Universal Basic Income

[GrandizerII]

I was wondering what you guys think about this? Are you for or against? And why? I love the idea, and I feel that this could work with a bit of push, but I have no confident position on this just yet.

For those not in the know:

A basic income (also called basic income guarantee, Citizen's Income, unconditional basic income, universal basic income, or universal demogrant[2]) is a form of social security[3] in which all citizens or residents of a country regularly receive an unconditional sum of money, either from a government or some other public institution, in addition to any income received from elsewhere.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_income

[Chad32]

I don't really think it's a good idea for people to just receive hundreds or thousands of dollars by default. Or if we're talking about it being small amounts, it really shouldn't be hard to scrounge up some money from a menial task like raking leaves, mowing a lawn, or washing a car.

[GrandizerII]

I don't really think it's a good idea for people to just receive hundreds or thousands of dollars by default. Or if we're talking about it being small amounts, it really shouldn't be hard to scrounge up some money from a menial task like raking leaves, mowing a lawn, or washing a car.

Just to put a number to this, let's say an equivalent of $500 (US) a week.

[vorlon13]

Try it in South Sudan first (can't think of a greater need anywhere else) and see how it works out.

[Aoi Magi]

I think it's a great idea. When people are trying just to survive, they can rarely focus on the betterment of society or anything intellectual. In many third world countries, giving free food in schools has already helped boost the spread of education, if all adults can also use their time towards something productive, I imagine our society would progress much faster. Also, with the coming automation and lowering of job availability, something like this seems like inevitable.

[SteelCurtain]

We're going to have to make a social and cultural shift on this issue in the next 20 years, I think.

When technology hits the service industry like is has hit the manufacturing/logistics industries, you either better be good with computers or you're gonna be SOL.

When we have iPads and touch screens instead of servers, and McDonalds only needs 2 people on staff to manage the fryer and hand food out the window, and jobs like cashier and truck driver become things people used to do, the acceptable unemployment rate will be somewhere in the mid teens, I think.

[Chad32]

I don't really think it's a good idea for people to just receive hundreds or thousands of dollars by default. Or if we're talking about it being small amounts, it really shouldn't be hard to scrounge up some money from a menial task like raking leaves, mowing a lawn, or washing a car.

Just to put a number to this, let's say an equivalent of $500 (US) a week.

I busted my ass in a factory one year, and didn't make $500 a week, unless I worked overtime.

[Isis]

How exactly would this be funded?

[Aoi Magi]

How exactly would this be funded?

Through robot slavery


atleast till the eventual uprising

[John V]

I don't really think it's a good idea for people to just receive hundreds or thousands of dollars by default. Or if we're talking about it being small amounts, it really shouldn't be hard to scrounge up some money from a menial task like raking leaves, mowing a lawn, or washing a car.

Just to put a number to this, let's say an equivalent of $500 (US) a week.

That's too much. Some people just wouldn't work. To start I'd support about $200 per week. That's not enough to live on, but a big help to people working low-paying jobs.

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How exactly would this be funded?

By taxing the rich. That's why it won't happen in the US. Democrats just pay lip service to taxing the rich, and Republicans don't even pretend.