Raising the Floor

Advances in technology are creating the next economy and enabling us to make things or connect with others in smarter, cheaper, faster, more effective ways. However, the price of this progress has been a decoupling of the engine of prosperity from jobs that have traditionally allowed individuals to ascend to, and remain in, the middle class.

Raising the Floor by Andy Stern, the former president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), investigates this emerging economic landscape. Stern spent four years travelling across the country, engaging with economists, futurists, labour leaders, CEOs, investment bankers, entrepreneurs, and political leaders to envisage the U.S. economy 25 to 30 years into the future.

He vividly reports on individuals who are analysing and shaping this new economy, such as investment banker Steve Berkenfeld; David Cote, the CEO of Honeywell International; Andy Grove of Intel; Carl Camden, the CEO of Kelly Services; and Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem Children's Zone. Through these narratives, we gain a profound understanding of the impact technological progress will continue to have on jobs and income, and its inevitable effect on tens of millions of people.

But there is hope for our economy and future. Stern believes that a universal basic income could form the foundation of economic prosperity for all Americans. Although the concept of a universal basic income is controversial, American attitudes are shifting. Throughout his career, Stern has been a game changer, and his next goal is to create a movement that compels the political establishment to take action on something that many on both the right and the left see as inevitable.

Stern's plan is bold, idealistic, and challenging, and its time has come.