RE: Is Universal Basic Income the answer to inequality?
UBI is a topic I'm really interested in, I touched upon it a few months ago in a post I did.
In my eyes at least, the "people won't seek employment argument" is a bit of a dud one. There are already people who will do everything they can to avoid employment, but ensuring that everyone at least has the money to pay for lifes necessities is just a win. I'd rather stamp out poverty and have a small number of people who don't work, than have poverty and still have a small number of people who don't work.
There's also the fact that the rise of AI and robotics will make certain jobs more scarce, although probably not to the levels that some analysts claim. The job market is shrinking in many ways, as businesses embrace technologies and increase their efficiency. I'd like to see a shift more towards "artisanal" crafts. There are plenty of millenials who make a living off sites like Etsy, and it doesn't just have to be crafty stuff either. There's a big computing makers movement, kicked off by the Raspberry Pi, where individuals can now make things that 20/30 years ago would have been the stuff of a techies dreams.
One interesting proposal I heard for funding such a scheme was by placing a tax on businesses that handle personal data. How exactly that would work I don't know, but I like it. There would also be the savings made by reducing bureaucracy and administrative costs, as UBI isn't means-tested, so it's possible that a pretty much fully automated system could handle the payments, maybe incorporating blockchain technologies? There's other so-called "stealth taxes" that could be used, like maybe a specialised higher rate of VAT on certain "luxury" items.
To be honest the reason I wanted to know about it is because I keep seeing the MANA BASE referals on here and wondered what it was all about (and Steem basic income)
I agree I think that in general most people want to work - for a number of reasons - to have goals - to have more money - to contribute to society.....
Yeah I read about the robots argument and that automation is leading to job losses - this will hit bad in places with a large manual labor force.
Thanksfor the awesome comment @johngreenfield!
Sorry it's taken me a few days to respond! Been making the most of the British summer, it's probably going to end abruptly soon.
What's this mana base? I tried googling, but it just gave me results about Magic: The Gathering.(It's alright, just found it!) I only recently found Steem Basic Income, and I love the idea. Infact it was the @simplymike contest you pointed out to me that first introduced me to the idea. Any future contests I do, I'll definitely be giving out SBI shares in the same way that @simplymike did.I don't view the being motivated to seek employment issue as too big a problem, but that's probably just because I'm used to freelancing and the "gig economy". I can totally understand how older generations or just people who know the current model of college-career-retirement would be left feeling displaced, but that's why it's good to start the ball rolling on these kind of initiatives early. In the coming decades, so many different job markets will be affected by the increasing use of technology that I believe people need to start retraining or preparing for this seemingly inevitable future now.
In my head, it's this idyllic utopian future where everyone has enough to survive in relative comfort, there's a move towards a more sustainable and self-reliant way of living and society as a whole is just radically different to how it is now.
Its becoming nicer weather here in Spain - loving it!
Yeah @simplymike pointed the idea out to me aswell - yeah I thinking its a great way to share around and help fellow Steemians!
I will be writing a post on Manna base at some stage.. I have downloaded the White Paper - I was interested because I see all the referal links...
Yeah thats what lots of people are talking about that because of robots more and more people are going to lose their jobs - so having a 'back up plan' is a great idea. But then someone has to create and programme the robots so new jobs can be created aswell...
It's a very interesting topic of conversation for sure. There is a definite progression towards a certain age of abundance and the amount of focus on the crafts will determine how much we all prosper in societies eye. The AI/robotics movement will change the job space indefinitely and just like the shift from the industrial-information age, people are going to need to adapt. There is already a focus in curriculums for coding and developing, so the next generations will be geared up to take these jobs on and live well.
It's the people who aren't ambitious at the ages of 30+ who are going to miss the boat on a few things. Pair that up with the delusional state of self the majority are in and you've got a downward spiral leading them back to the square before one.
Great job @johngreenfield!
My sincerest apologies for taking so long to reply. I've only just fully read your comment, and it's spot on. I've just left a slightly less coherent comment trying to say the same kind of thing above, but I totally agree with you. I think that the "delusional state of self the majority are in" is definitely the problem here, but I just have no idea how the rest of society can go about changing their minds, or helping them to see things differently I guess.
Thank you so much for your comment and support