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What do you think of a government provided full basic income “in which all citizens (or permanent residents) of a country receive a regular, livable and unconditional sum of money, from the governments... There is no state requirement to work or to look for work... (and is) totally independent of any other income.”
[en.m.wikipedia.org]

This basic income can also be augmented by the various states.

No more welfare arguments and political football...
Just enough money for everyone!

You can make all the money you want also after that, and still get your free government provided guaranteed basic income!

This would have to include free government provided guaranteed HEALTH CARE too, of course!

What could be the harm?

(I know that phrase “free government provided guaranteed” just explodes the heads of the “smaller government, low/no taxes” folx!)

Ungod 6 Apr 28
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12 comments

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0

brilliant idea. hope it gains traction. kinda doubt it though. the powers that be seem to like having people degraded

0

Might be optimal to run an in-between system where a person can apply for a basic income to do a project, the potential beginning of a start-up, running for 6 months with a monthly review and at 6 months an in-depth review.

I know someone who went onto unemployment and then got disability and she isn't making any use of the freedom she has, hates it in fact, is waiting for 'got to take me'.

I go more with FDR and Bernie that there need to be public works programs of many kinds with an alternative for people to start their own businesses.

“I know a someone who...”, is virtually meaningless unless you FULLY detail their situation, if you even can!

You mention nothing about the nature of her disability and what she is dealing with.
It sounds like she may be unable to do virtually anything but wait for death anyway.

And plenty of people don’t make use of the freedom they have...
Wo what makes you the proper judge of her life?

What’s good for society as a whole is what’s most important, not what one person likes or dislikes about their particular situation - though that is not of zero concern.

Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI), is unconditional and is granted to every citizen of a country with no requirements to work or start a business.
You get that same income no matter how much money you make in any way...

You may not agree with that idea, but that’s what GBI is!

@Ungod I've known the person for many years,

I'm suggesting there might be two categories of people, and people are more likely to move into the first one as the learn more and come up with better ideas but

  1. Those who know what needs to be done but are powerless to do anything about it because the full time job takes up so much time and worry

  2. Those who need a life style to be provided, need a 'purpose' provided and activities to be a compulsory part of life.

It is not difficult for a person in cat. 1. to make a good case for spending their time on what they really really want to do.

1

I feel like it could work someday, if automation and technology comes around so that we don't need so much labor.

I think a better idea would be more of a subsistence level payment. This would keep people working, but they could work a lot less hours if they want and still survive.

I think that if you make it too high there are a lot of jobs that no one will want to do. If I could live comfortably, why would I take a shitty low pay job like dishwasher?

I was a dishwasher and it was a good job.

I don't see any point in being on this forum, I seem to be the only working class person here, everyone just expresses their own pipe dreams with no concern about reality.

Because you will get Guaranteed Basic Income IN ADDITION to you “shitty low pay job”.
That business owner TOO will get this GBI and thus will be able, and have to pay you more for that same “shitty low pay job”...

If it’s a subsistence level payment (for working a certain # of hours?), then how are they suppose to be able to subsist on less?

@McIntyre Ever try to keep a household of four going on minimum wage?

My experience with dishwashers is that the management does not respect them, they get crappy hours, too few hours, super long days followed by no work for days.

A good job challenges you and keeps you wanting to go to work. It keeps you with enough money to live comfortably and afford things that you want, as well as basic needs.

2

Robotics and Computerized technologies are replacing workers daily. Causing unemployment and strife among America's working class. Guaranteed minimum income would offset this disparity and eliminate the 79 separate government programs currently in place to administer funds to the poor. If Norway is an example, they have more start-up businesses than we do per-capita because people are more inclined to start business when their families are guaranteed an income.

Excellent comment

1

This isn't going to happen..yet..like paid 6 months maternity leave, mandatory 4 week paid vacations, universal healthcare, non taxed S.S or rent control...yes I think it's a great idea..

0

The Craziests are out

1

I think it's a great idea. Believe it or not, no less of a personage than Richard Nixon proposed a guaranteed annual income, all the way back in 1971. So this clearly isn't just the brainchild of what conservatives would probably call pie-in-the-sky liberalism.

Hell, THOMAS PAINE proposed this idea back during the American Revolution!!

2

The only way this works, mathematically, is if you tax the hell out of the rich. Hence it is basically a system of wealth redistribution. I'm not necessarily for or against such an idea but I think that what we have in the US right now is a result of the rich getting pissed off and using their money and influence to create the creature that now inhabits the white house.

TAX THE RICH UNTIL IT’S FIXED, I say!

The terrible geometrically expanding ratio of production to minimum wage is one example!

But there’s more to it than that... MUCH more!
[businessinsider.com]

1

How do they fund this ? Every action there is a reaction

Rosh Level 7 Apr 28, 2018
2

The main problem I see with this is the cost and price varies from place to place. Same problem I see with the federal minimum wage.

A federally mandated GBI can be augmented by the various states.

The minimum wage is another SEPERATE issue, but basically that’s the capitalists simply STEALING too much of the GNP!

@Fanburger - The minimum wage is has actually gone DOWN relative to the GNP produced by those working at that wage...

1

In socialism everyone is poor so I think it’s a terrible idea as it makes it almost impossible to find anyone to work as a lot of them would just as soon sit on their ass and draw a government check as work.

Silly boy...
[businessinsider.com]

@Fanburger WHAT are you talking about? These are just proposals...

2

Have had some similar posts here on that topic, all I can say is it can work. No reason, you just adjust the tax system. A change is as good as a holiday and for quite a long time it will work very well.

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