Skip to content

Hacknight #249 – Universal Basic Income with Ken Yang

Date: Jul 07, 2020

Topic: Universal Basic Income

β€˜This crisis has shown that our economy is broken. 3 in 10 Canadians don’t have savings beyond 1 week; 8 in 10 don’t have savings beyond 3 months. 4 in 10 recent layoffs may be permanent, as businesses race to cut costs and replace humans with technology. Economic recovery could take years – JPMorgan Chase says possibly more than a decade – and many jobs in the middle-class will disappear in a jobless recovery, just like the last 3 recessions. Meanwhile, Amazon’s stock price hit an all-time high in April 2020 and Sobey’s parent company raises quarterly dividends for investors after cutting employee hazard pay.
All recessions accelerate trends. This time, it’s the automation of jobs and the erosion of the middle class.
The way to address this and put us on a path to recovery is with a Universal Basic Income, a dividend that recognizes each of us as an owner in the economy, allowing us to share in the vast wealth that is created by technology. UBI has been proven to stimulate the economy, create jobs and businesses, and make people healthier. This is an historic opportunity for our leaders to recognize this urgency and make the right decisions that will build a stronger and more resilient Canada.’ – Ken Yang, UBI Works

Speakers:

  • Ken Yang – Ken serves on the management team of UBI Works, a Canadian organization with a mission of making Universal Basic Income a core federal election issue. Ken previously worked at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, in social cognition research at the University of Toronto, and managed the commercialization of early-stage technology with Prof. Steve Mann of the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at UofT. Ken is a classically trained pianist who has performed as a soloist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and his recordings have been broadcast on Classical 96.3 FM and CBC Radio One. Ken holds a JD/MBA from UofT.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.