NewProgressUSA

Amazon sees warehouse robots 'flattening' its hiring curve, according to internal document An official company document describes Amazon's new Vulcan robot and similar machines as key to keeping a lid on hiring growth.

Publicly, Amazon said its new robots with a sense of touch are all about making work easier on workers. Internally, they said the robots are "critical to flattening Amazon's hiring curve over the next 10 years." Needing less humans to work is great but WE SHOULD ALL BENEFIT via an AI dividend - UBI.

The goal of life used to be

"Take care of yourself and others."

But greedy, shortsighted, & primitive lunatics made it so the modern goal of life must be

"Make money."

Nothing in our lives will change unless we change the system that destroyed our lives. We need universal basic income. Period.

People say “if you give folks free money, they’ll never work again.”

OH REALLY?!

Try telling that to a single mom on Day 9 of instant ramen, 3 kids screaming, two jobs, one transmission failure, and ZERO patience.

She’ll still be grinding. With #UBI she just won’t be drowning.

We live in a developed world of abundance. Forcing ANYONE to work to survive is primitive.

It's civilized to give EVERYONE a choice about work and FREEDOM to decide how to spend their time. Our time is our life.

We need mutual trust to have mutual obligation.

We need UBI.

The first Democratic governor who sends their state troopers into an ICE field office to free someone ICE has kidnapped is going to be president in four years.

Why don't you actually run for office?

You're in the perfect position to wrest control of the Democratic party as its most effective messenger, and since you fight for UBI, the people will be behind you because nothing generates hope more than universal basic income.

The Democrats need to start fighting for UBI.

Money talks louder than any politician ever could, and the tangible hope that the promise of universal basic income gives people is how we defeat Trump and fascism once and for all.

Le Blanc de Blanc, by Georges Mathieu, 1987, 📸 by @catocataldo

YOU’RE telling me $1,000/month UBI makes people lazy?!

STOP IT. Get help.

That check doesn’t kill ambition, it fuels it.

It buys time to breathe & move with PURPOSE, not panic.

Give folks that & they won’t sit down.
They’ll STAND UP & run past your endless bootstraps speeches

What would progressive populism entail? Strengthening democracy by busting up big corporations. Stopping Wall Street’s gambling (e.g., replicating the Glass-Steagall Act). Getting big money out of politics, even if this requires amending the Constitution. Requiring big corporations to share their profits with their average workers. Strengthening unions. And raising taxes on the super-wealthy to finance a universal basic income, Medicare for all, and paid family leave.

I 100% agree with today's Substack post by @rbreich.bsky.social about how Trump’s populism must be met with a better populism that includes taxing the rich and providing universal basic income and healthcare, and that we must also restore and strengthen democracy.

open.substack.com/pub/robertre...

Universal basic income

There are infinite ways to make my point and I’ve been doing so on Twitter for years.

UBI is the most important issue, period. It’s the only thing anyone should be focused on because once it’s implemented, everything else gets easier and we can feel more secure and move forward.

Everyone needs an income. That’s a fact.

If someone doesn’t have an income, that person is liable to steal, scam, or do whatever else to scrape together an income.

That causes countless problems in society.

Guaranteeing everyone an income with UBI is obviously the best choice.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

But American officials don’t understand that. Democrats especially.

If they did, they would’ve made it so Trump couldn’t run again after his insurrection.

They would’ve ratified Roe.

They would’ve implemented UBI in 1972.

It was very frustrating - this was my second @repraulruizmd.bsky.social town hall and even though @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social was there and people were tangibly upset and demanding leadership & answers, all we heard was platitudes.

We need policy solutions, but none were discussed.

American fascism in 2025 is a direct result of Congress’ failure to pass UBI in 1972 or pursue it at any time since.

If you aren’t fighting for universal basic income, you’re helping the fascists.

I am focused on the fascism, you just don’t understand that American fascism in 2025 is a direct result of Congress’ failure to pass UBI in 1972 or pursue it at any time since.

Nothing empowers people to fight fascism at every level more than UBI.

If UBI had been implemented in 1972 like it almost was, fascism wouldn’t have resurfaced.

Says the actual moron whose life would’ve been enriched by living in a nation with UBI.

I’m so tired of people being so aggressively stupid when it comes to the obvious.

If Congress had implemented UBI in 1972, we wouldn’t have Trump or fascism and poverty would’ve been eliminated by now.

Ffs.

I’m sorry the truth makes you angry.

I hope your staffer gave you that 1968 letter I printed out for you.

There is no greater legislative priority than universal basic income.

The special guest was @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social

It was disheartening to hear him invoke Dr. King so much but not mention UBI.

I waited outside after to try to intercept him and give him a copy of this 1968 letter - one of his staffers took it & said she’d give it to him.

Yes, even to people that make over 100k. Even to Bezos. Because the rich will be spending more in taxes that fund UBI than they receive in UBI.

Instead of not giving it to them, you just take it back (and then some.)

It’s May Day.

If you aren’t fighting for UBI, you need to evolve.

Relying on wages & work for survival is the primitive way of doing things. Guaranteeing individual survival with universal policies is the civilized way.

As Bayard Rustin said in 1965, “We must separate pay from work.”

We need UBI

UBI is the most important issue because every other important issue has underlying causes that would be addressed by everyone having universal basic income.

"This pepperoni and shit pizza is actually really good because if you take the hot steaming feces off, it's a pepperoni pizza."

The Rat Race is depleting finite resources at an unsustainable pace.

If we want to stop the total collapse of civilization, we need to implement UBI.

Only then can we regroup and establish a more sustainable civilization.

If we don’t pause, everything will come to an end

This is also why billionaires like McMahon oppose universal basic income. It's about control. It's about coercion. UBI means less control and coercion. It means more freedom and bargaining power. It's so important that everyone who isn't in the top 1% realizes this.

If I were a Dem running in 2028, I’d start now with a platform:

End tariffs & rebuild alliances
Restore rule of law
Reject fringe left culture wars
Fight corruption
Tax the rich to cut debt
Make life affordable with UBI, universal healthcare & abundant housing/energy/childcare

Trump Aides Solicit Ideas to Raise Birthrate, From Baby Bonuses to Fertility Planning (Gift Article) Baby bonuses and menstrual cycle classes are among the ideas pitched to Trump aides as they consider plans to try boosting the birthrate.

JFC, JUST MAKE HAVING AND RAISING A CHILD MORE AFFORDABLE.

A universal basic income that includes kids, universal healthcare, universal childcare, universal pre-K to college.

Also, make the future look more hopeful. That means less fascism. That means tackling climate change.