Mark Zuckerburg and Martin Luther King Liked It. But Will Guaranteed Income Play in Stockton, California?

An Idea That Dates to the Founding Fathers Could Incentivize Workers and Support Families

In 1797 Thomas Paine, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, proposed that a “citizen dividend” be paid to each American and funded by a tax on land. Paine’s proposal—now dubbed Universal Basic Income (UBI) or guaranteed minimum income—is, some 220 years later, coming to California.

Specifically, it is coming to Stockton, a city that declared bankruptcy just five short years ago. Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, armed with a $1 million grant funded in part by the tech industry luminaries, is about to engage 100 or so …

By Jerry Nickelsburg | January 19, 2018

Why Americans Insist on Putting a Price Tag on Life

From Ben Franklin to Slavery to Reaganomics, Our Habit of Measuring Everything in Dollars and Cents

By Eli Cook | December 12, 2017

Everything, as they say in America, has its price. It has been found that a lack of sleep costs the American economy $411 billion a year and stress another $300 …

China Soon Could Dominate the Global Economy—but Leading It Will Be Tougher

Though Flush With Cash, the Asian Giant Must Cope With an Aging Population and Lackluster Innovation

By Joe Mathews | November 17, 2017

For China, pursuing global economic leadership is not just a goal. It’s an imperative.

That was the message from panelists at a Zòcalo/UCLA Anderson School of Management event, “Is China Prepared …

Bitcoin Is an Energy-Wasting Ponzi Scheme

There Are Better Ways to Reap the Benefits of Digital Currencies—Without the Risk

By Ivo Welch | October 20, 2017

Digital currencies, in their current form, should be prohibited by law. And not because they are a Ponzi scheme (which they are), and not because they can help facilitate criminal …

The Trump Administration Wants Uranium Mining in Utah—but What About the Dinosaur Fossils?

The Real Value of National Parks and Monuments Isn't Just Dollars and Cents

By Jerry Nickelsburg | September 22, 2017

The United States has an extensive system of amazing parks. From the Shenandoah National Park, close to where I grew up, to Sequoia National Park, where I am a …

Risk-Taking Is Profitable—but Perilous in Our Interdependent World

From Freeway Speeding to Financial Instruments, Big Gambles Can Spin into Disaster

By Bhagwan Chowdhry | September 20, 2017

Risks are inherent in life and so, over the centuries, people have devised many mechanisms to pool and reduce risks.

These institutions range from families to religious tithing to formal …

Economics