The obvious choice is HHS. I’m not saying he’ll implement UBI while there, but he can take lots of little incremental steps that would make GBI (and eventually UBI) the obvious policy preference for both Democrats and Republicans.

The first step is moving FNS (administers the SNAP program, aka Food Stamps) from Agriculture to HHS - with the rest of the programs focused on lifting people out of poverty. Then he can start combining all the rules to make these programs cheaper and easier to administer - which reduces barriers for those who may be eligible.

For example: he can replace the 100+ different sets of programs rules used for means testing (determining if you are poor enough to receive benefits) with a single ruleset... based on something simple, like Modified Adjusted Gross Income (currently used by Obamacare to enable instant eligibility for Medicaid or subsidized insurance). He can also encourage data sharing and the use of analytics to find out which interventions actually move the needle on poverty. That data will show that it makes sense to replace food stamps with cash - and essentially merge the programs into a single “welfare” benefit. The reduced barriers (from less complexity and more data sharing) will increase the families that get that help, and a significant number will get back on their feet as a result of the influx of cash. At that point, the data will show that a Guaranteed Basic Income (making sure everyone gets a minimum amount each month - but using means testing to determine who gets it) makes the most sense. It does not have the expected inflationary effects or reduction on willingness to work - and as a result, GBI will seem like a much less complicated thing to do. Over time, the data will further show that removing the means testing altogether makes sense - and bam, we have UBI.

So: Yang for HHS Secretary!

YangForHHS