- cross-posted to:
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- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
There is a discussion on Hacker News, but feel free to comment here as well.
We’ve been “beginning to look into” ubi for over a decade. Hundreds of articles about how we’re “considering” it. Countless tests and studies showing that people are overwhelmingly - duh - better off.
But is it ever going to be really rolled out, thoroughly and permanently?
Edit: no, my position is that there’s always going to be a group of conservatives shouting how this is horrible, encourages laziness or stupid shit like that… it’s too easy to rile up those who have very little against those who have even less.
UBI makes economic sense when you think about it.
Society will always pay for the poor one way or another … it’s just a matter of when and how much.
Either don’t pay for the poor now and those people in poverty will end up in desperate situations that will lead to crime and violence. Then society will have to pay for policing, security, emergency medical services, judicial services, social services and childcare services.
Or
Pay people by supporting them now and prevent them from drifting into desperate situations and give them a chance to gain a living and contribute to society. Supporting people is also generational … if you support healthy parents, they will raise healthier children who will grow up to become healthier people who will grow up to raise a healthier generation later on.
And it’s always easier and cheaper in the long run of you just help people now rather than later. It doesn’t matter if you are liberal or conservative but if you really consider the economics of it all … it’s far better to just help and support people now.
UBI has come to mean not Universal and just guaranteed a minimum income…. It’s not a bad thing but it isn’t UBI.
In practice the same as the UK had in the 80s and still does to some extent. Difference being guaranteed housing, childcare payments , school meals, access to education/ HE . Not just an arbitrary figure which may or may not cover your individual needs and may or may not keep up with inflation.