Anonymous B joined in and replied with this 2 years ago, 1 minute later[^][v]#1,260,291
I am 100% for it. If a government can afford it, then it allows people to actually be creative, happy people. Most people would choose to also work, since UBI is a minimal amount. It would lift people out of poverty, allow people free time to actually live, feed hungry children, and do. all sorts of wonderful things.
Anonymous A (OP) replied with this 2 years ago, 44 minutes later, 45 minutes after the original post[^][v]#1,260,296
@previous (B)
It could, in some situations, result in more people working. The conservative talking point that government benefits can cause people to work less, I think is true as it's currently implemented in many places.
Some people will actively avoid taking on more hours because their incomes would increase resulting in them losing benefits. And why would anyone want to work more to earn less? In the same way, these programs also discourage financial responsibility by penalizing anyone that saves money, since you can lose benefits if your assets reach a certain level.
But this is all a distraction anyway, because we ultimately should be aspiring towards fewer people working, not more. There's no reason why much, if not virtually all, of our economy can't be automated. And if we can create a society where people don't need to work, why should they?
UBI I think is a good step in that direction. If people are less pressured to work to survive, they will demand higher wages and better treatment. Higher wages means more of an incentive to hire fewer people and to prevent the cost of running a business from soaring. And the natural solution to that is to invest in automating those jobs away. It would all happen quite organically and everyone could stand to benefit.
Anonymous B replied with this 2 years ago, 4 minutes later, 49 minutes after the original post[^][v]#1,260,299
@1,260,296 (A)
I agree. See, most humans want a purpose in life. We all want a purpose every day, a job that fulfills us and allows us to contribute to the world. Sure, there is a minority that wants to laze around on the porch and get drunk or high all day, but that is not the majority. It is human nature to want to contribute and enjoy a purpose. A UBI would allow so many more people to do that instead of slaving some miserable job to survive.
Anonymous A (OP) replied with this 2 years ago, 13 minutes later, 1 hour after the original post[^][v]#1,260,301
@previous (B)
It's a great tragedy of modern human history that our collective society views purpose as working for an employer. The idea of working for a wage was something many people mocked near the start of the industrial revolution. Wow have the times changed.
Anonymous B replied with this 2 years ago, 1 minute later, 1 hour after the original post[^][v]#1,260,302
@previous (A)
Precisely. Before the Industrial Revolution, people worked in their own workshops as they wished. Then, company owners insisted that they work in one place on their time.