Cheques and balances
A true UBI seems far off. But more experimentation is likely
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HEN ANDREW YANG began his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, his proposal for a “Freedom Dividend” monthly cash payments of $1,000 to be paid to all Americans distinguished him among a crowded field as an outsider and an unorthodox thinker. Nearly two years later, as Mr Yang leads the race for mayor of New York City, his plan to provide cash to half a million New Yorkers feels far less radical, and not just because it is much more modest than his idea for a national universal basic income (