First remote work, now UBI: Covid-19 is planting the seeds that both are possible and can be beneficial to society in the future.
Microsoft Teams is okay but hopefully there will be better tools for this market.
UK government to pay up to 80% of wages for employees not working
41–50 of 183 posts
Re: UK government to pay up to 80% of wages for employees not working
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
>there is enough resources for everybody. Not if the factories and stores are all closed for extended periods of time. It won't be long until we have shortages.
There's no reason the factories providing short-term necessities can't be kept open.
There's a lot more to life than necessities.
Re: UK government to pay up to 80% of wages for employees not working
#43Has anyone calculated the value of life that we are saving here? The Imperial College report had 510,000 dying in the UK under a no-action scenario. Average age lets say 79 as the virus progresses. 510,000 * (82.5-79) * GBP 30,000 (QALY for the NHS) = 53.5 billion pounds based on the funding methodology used for the NHS. Instead the Uk seems to be willing to throw its entire GDP at this problem, 3 trillion pounds. Th…
> This seems... completely unjustified.
Um, no. Firstly, not everything is about rational economics. No sane and functioning democracy is going to allow 500k people to die if it can stop it.
Re: UK government to pay up to 80% of wages for employees not working
#44I do wonder if it would be easier and cheaper to bite the bullet and move to a universal basic income. This situation cold be going on for years.
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Re: UK government to pay up to 80% of wages for employees not working
#45This makes more sense for me than sending $1000 checks to people who still have a job.
The money is meant to keep the economy working by encouraging spending, not specifically to help the recipient (though that will be a side effect in many cases).
Re: UK government to pay up to 80% of wages for employees not working
#46Has anyone calculated the value of life that we are saving here? The Imperial College report had 510,000 dying in the UK under a no-action scenario. Average age lets say 79 as the virus progresses. 510,000 * (82.5-79) * GBP 30,000 (QALY for the NHS) = 53.5 billion pounds based on the funding methodology used for the NHS. Instead the Uk seems to be willing to throw its entire GDP at this problem, 3 trillion pounds. Th…
yes it is, that's how humans think, it is whats it is...
Re: UK government to pay up to 80% of wages for employees not working
#47This makes more sense for me than sending $1000 checks to people who still have a job.
Because it should penalize anyone who kept working or who was in an essential occupation?
No because the money will also be paid to middle class + people who still have jobs and who can WFH or have paid sick leave.
Re: UK government to pay up to 80% of wages for employees not working
#48And people keep saying that basic income is impossible. This is an astonishing U-turn, and a very welcome one. I just hope the social distancing isn't too late.
You understand this only helps in the short term right? Yeah we'll live, we'll also be poorer than ever at the end of this, and someone's gonna have to pay back this debt.
Yes, of course everybody understands that. Most also understand that the reason for being “poorer than ever at the end of this” will be because of the event itself and not the response to it, will understand that we will collectively have to “pay back this debt” and that either of these facts affect the suitability or otherwise of guaranteed income policies.
Re: UK government to pay up to 80% of wages for employees not working
#49Has anyone calculated the value of life that we are saving here? The Imperial College report had 510,000 dying in the UK under a no-action scenario. Average age lets say 79 as the virus progresses. 510,000 * (82.5-79) * GBP 30,000 (QALY for the NHS) = 53.5 billion pounds based on the funding methodology used for the NHS. Instead the Uk seems to be willing to throw its entire GDP at this problem, 3 trillion pounds. Th…
> How can we justify this sort of effort for Coronavirus, but not Climate Change, Obesity, Air Pollution
I do think we would react the same way to any of the other issues if you only the side effects were more 'immediate'. Things like climate change do not impact day to day life currently and especially not in western world. It's just too easy to ignore them right now.
Re: UK government to pay up to 80% of wages for employees not working
#50Has anyone calculated the value of life that we are saving here? The Imperial College report had 510,000 dying in the UK under a no-action scenario. Average age lets say 79 as the virus progresses. 510,000 * (82.5-79) * GBP 30,000 (QALY for the NHS) = 53.5 billion pounds based on the funding methodology used for the NHS. Instead the Uk seems to be willing to throw its entire GDP at this problem, 3 trillion pounds. Th…
Firstly, is QALY really the right number to use here? We are talking about deaths.
Secondly, yes, 500000 deaths in the short term is much more alarming and destructive than the same in the long term or some time in the future.