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RE: Why I got into the idea of unconditional basic income and how we can go about implementing it

in #basicincome7 years ago

Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek both advocated basic income. They were both free market capitalists. If you don't know their names, you should. Hayek even felt basic income was important for freedom. If that confuses you, I suggest reading this to learn more:

https://www.libertarianism.org/columns/why-did-hayek-support-basic-income

What I'm talking about is an income floor. A floor, not a ceiling. Think Monopoly. Do you start that game with nothing? No. Why? Because you need money to play the game. You then also get $200 each time you pass Go. Why? Because you need money to play the game. The game is about earning more money, but as the saying goes, you need money to make money.

Basic income is that minimum amount of money required to play the game. All money earned is earned on top of it. If you're earning $5,000 per month right now, and start getting $1,000 in basic income, the most likely thing you're going to do is treat it as a raise.

As technology performs more and labor for us, that also means we can work less. Instead of 40 hours per week being considered full-time, we can see it as 30 hours, or 20 hours, etc. That's how the trend has gone through history, and it only makes sense to continue.

As for the rest of your comment, it really doesn't make much sense to me, and sounds pretty crazy actually. Take care.