ThoughtGallery.org > American Dream/American Delusion: The Case for a Universal Basic Income

American Dream/American Delusion: The Case for a Universal Basic Income

“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Those are the key promises embedded in the US Declaration of Independence. But for the 41 million American adults who live in poverty, including nine million who have zero income whatsoever, the reality of life in the United States in 2018 is the “freedom” of an immiserating half-life of economic desperation that deprives them of health, education and a political voice.

How did  the “American Dream” of economic and social mobility for “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” become a 21st century American delusion of rising infant mortality rates, plunging life expectancy and a growing, underclass of Americans trapped in poverty by a combination of racism, technological change and economic dislocation?

In this Olio, Phelim Kine explores America’s failure to respect the economic rights of its citizens and the urgent need for the adoption of a universal basic income to protect the growing numbers of Americans falling through the yawning gaps in an increasingly dysfunctional economic and social welfare system.

Teacher: Phelim Kine

Phelim Kine is an adjunct professor at Hunter College and a deputy director in Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division. He has spoken publicly on Asia’s human rights challenges at venues ranging from the European Parliament and the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong to the Council on Foreign Relations and a hearing of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC).

$15

WeWork // 205 Hudson

205 Hudson St New York NY 10013











When: Wed., Feb. 28, 2018 at 7:00 pm

“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Those are the key promises embedded in the US Declaration of Independence. But for the 41 million American adults who live in poverty, including nine million who have zero income whatsoever, the reality of life in the United States in 2018 is the “freedom” of an immiserating half-life of economic desperation that deprives them of health, education and a political voice.

How did  the “American Dream” of economic and social mobility for “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” become a 21st century American delusion of rising infant mortality rates, plunging life expectancy and a growing, underclass of Americans trapped in poverty by a combination of racism, technological change and economic dislocation?

In this Olio, Phelim Kine explores America’s failure to respect the economic rights of its citizens and the urgent need for the adoption of a universal basic income to protect the growing numbers of Americans falling through the yawning gaps in an increasingly dysfunctional economic and social welfare system.

Teacher: Phelim Kine

Phelim Kine is an adjunct professor at Hunter College and a deputy director in Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division. He has spoken publicly on Asia’s human rights challenges at venues ranging from the European Parliament and the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong to the Council on Foreign Relations and a hearing of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC).

$15

WeWork // 205 Hudson

205 Hudson St New York NY 10013

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