
Why We Should All Have a Basic Income – World Economic Forum - 2noame
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/01/why-we-should-all-have-a-basic-income
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mindcrime
My problem with UBI is that nobody has convinced me that there's a reasonable
way to pay for it. I mean, personally, I hold that taxation is theft, so
anything that starts with 'taxes' as the answer is automatically flawed. BUT,
even if you allow for taxation, it isn't clear how trying to do this via
taxation will avoid simply creating a house of cards that can't stand.

That is, if you raise, say, corporate taxes to pay for UBI, then what's to
stop those corporations from simply raising prices to maintain their margins?
This will just push the costs down to the same people you're trying to support
with the UBI in the first place.

Don't get me wrong... I like the _idea_ of UBI. Hey, free money, sign me up.
But I have serious doubts about every implementation model I've seen suggested
yet (where the proponents have even bothered offering any details, as opposed
to just hand-waving way the question of how to fund the UBI).

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pdog
Someone at Davos commissioned this illustration of a "replaced worker" losing
his job to a robot in a game of musical chairs...

[https://assets.weforum.org/editor/tWV3bYiI6y5mfQRRFmy-
Zz_sfd...](https://assets.weforum.org/editor/tWV3bYiI6y5mfQRRFmy-
Zz_sfdhMU9O3HT8J1frg8sY.jpg)

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jimmywanger
Seems like a human version of Universe 25.

[http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2015/03/the-amazing-rise-
and-f...](http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2015/03/the-amazing-rise-and-fall-of-
a-rodent-utopia/)

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ainiriand
It is a good idea, in my opinion.

\- It will foster the arts in ways we can not even imagine.

\- If you believe in a personal project you will commit to it no matter what
and you wont risk bankrupcy.

\- No more parents carrying with their sons until a good job comes.

And many, many more...

~~~
jimmywanger
> It will foster the arts in ways we can not even imagine.

> If you believe in a personal project you will commit to it no matter what
> and you wont risk bankrupcy (sic).

Neither of those two statements are true. Much great previous art was
sponsored by merchants and commissions, artists had to work for their money.

Also, if you have a personal project that you believe in and are dependent on
for food, you will commit to it no matter what. If you aren't risking
bankruptcy/financial insolvency it's much easier to bail on an idea.

> No more parents carrying with their sons until a good job comes.

What does this even mean?

> And many, many more...

What are the "more"? Hopefully they're somewhat different than the points
you've already brought up.

~~~
ainiriand
The art now is created by the people who can afford to create it because they
know they are getting paid. How many poets do you know that in recent times
are getting paid for poetry? Jazz artists barely survive if you don't count
Woody Allen. Personal projects like freelancing can put your home at risk. At
least in Spain, people until their 30s live in the parents home because they
cant get a decent job in many cases.

All the examples I've given are based in my personal experience, maybe yours
is different.

~~~
jimmywanger
> The art now is created by the people who can afford to create it because
> they know they are getting paid.

True, but not in the sense you mean. Certain arts die off and certain ones
flourish. There is tons more digital art and computer animation, and less
poetry and jazz artists. Why are you preferring one over another? Both are
equally valid, except digital art and computer animation you can make a living
off of.

> Personal projects like freelancing can put your home at risk.

How exactly is that? You might have to still work a job for stable income.
Read Stephen King's "On Writing". He says that the idea that a creative person
needs large chunks of uninterrupted time is ridiculous. If you really want to
do something, you'll make time to do it.

> At least in Spain, people until their 30s live in the parents home because
> they cant get a decent job in many cases.

Why is that a problem? The idea of moving out at an early age has arisen with
the baby boom generation. It's quite a recent phenomenon. In asia, you're not
expected to move out until you get married and have a family. What's your
point?

