Live data from Hacker News

Trends that will create demand for an Unconditional Basic Income

simulacrum.cc

1–10 of 681 posts

Re: Trends that will create demand for an Unconditional Basic Income

#3

It misses the fact that work is fulfilling for (most) people. I've heard talk of the government being the employer of last resort, which has its own problems. But just paying people to breath has problems as well.

I think you're missing the fact that wage labour isn't the only legitimate kind of work. Volunteering is also fulfilling for people. So is parenting and caretaking. So are any number of other activities which are hard work, very rewarding, beneficial to society -- and yet are uncompensated by a wage labour system. Under a UBI, those become more viable activities, so that wage labour no longer becomes the ONLY monetarily viable way of finding fulfilling work.

Re: Trends that will create demand for an Unconditional Basic Income

#5
I've got a twist on this basic idea.

Fund basic income with a large tax on various CO2 producing activities. With the idea that - on average - people can pay this tax out of the basic income received from it. And people will have direct incentives to find ways to reduce CO2 consumption. Then get rid of silly specific legislation that tries to achieve the same goal in less successful ways. Thus fuel efficiency, California's attempts at cap-and-trade, incentives for renewable energy - all should become unnecessary.

Re: Trends that will create demand for an Unconditional Basic Income

#7
post #4

Won't the basic income drive prices up to the point where you need to work anyway?

Not necessarily. People will only, for example, buy luxury items that are affordable - laptops, nice clothes etc. So, if most of the population which are sustained mostly on this form of base income cant afford said items, corporations theoretically wont be able to offload their products, products for which if you consider automation trends, the cost of producing should go down even further. No idea if this is sustainable.

Re: Trends that will create demand for an Unconditional Basic Income

#9
post #6

And where the money to pay for that will come from? I suspect if you just tax the rich like crazy, they will just move out to somewhere else.

And where the money to pay for that will come from?

Apparently corporations will be subsidizing this:

"How would we pay for it? We could start by getting corporations to pay their taxes. As I mentioned above, corporate profit margins have hit an all time high, and that money will circulate far faster if it’s placed in the hands of consumers."

Re: Trends that will create demand for an Unconditional Basic Income

#10
post #6

And where the money to pay for that will come from? I suspect if you just tax the rich like crazy, they will just move out to somewhere else.

You tax everyone more and give everyone more money. The average person will receive x euros more every month and pay taxes x euros more every month in income tax. The richer than average will probably slightly lose net income and the poorer than average will probably slightly increase net income.

There are various income models, and that's just one example.

Post reply on HN