Universal Basic Income

[johan]

We already have an income floor in the US paid for by taxes - it's for people over 65 and the disabled and it's called Social Security. I don't see how Social Security and the concept of a universal basic income differ all that much.

It seems we're in denial about how much automation is going to take over jobs done by humans in the next few decades. Machines are often much cheaper, they don't get sick or take vacations and they don't file costly worker's compensation claims.

If there are fewer jobs with a decent wage than there are able-bodied people, you're going to have a crap economy, there's no two ways about it. My spending is your income and your spending is my income.

I'm interested to see how it goes in some of these localities that are trying out universal basic income. Although I doubt it will come to the US as the wealthy would never allow it and they run the show here, sadly.

-Teresa

This is spot on.

We don't frequent these kinds of places much but while traveling last year we stopped and had dinner at a Olive Garden. At that time, they had touch screen ipad looking devices on every table and our server ran through a whole schpeil on how we could use it to order desert or additional drinks and whatnot. As this happened I sat there wondering if our server realized he was introducing us to the thing that is going to eliminate his job someday. 

There will come a day when chain restaurants that now require 10-15 wait staff plus several in the kitchen and a few hosts and bartenders will be able to operate just as effectively with one or two in the kitchen and three or four out front and that's it. When that happens at every restaurant, where are all those other schmucks going to work?

I work for a company that employs about fifty truck drivers. I believe I will live to see the day when my company will be able to operate at our present level with only about five actual drivers. When that happens at every trucking company, where are all those other schmucks going to work?

When I sat there at Olive Garden getting hit with my flash of the future as our server was showing me how simple it was to order a piece of cheese cake, one of my first thoughts was who will be able to afford to eat at Olive Garden when Olive Garden and every other similar business no longer needs 90% of their employees?

Like Teresa said, your spending becomes my income and my spending becomes your income. When a huge portion of us no longer have the option of being able to spend, most of us will be left without a source of income. I don't know if universal basic income is the answer. But I do know that absolutely fucking no one in the chain of command at Olive Garden or any other company is going to stop and think hmmm.... if we eliminate 90% of our staff through the use of technology and machines, the economy will suffer and no one will be able to afford to buy our products anymore so I guess we'd better not do that and just keep the employees employed instead. No one is going to do that. Ever.