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Ireland rolls out basic income scheme for artists

reuters.com

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Re: Ireland rolls out basic income scheme for artists

#321

Post by cyberpunk »

RupertSalt wrote: post #235

In the United States, the National Endowment for the Arts has issued more than 128,000 grants, totaling more than $5 billion, to fund the projects of American artists. These subsidies have not lacked controversy, and were eventually challenged at the Supreme Court level, during the Clinton administration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Endowment_for_the_Art... If you or your parents would like to sample a NSF…

Sorry unless i’m missing a /s here but in what world is that song deserving of our taxpayer money? What does it add to “culture”, personally i don’t even find it listenable. That’s more important than spending th money available on hunger and schools is it?

Re: Ireland rolls out basic income scheme for artists

#322

Post by direwolf20 »

inglor_cz wrote: post #287
antonvs wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is their brain on capitalism

I wish more intellectuals had their "brain on capitalism". It is dismaying to find out how many American academicians take Marxism seriously - unless they stem from countries like Cuba that had the misfortune to actually let Marxist ideas rule them. It is mental fentanyl for certain kind of collectivist mind. Give me Hayek and Buckley instead.

Which ideas constitute Marxism?

Re: Ireland rolls out basic income scheme for artists

#323

Post by direwolf20 »

Ekaros wrote: post #318
tgv wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because people hardly pay for art, yet many consider it worth keeping the arts alive.

Then those many should spend their own money. And not steal from the rest of society. Maybe they could sing up for say extra 20-50% tax which then get distributed.

We do, it's called income tax.

Re: Ireland rolls out basic income scheme for artists

#324

Post by extraduder_ire »

ElevenLathe wrote: post #105

This is admittedly a tangent, but I love that British (and apparently Irish) government programs are commonly called "schemes". To American ears, it always sounds like some grand confidence trick is being pulled.

Various variants of english diverted quite a bit since the US became its own country. Like how the US constitution mentions "freedom of speech", which includes many things that aren't just speech as we'd call it, whereas many other countries call the same concept "freedom of expression" because they committed it to writing later.

Another funny difference is the word "corporation" meaning the government in some cases. Like someone living in Belfast could go home from their corporation job to their corporation flat, if they lived in public housing and were employed by Stormont.

Re: Ireland rolls out basic income scheme for artists

#325

Post by fedeb95 »

this kind of reasoning will accumulate so much inefficiencies that it will eventually blow up. Or, in the best case scenario, create a proportional inflation that makes this subsidies useless.

Think about the big picture: your salary is a cost for someone else. In the case of "basic income" is a cost for the tax payers. Who decides what benefits the tax payers? The state can't possibly do it, if not for a limited extent. Today we don't have a method more efficient than free market and free prices. Planned economies have historically failed. It may work for now, we all love arts; but tomorrow it will be the artisans (were is the boundary between art and crafts?), then maybe small businesses?

Each of this "tax exemptions" or subsidies eats the profits of someone else. Very rarely it's the richest luxuries that are taken away. Usually it's the middle-low class that doesn't receive exemptions and subsidies who's penalized. Ironically, that same class that most could consume art, crafts, and products in general. This way society spirals toward an halt.

Re: Ireland rolls out basic income scheme for artists

#326

Post by closewith »

BryantD wrote: post #272

Ireland has already provided substantial benefits to artists — income from art is exempt from income tax up to a certain level. Society has not disintegrated. Speculation and anecdotes are not terribly useful but my Irish author friend is not from a rich family, nor is she well-off, but she’s able to support her husband and child in a smaller Irish city by dint of writing several books a year and stressing a lot. I d…

> Society has not disintegrated.

Obviously not because of this income scheme and not complete disintegration, but Irish society is under extreme strain from housing pressures, rising living costs, and growing polarisation that is tearing at social cohesion.

It's frustrating to see funds allocated to this scheme when health, housing, transport, etc are all failing apart.

Re: Ireland rolls out basic income scheme for artists

#327

Post by jimnotgym »

watwut wrote: post #257
CalRobert wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems like it mostly funnels money to rich kids, to be honest. Nobody else can afford to already be an artist.

Poor people and middle class people produce art. They both work as artists or do art on the side as a hobby. It is not that expensive either. Expectation that you have portfolio does not strikes me as outrageous either.

Exactly. A sketchbook and pencils cost next to nothing. But being able to take that and turn it into an oil painting on a giant canvas costs real money.

Writing a few songs on a guitar from Facebook marketplace is cheap. Turning that into a live show is expensive and time consuming.

Writing some Irish language poems on your lunchbreaks is cheap. Doing public readings as an unknown poet is not.

Well done Ireland.

Re: Ireland rolls out basic income scheme for artists

#328

Post by Ekaros »

direwolf20 wrote: post #323
Ekaros wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then those many should spend their own money. And not steal from the rest of society. Maybe they could sing up for say extra 20-50% tax which then get distributed.

We do, it's called income tax.

I mean 20-50% on top of income tax. Putting your money where your mouth is. That percentage should not be too much for anyone truly passionate and willing to make some sacrifices.

Re: Ireland rolls out basic income scheme for artists

#329

Post by extraduder_ire »

Towaway69 wrote: post #186
TitaRusell wrote: post #15

They had something like this in the Netherlands during the 80s. Basically everyone was out of a job back then so it didn't really matter. Worst recession since 1929. Artists had to make a buch of art which was then given to the government. The state ended up with entire warehouses filled with crap.

Sounds a bit like if the state invested in startups … hm wait.

Enterprise Ireland is the largest VC firm in the world by amount paid and number of clients.

Due to EU rules on state aid though, it's technically a quango and not part of the government despite being spun off of the then privatised national sugar company.

They also pay Ireland's contributions toward ESA, so the Irish flags you see printed on the side of Ariane rockets aren't a direct result of what the government is doing.

Re: Ireland rolls out basic income scheme for artists

#330

Post by deaux »

This is absolute peak irony given that Ireland is the number two valiant protector of US big tech - right behind the US itself - including the main AI corps. Shielding them from prosecution for all the laws they violate across a population of 450+ million. And then they give their own citizens this UBI from a sliver of the protection money they get paid. Fuck you, got mine.

It's despicable, they're as much as an insider threat as Hungary.

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