Is the choice in the USA between basic income or mass incarceration?

dana-edwards (74)in #politics • 8 years ago (edited)

Is the choice in the USA between basic income or mass incarceration?

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Looking at graphs and statistics there does seem to be a casual pattern. Certain changes in the law such as sentencing reform, or changes in priorities such as the War on Drugs, has at least a correlation with an increased incarceration rate of American citizens.

The catopticon

At the same time there are new trends in place which are entering a synergy with changes in the current interpretation of the law such as the 4th Amendment. The War on Drugs for the most part is winding down but in it's place we have the War on Terrorism and a new trend called radical transparency. Radical transparency isn't inherently good or bad but it's a matter of the implementation and the laws on the books, who is likely to be most scrutinized, effected, or persecuted, and what the priorities are of the government which has it's nation under surveillance.

Radical transparency goes further than total surveillance. Radical transparency also includes global sousveillance. This global sousveillance may be the only realistic defense against abuse by those in authority because it puts them under a similar microscope.

We can see an example of sousveillance by looking at the very graphic video: "Woman Facebook live-streams her dying boyfriend seconds after he is shot four times by a cop as his mother says police kept her from her son's deathbed and claims the girlfriend is now missing" A warning, do not look at the video if you do not want to see violence. Many people say that the only solution for police brutality is to put cameras on cops and I tend to agree.

Some questions for Steemit

Considering that these are the trends what are our best options? Best options meaning which options would produce in your opinion the best consequences for the vast majority of Americans? Is sousveillance the only counter for total surveillance? Or can privacy be protected by technological means to delay or block the current trends? Is it time to dramatically reform the criminal justice system? If you think there should be reform then how far should we go? Should prisons continue to exist or should we abolish the concept due to the technological trend?

Technological unemployment is a possibility which could cause a tipping point

Automation is coming and many jobs which people have today will not exist. The self driving truck is set to come online very soon and truck driver is the job most at risk for being permanently lose. Remember in our risk assessment we have to look at the probability x consequence? The probabilities for which jobs are likely to be lost in technological unemployment are known and the amount of people effected by the loss of truck driver as a career opportunity is in the millions. While today many debate whether the jobs are going to China, or to the illegal immigrants, the AI will be taking the jobs from all sides in the near future. In this context, where the laws stay as they are, the trends stay as they are, society becomes radically transparent, what could possibly go wrong?

Additional questions for Steemit

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What can be done about technological unemployment? Do you believe prisons will be used to wharehouse the poor or is that an over the top conspiracy theory? Do you believe basic income is a viable means of dealing with technological unemployment?