea. The FairTax plan is simple, brilliant, and it will work - enabling you to keep all the money in your paycheck; eliminating the fraud, hassle, and waste of our current system; and revolutionizing the way America pays for itself.
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Sound, well-researched plan
- By Tim Hibbetts on 03-06-08
By: Neal Boortz, and others
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The Conservative Heart
- How to Build a Fairer, Happier, and More Prosperous America
- By: Arthur C. Brooks
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Conservative Heart, Arthur C. Brooks contends that after years of focusing on economic growth and traditional social values, it is time for a new kind of conservatism - one that helps the vulnerable without mortgaging our children's future. In Brooks' daring vision, this conservative movement fights poverty, promotes equal opportunity, celebrates earned success, and values spiritual enlightenment. It is an inclusive movement with a positive agenda to help people lead happier, more hopeful, and more satisfied lives.
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Outstanding recitation of conservatism!
- By GLENNO on 08-06-15
By: Arthur C. Brooks
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The Complacent Class
- The Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream
- By: Tyler Cowen
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Since Alexis de Tocqueville, restlessness has been accepted as a signature American trait. Our willingness to move, take risks, and adapt to change have produced a dynamic economy and a tradition of innovation from Ben Franklin to Steve Jobs. The problem, according to legendary blogger, economist, and best-selling author Tyler Cowen, is that Americans today have broken from this tradition - we're working harder than ever to avoid change.
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MUST READ
- By RJW on 05-06-17
By: Tyler Cowen
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Equal Is Unfair
- America's Misguided Fight Against Income Inequality
- By: Don Watkins, Yaron Brook
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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We've all heard that the American Dream is vanishing, and that the cause is rising income inequality. The rich are getting richer by rigging the system in their favor, leaving the rest of us to struggle just to keep our heads above water. To save the American Dream, we're told that we need to fight inequality through tax hikes, wealth redistribution schemes, and a far higher minimum wage.
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While I agree with most of this book,...
- By Wayne on 12-30-16
By: Don Watkins, and others
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It's Better Than It Looks
- By: Gregg Easterbrook
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Most people who pay attention to the news would tell you that 2017 is one of the worst years in recent memory. We're facing a series of deeply troubling, even existential problems: fascism, terrorism, environmental collapse, racial and economic inequality, and more. Yet this narrative misses something important: by almost every meaningful measure, the modern world is better than it ever has been. In the United States, disease, crime, discrimination, and most forms of pollution are in long-term decline, while longevity and education keep rising.
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Too political
- By Anonymous User on 07-12-18
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Kids These Days
- Human Capital and the Making of Millennials
- By: Malcolm Harris
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Everyone knows "what's wrong with millennials". Glenn Beck says we've been ruined by "participation trophies". Simon Sinek says we have low self-esteem. An Australian millionaire says millennials could all afford homes if we'd just give up avocado toast. Thanks, millionaire. This millennial is here to prove them all wrong.
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A devastating dream of revolution
- By Kevin Tierney Jr on 11-23-17
By: Malcolm Harris
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No, They Can't
- Why Government Fails - But Individuals Succeed
- By: John Stossel
- Narrated by: John Stossel
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
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The government is not a neutral arbiter of truth. It never has been. It never will be. Doubt everything. John Stossel does. A self-described skeptic, he has dismantled society's sacred cows with unerring common sense. Now he debunks the most sacred of them all: our intuition and belief that government can solve our problems. In No, They Can't, the New York Times best-selling author and Fox News commentator insists that we discard that idea of the "perfect" government - left or right - and retrain our brain to look only at the facts, to rethink our lives as independent individuals - and fast.
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Great Book, Must Listen
- By dan on 04-27-12
By: John Stossel
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Beyond Outrage
- What Has Gone Wrong with Our Economy and Our Democracy, and How to Fix Them
- By: Robert B. Reich
- Narrated by: Robert B. Reich
- Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Robert B. Reich urges Americans to get beyond mere outrage about the nation’s increasingly concentrated wealth and corrupt politics in order to mobilize and to take back our economy and democracy. Americans can’t rely only on getting good people elected, Reich argues, because nothing positive happens in Washington unless good people outside Washington are organized to help make those things happen after the election. But in order to be effectively mobilized, we need to see the big picture.
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Falls short
- By J. Klinghoffer on 11-04-13
By: Robert B. Reich
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After America
- Get Ready for Armageddon
- By: Mark Steyn
- Narrated by: Mark Steyn
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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In his giant New York Times best seller, America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It, Mark Steyn predicted collapse for the rest of the Western World. Now, he adds, America has caught up with Europe on the great rush to self-destruction. What will a world without American leadership look like? It won’t be pretty—not for you and not for your children. America’s decline won’t be gradual, like an aging Europe sipping espresso at a café until extinction. No, America’s decline will be a wrenching affair marked by violence and possibly secession.
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Facts
- By Peter on 11-11-11
By: Mark Steyn
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Hostile Takeover
- Resisting Centralized Government's Stranglehold on America
- By: Matt Kibbe
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Hostile Takeover is a rebellious challenge to the "upper management" of government, who are choking American prosperity and liberty. Matt Kibbe exposes the privileged collusion of Washington insiders - and maps out a proven plan for how to return power from the self-appointed "experts" back to the people. Dubbed "one of the Tea Party's masterminds" by Newsweek, Kibbe reveals how grassroots citizens can and will check the federal behemoth and restore the American enterprise.
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An amazing book from an interesting perspective
- By Aaron on 12-28-12
By: Matt Kibbe
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Narrator should find another job.
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What listeners say about Give People Money
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Joel
- 12-19-18
Great ideas, good book, okay reading.
Author is obviously intelligent and the book is well-researched. She writes with passion on the subject but spends a great deal of time waxing poetic about the human stories. I get the relevance but she goes on. Her reading of the book reflects this. Her upward inflections and tired droning sometimes drag the material down. Contrast that with the actual philosophic parts of the book and she is excited and reading as much from her own personal philosophy as from the page.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Pablo Lema
- 10-23-18
Missed Opportunity
The author misses an opportunity for a substantive discussion of UBI, instead indulging in her own elaboration of Soacialism and a canned analysis of society at large.
I consider myself left of center and I do believe in social nets, but the author indulges in her own little view from the Ivory Tower without any substantive or technical discussion of UBI.
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5 people found this helpful
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- NMwritergal
- 07-28-18
An intriguing idea
I first heard of the Universal Basic Income (UBI) about a year ago and wished there was a book that discussed it. And here it is. The studies the author cites are quite interesting, though they are generally not studies from Western countries. I did read about a study in Canada in another book. Oh, if only we could have such a thing. It seems unrealistic, but maybe one day. Talking about it, writing about it is the first step to getting the idea out there.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Patrick M.
- 06-09-19
Well written and orated.
I agree with the author and feel that it should be implemented. Of course it's not enough for the wealthy to rise above. They are not satisfied unless the other 98% are held back. They will fight this tooth and nail to maintain the status quo.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Bridget Hadley
- 06-17-19
Interesting
Overall, I enjoyed the book. However, I was hoping for more data on how UBI will change society.
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- Louis Ridgway
- 08-05-18
A pinch of Ethos, add Logos for flavor
The author does a superb job at voicing her written work, which itself is a great, and (imo) fair look at the concepts, arguments for and against, and real evidences related to UBI. My favorite thing about her wiring style inherent is the adept use of universal (worldwide) anecdote combined with simple, but not simplified, explanations of the research that currently exists. I would even like to pick up a physical copy for the bibliography section!
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7 people found this helpful
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- Philip Savva
- 04-27-20
Give People Money
Tip of the iceberg. I am so happy this knowledge came to me. The future is faster than you think, by Steve Kotler tells me the paradigm shift Lowrey explains beautifully is here. Human bodies across America are Owners, not renters. It is what it is.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Red Redington
- 01-25-22
Surprisingly not Communism.
What is work anyway? Take a chance on this book if you think there might be a better way to conduct out economy.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-01-18
Love it
This book will scared you open your eyes make you think and piss you off.
Good job This a great Book and an even better argument for UBI
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- Carolyn H. Prentice
- 07-11-23
UBI
Idea has been discussed in a limited manner. This book explores the depth and possibilities of this proposal.
The author speaks with common sense offering such a simple solution and sharing trials around the globe that were successful.
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