There are many suggestions for a guaranteed income. The proposal isn't new. Without such we will suffer the consequences of long term unemployment and political alienation of millions because jobs are fast disappearing due mainly to automation. We are entering an era in which there's going to be a chronic shortage of jobs for those looking for employment. That trend is only going to accelerate. Everyone's job is on the line now.
The days of someone, mainly white males, getting out of H.S. and landing a $50,000/yr job with benefits at the local plant are gone. Yes, the post WWII generation had that luxury but it was the exception to the rule due to no competition from a devastated developed world.
Here's my suggestion which is but one of many. It's strategic not tactical so don't start asking for the details in an effort to prove it can't happen. That can be worked out in committee negotiations.
Corporations are data mining every piece of data that we as individuals produce and then selling it to the highest bidders including the NSA for hundreds of billions per year. It's a modern day gold rush happening under our very noses without notice. We as individuals should be compensated for our data in the same way that corporations are compensated for their data. Copyright law should protect us in the same way it protects corporations. Terms of Service Agreements should be outlawed. Copyright laws should be amended or rewritten.
If a corporation profits from our data, whether it be browsing history, emails, buying habits, contact lists etc. then they should have to pay us for it just as we have to pay for their movies, music, software and more. Such compensation might go a long way toward alleviating our chronic employment problems as well as help the working class who are losing jobs faster than any other demographic. It would not be welfare nor would it involve raising taxes. It would be a form of subsistent guaranteed income for all along the same lines that Alaskans have a guaranteed income. Manufacturing jobs are not going to come back and those that depended on them right out of H.S. will have to be dealt with or our nation is going to suffer catastrophic consequences.
This and many more initiatives should be included in a robust strategy. We have to be bold. After all, after 9/8/16, what have we got to lose?