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Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism is a school of thought that began taking shape with the formation of The Mont Pelerin Society in the 1940's. It rose to power in the US in the 1980's, with tenets including: free trade benefits all; the government's role in the economy should remain confined to addressing market failures rather than pursuing proactive industrial policy; social benefits should be tied to work requirements; public services should be privatized; industry and finance should be maximally deregulated; stock market prices are accurate signals of all relevant information; deficits invariably lead to inflation; the primary role of indepenedent central banks is to fight inflation; and that taxes invariably discourage work, entrepreneurship, and growth.

While the 2020 Biden administration is often suggested as marking the end of neoliberalism's singular hold over policymaking, the question remains: what comes next?
“ On average, companies used to reinvest 20 cents of each dollar of their operating returns into their businesses; that amount has dropped by half—to just 10 cents of each dollar since 2002.” Since March 2018, 57% of corporate tax savings from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act have gone to shareholders through stock buybacks or dividends, while only 20% have gone towards job creation commitments, and 6% to employees as wages, bonuses, or benefits. Stock buybacks redirect available cash from investments to repurchase shares, temporarily driving up share prices at the expense of investment. Between 1998 - 2014, Germany had 210 stock buybacks to the US's 11,096. Firms that rely heavily on stock-option-based compensation are significantly more likely to repurchase their stock than firms which rely less heavily on stock options for executive compensation. A "pure" UBI (that replaces all other welfare programs) redistributes money from the elderly and disabled towards those who are neither.
The Case Against a Basic Income UBI in the US and Advanced Countries Investment-Less Growth: An Empirical Investigation Buybacks Around the World Fighting Short-Termism with Worker Power Curbing Stock Buybacks: A Crucial Step to Raising Worker Pay and Reducing Inequality
Daniel Zamora Jesse Rothstein Hilary W. Hoynes Thomas Philippon Germán Gutiérrez Theo Vermaelen Urs Peyer Alberto Manconi
Basic Income Codetermination
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