RE: Does the World Need a Universal Basic Income? Could Steem Power It?
There are a couple of issues when it comes to crypto and UBI.
For starters UBI is a state run socialized program in its current form. The concept is designed around people paying taxes and reporting earnings. A UBI will require that we either apply it to the entire world (globalism) or that we apply it to a single sovereign state.
If we apply UBI to a single sovereign state then border control and immigration will have to be insanely strict otherwise you will see a massive influx of people who come just for the UBI. They can then send UBI earnings to other countries which would be economically unsustainable.
Now here are the things about crypto currency. The state cant control or tax crypto at all. I kind of predict that the IRS is going to go into REEEEEEEEE mode in the coming years because they are going to realize that they cant really be sure if people are paying their taxes anymore. Not only that but where will they draw the line? If I get a gun skin in CS:GO worth five grand should I be taxed for that? What is and isn't technically online gambling? Is buying an item on the WoW auction house a transfer of wealth? How can steem power be taxed? What about the other 400 to 500 other places that will give you alt coins in some way. Good fucking luck, the state is in for a shit show once they start to delve into this at all.
Crypto is already world wide because the internet is world wide. This means if you were to try and implement a UBI with crypto you would not even need to think about borders. The problem with a UBI provided for by crypto is that it will be impossible to control it.
How do you solve the problem of one person getting multiple accounts? Right now the only one with the power to do this would be the government. But the government cant control the actual currency to reliably collect taxes. And if the government collects taxes then you have to have borders.
What about one giant global government? This has way too many problems unrelated to the topic.
So the verdict for a global UBI right now is, we have to solve ONE problem and it can be implemented right now. How, do you prevent one person from making multiple accounts without the governments help?
Excellent points! This is why I think identity and privacy are important if we are going to figure this out. Maybe something based on a unique, validated genetic signature on the blockchain? Of course there will always be problems... someone might start cloning or growing humans in order to use their genetic signatures to defraud the blockchain, but much like BitShares, we could also allocate a portion of funds to pay for teams to take those people out. Witnesses could be voted in to ensure that money is being used properly.
I think borders are kind of archaic. I hope we soon move beyond them.
I dont think privacy will be possible at all with social media and artificial intelligence. bio-metrics can be digitally replicated without having to do clone a person. Simply tamper with a scanner and input someone elses code.
If we cannot solve the problem of preventing people from making multiple accounts then we will be moving toward a state run fiat UBI which will mean ultra tight borders and insanely limited immigration.
But if we can solve this problem, global UBI can be done right now. In fact multiple entities can offer different UBI services at the same time with different rules and advantages.
I agree, the current biometrics technologies make this quite difficult, but I wonder if we may have some workable solution in the future. Something beyond just an input device, but something more connected to the core of who we are that can't be replicated. If you like thinking about this stuff, you may enjoy Daniel Suarez's latest novel Change Agent. I love all his stuff and enjoyed this one as well.
One method of proving identity we already see right now is following and subscribing. Building a following is essentially identical to distributed identity confirmation. Youtube used a similar method for doing this with its ad sense system. It then rewarded people for building larger and larger followings.
Ultimately, a UBI cannot function in such a meritocratic sense because it would be antithetical of what a UBI is supposed to be. But it may seriously by the only realistic solution.
We are going to have to blend social media into the system somehow as a means for people to confirm identities. A UBI will likely be a capitalistic endever in spite of its marxist roots.
I mentioned a couple examples of identity online in the post I linked to above. Trust networks will be hugely important.