Soldato
The collective dictatorship sounded kind of bad in the first half but the second half where we're being hunted down by killer robots for sport seems worse somehow.
Universal basic income to be trialled
- Thread starter JonRGV250
- Start date
Soldato
If you believe politicians have gained control of the money supply, or will do over the next decade. They are far more likely to give citizens money, why wouldn't they? it keeps them in power.
Russell Napier has spoken about this extensively over the last number of years, that's why he thinks the next decade will be far more inflationary than deflationary.
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It doesn't even need to be higher taxation for most. A flat rate 60% tax would stilll leave the majority of people better off combined with UBI. The tax burden would just be shifted to higher earners/corporations.
It would also save a fortune on schemes like UC, PIP etc. as they just wouldn't be required.
An income of £44,300 (as of 2021) puts you in the 80th percentile of earners in the UK. A take home of £34,146. On a flat 60% tax with UBI it's £36,920.
Someone on minimum wage would go from £17,800 after tax to £26,300 - about £13.50 an hour.
Read any study on UBI and it shows an increase in productivity. Every time.
An experiment to inform universal basic income
As income inequality and economic upheaval take center stage, is a guaranteed minimum income worth considering? Results from a two-year experiment in Finland offer clues.
Caporegime
Are there any that have been performed in countries like the UK with a mix of different socioeconomic backgrounds in the group.
My step dad is like that. My parents are sat on so much cash but he still works himself into the grave. Many people need purpose. Be it kids, or a career etc. Which is fine. But take career away and many will probably succumb to mental health issues through lack of purpose
Associate
If the government are seriously considering UBI then they must think there is big trouble ahead. AI means that a large chunk of the degree-level educated middle class are going to be thrown on the scrapheap at some point. Our legal commitment to net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 will also take out a large chunk of middle/working class occupations and require people to reduce their standard of living.
Hence UBI will be an easy way to top up the incomes of people who had well paid careers (without the stigma of being on benefits) while they do poorly paid manual labour jobs which the robots cannot do. The Conservative government knows it cannot get away with jettisoning a huge group of previously prosperous middle/working class people from marginal constituencies in middle/southern England in the way they did with the communities of miners/steel workers/ship builders etc in the Red Wall of the north of England.
How does that work? Because both cheesefest and I would then be paid the same?
Soldato
Caporegime
"Skilled" jobs wont pay anywhere near as much as current rates. Itll be pocket money top ups.
Soldato
We won't need shelf stackers as shopping will be totally automated to your door. Bad news for train drivers who may have been thinking of that to top up their UBI.
Permabanned
Any kind of job that requires thought can be done by A.I.
Customer service will be replaced, accountants, graphic designers, investment banking or finance, teaching, market research, lawyers and I.T.
Those jobs that robot can do will be at risk and those that can’t be will not.
Soldato
I remember those days.
We were told we'd all have a robot that would go out and do our work for us
I'm sure we'll eventually get a robot. But I'm sure the government will find a way to screw us financially.
Soldato
Yes, and ours is not the only government to think this.
For me, it's a case of "whatever". The devil will be in the detail. At the moment it all seems nuts, but they are obviously planning for something that I don't see.
Caporegime
My dad was the same. He took early retirement with a really nice golden handshake and then found himself in a mental hell hole.
He went from being responsible for 100s of staff to nothing over night and he simply couldn't handle it :/
Soldato
I enjoyed the 43 years I spent as a civil engineer however when the time came I was ready to find something different. Meaning currently making a garden and doing up the house. I don't need holidays in the sun, a few days spent away in the UK is enough. I had a lot of responsibility at work but was able to walk away and shrug it off relatively easily.
How exactly would plunging a couple million people into abject poverty help?
So how does that work? Is it a "short sharp shock" to reset the system, or are we just leaving a few millions to starve on the street?
It would help the UK in the long term when people realise they can't be work shy, scroungers anymore. That would be the primary objective.
Phased over time would be more realistic.
If you don't contribute to society and are physically/mentally able to work, why should you get handouts?