JeffG @JeffG - 5mo
I'm actually pretty bullish on humans being more useful under UBI schemes. My question has always been, where's the money going to come from. It's telling that the article doesn't even attempt to confront that question. Everyone has gotten so comfortable with the idea that the government can just do whatever it wants (without thinking about the consequences) that they don't even stop to wonder about it any more.
mleku @mleku - 5mo
why do you not think it will just lead to chronic underemployment and violation of the property rights of the productive? i've seen a pervasive welfare system in australia and it ruined my life because i was on the margin and i was on the margin because i wasn't obedient not only could i not get a job because of the lax competition and absurdly high tertiary education requirements the constant pressure of the shame of being a "dole bludger" was unbearable especially because for 10 years i was doing everything i could to try and make my own business people think it's great but look behind the presentation and learn about what life is actually like on basically permanent welfare in all the former commonwealth nations, australia, canada, new zealand, indeed the UK itself, ireland it's toxic, and i think you just don't really know what it creates in people
Yeah - look, I didn't say that it was an easy, one and done solution. It would be a major shift in how society thinks about what the meaning of "work" actually is. What I said is that I am bullish on humans being productive and wanting to do meaningful things with their time. Like everything, the devil is in the details, you can't just apply some new law and expect things to work. There would need to be cultural change and there would be lots and lots of 2nd and 3rd order consequences that would be unpredictable, especially with something as big as UBI (if you even could find a way to make it function monetarily). All I'm saying is, I'm bullish on human creativity and I don't think about society leaves much room for it anymore.
