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Fair Shot
Fair Shot: Rethinking Inequality and How We Earn | Chris Hughes
4 posts | 4 read | 5 to read
Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes argues that the best way to fight income inequality is with a radically simple idea: a guaranteed income for working people, paid for by the one percent. The first half of Chris Hughess life played like a movie reel right out of the American Dream. He grew up in a small town in North Carolina. His parents were people of modest means, but he was accepted into an elite boarding school and then Harvard, both on scholarship. There, he met Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz and became one of the co-founders of Facebook. In telling his story, Hughes demonstrates the powerful role fortune and luck play in todays economy. Through the rocket ship rise of Facebook, Hughes came to understand how a select few can become ultra-wealthy nearly overnight. He believes the same forces that made Facebook possible have made it harder for everyone else in America to make ends meet. To help people who are struggling, Hughes proposes a simple, bold solution: a guaranteed income for working people, including unpaid caregivers and students, paid for by the one percent. The way Hughes sees it, a guaranteed income is the most powerful tool we have to combat poverty and stabilize Americas middle class. Moneycold hard cash with no strings attachedgives people freedom, dignity, and the ability to climb the economic ladder. A guaranteed income for working people is the big idea that's missing in the national conversation. This book, grounded in Hughess personal experience, will start a frank conversation about how we earn in modern America, how we can combat income inequality, and ultimately, how we can give everyone a fair shot.
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review
Jana
Mehso-so

This book is to guaranteed basic income what Hillbilly Elegy is to understanding 45‘s voter base. Well-researched, well-written, but so full of privilege and arrogance that it‘s hard to take it seriously as a policy book. It‘s a memoir that heavily relies on personal experience to make him “relatable” and explain why he feels and believes the way he does but, save for a few chapters, minimally addresses it. I wish I had more characters to discuss

review
Readaholics
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Mehso-so

A short read on the push for minimum living wage, with the concept being a tax credit for ppl working but not making the equiv of $50k annually ( adjusted in some areas based on cost). Capped at $6k annually per person - not enough to quit your job, but allowing you space to get more training, find a better job and survive layoffs. Interesting convo for future debates this summer. Background examples were a little light, so hard to say def pick.

Weaponxgirl We used to have tax credits in this country and whilst kinda good it does have it's limitations. Mainly in my country being that you had to be working at least 30 hours to get them and then you had to be careful about overtime as they were given to you based on earnings. In theory I disliked that it propped up businesses who didn't pay a fair wage and had fewer full time contracts for staff to save money. 6y
44 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Readaholics
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Whoa! College is 2.5x more expensive than 20 years ago. Housing, food and energy are 50 % more expensive. Hughes wants to create a minimum income based on this economic divide. Sure, more jobs are being created but at cheaper pay, fewer benefits and no stability. Overall these higher costs + less stability = no chance for the middle class to grow hence why this former Facebook exec is suggesting a minimum $$ for working ppl who earn

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Readaholics
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Getting into a book I was skeptical about at first...love it when that happens.

Trashcanman This is on my tbr curious to hear your review. The idea he posits is one I first heard from MLK and also Robert Reich. 6y
TheWordJar That‘s an interesting concept. Stacking this one! 6y
53 likes1 stack add2 comments