I have been thinking of doing it under a gold standard by basically increasing it every time there is a trade surplus and decreasing it every time there is a deficit. Restoring manufacturing will help reduce the trade deficit, but may not restore all the jobs due to automation.
Universal Basic Income Will Accelerate Innovation by Reducing Fears of Failure
31–39 of 39 posts
Re: Universal Basic Income Will Accelerate Innovation by Reducing Fears of Failure
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can go around thinking contentedly to yourself that basic income advocates are total idiots (and that those on the academic side, in particular, are outright frauds, and functionally illiterate in the field that they claim to have gotten their advanced degrees in) if you want to. But I might recommend doing some basic research on the topic, instead.
The way you put it, as though all ideas that ever existed only ever had opponents who were illterate and did not have advanced degrees in anything. But the second part sounds fair and will take that to heart
Sorry, didn't mean to make it sound that way. The only position I really have on BUI is that it seems "worth testing, at the very least". There seem to be some interesting live trials going on in that regard, so I guess we'll see how they play out.
Re: Universal Basic Income Will Accelerate Innovation by Reducing Fears of Failure
#33I'm all for a UBI. Then I can quit my day job and "do whatever I want" instead. Including saving the world. Case in point just the other day I sat down and calculated, because my state legislature hasn't expanded medicaid, I still need to make "x" thousand dollars per year to qualify for obamacare subsidies. What does this mean? Because we have several children, it's a non trivial amount. The result? I will be keeping my day job, and working 8-5, instead of working part time and living off the dole. Come on, government, fund me! Don't hold back! I don't want to work! Who's with me? Raise the pitch forks and torches! :) (I wish I were kidding, but I really did do that calculating...)
Re: Universal Basic Income Will Accelerate Innovation by Reducing Fears of Failure
#34Remember. A country-wide Universal Basic Income will necessarily come with huge restrictions on immigration.
Re: Universal Basic Income Will Accelerate Innovation by Reducing Fears of Failure
#35No, no it won't. Innovation is generally not accelerated by people that are comfortable/have all of their basic needs met. It's accelerated when you are put into a situation where you need to innovate or fail. Failure is actually the stimuli and it pushes people to succeed more than anything.
For some people. For others, it ruins their lives. And those of their families. Failure can mean starvation, yes, even in the West; it can mean a collapse into addiction; or it can mean suicide.
Interestingly, I was about to make a related (?) comment, that I think it's important to think hard about the effect it has on some people that they are "provided for fully" by the government.
The people that I've met who have gotten addicted to drugs, and even committed suicide, were actually those on the dole.
Not sure why.
If the government lets people stay at home and "engage in addictive behavior" (which we humans tend to do) sometimes they degenerate to harder and harder stuff, and even suicide. They're not happy. Are we doing this people a service?
Re: Universal Basic Income Will Accelerate Innovation by Reducing Fears of Failure
#36No, no, no.... Universal Basic Income will only make it easier for people to do nothing. If money is such a saver why doesn't 100% or for that matter 50% of those considered rich have a business or at least try for one? Why doesn't every venture capital fund throw money out like it's candy? The answers is that it's both money and motivation that makes successful people and businesses. Money no matter the amount will…
The people that would do nothing already do not contribute and won't contribute at all in the future anyway when their jobs are gone. The few that can contribute and do nothing probably already found ways of doing nothing anyway. In the Netherlands, I can do nothing and get money; you have to be a bit smart about it but it is definitely not hard to just get money. Do more people do nothing? Nah. More people take risk and start their own small company as you have fallback anyway.
But still, what is the answer; there are no jobs soon (<100 yrs) for most people, what does 'doing nothing' mean then?
Re: Universal Basic Income Will Accelerate Innovation by Reducing Fears of Failure
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
For some people. For others, it ruins their lives. And those of their families. Failure can mean starvation, yes, even in the West; it can mean a collapse into addiction; or it can mean suicide.
Interestingly, I was about to make a related (?) comment, that I think it's important to think hard about the effect it has on some people that they are "provided for fully" by the government. The people that I've met who have gotten addicted to drugs, and even committed suicide, were actually those on the dole. Not sure why. If the government lets people stay at home and "engage in addictive behavior" (which we huma…
What's the alternative to "letting" people stay at home? Jail?
Yes, feelings of uselessness are harmful to people. But the current approach of cutting off people's food, heat and accomodation in an effort to force them to find work somehow is worse. It's possible that "workfare" might be better - but in practice it ends up almost instantly corrupted into a system for giving free or below-minimum-wage labour to businesses while still not providing enough to live on, and usually failing to accomodate the needs of people with disabilities and mental health conditions.
(MH issues are a very strong predictor of unemployment, addiction and suicide, by the way)
And we've also not considered the question of single parents who can often find that employment has marginal or negative returns after childcare and commuting costs.
Re: Universal Basic Income Will Accelerate Innovation by Reducing Fears of Failure
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interestingly, I was about to make a related (?) comment, that I think it's important to think hard about the effect it has on some people that they are "provided for fully" by the government. The people that I've met who have gotten addicted to drugs, and even committed suicide, were actually those on the dole. Not sure why. If the government lets people stay at home and "engage in addictive behavior" (which we huma…
What's the alternative to "letting" people stay at home? Jail? Yes, feelings of uselessness are harmful to people. But the current approach of cutting off people's food, heat and accomodation in an effort to force them to find work somehow is worse. It's possible that "workfare" might be better - but in practice it ends up almost instantly corrupted into a system for giving free or below-minimum-wage labour to busine…
I don't know what the right answer is. I'm just really afraid that if you toss "some people" 1.5K/month, that they don't have to earn, they may use it to buy drugs and then where are we?
Re: Universal Basic Income Will Accelerate Innovation by Reducing Fears of Failure
#39Under Universal Basic Income, since you did not do any work but still get money for free, won't that just devalue the dollar, causing inflation?