Thinking Utopian: How about a universal basic income?

Wonkblog (WaPo)) ^ | 5-11-2013 | Mike Konczal

[Sir Napsalot]

In light of the recent Oregon Medicaid study, several people have discussed the idea of taking parts of the social insurance system and replacing them with cash benefits. This naturally brings up the debate about whether it should be a policy goal for the United States to adopt a universal basic income (UBI). These poverty-level targeted incomes are universal and unconditional, so everyone would get them regardless of their income, status or work participation. Wonkblog’s Dylan Matthews wrote an overview of universal basic incomes and some proposals for such a system last year.

Though establishing a basic income was once at the forefront of politics, it has since become more of a Utopian, abstract project. But sometimes it is helpful to step back from the day-to-day wonk work and think Utopian.

First, what are some advantages of providing a universal basic income? To those on the left, a UBI would create greater equality by ending poverty and providing a minimum living standard. It would also increase bargaining power for workers, who could demand better working conditions with a safety cushion. As Erik Olin Wright argues in Envisioning Real Utopias, such bargaining power “will generate an incentive structure for employers to seek technical and organizational innovations that eliminate unpleasant work,” which would “have not just a labor-saving bias, but a labor-humanizing bias.”

The fact that it is universal is crucial. This eliminates income traps that can cause severe work disincentives. ...... Eliminating poverty is an essential part of any egalitarian project, and a universal basic income could finish that in one move. ....

(Be sure to read the rest of the article!)

[Gaffer]

You probably don’t want to say that. It might affect you.

[cunning_fish]

LOL. Learn from Commies if you are so eager to follow them.

It hasn’t flown for earlier Soviets in 1920s and ruined their productivity beyond repair.

It fact Stalinism and Gulag were an answer to Utopian socialist failures.

Forced labor was a single way to make any good use of politicized freeloaders’ society.

Is it an American future?

[JCBreckenridge]

I’m loving these great ‘conservative’ ideas...

[ctdonath2]

Question remains: what motivates the capable to work? Why bother if all your basic needs are paid for? Send me a no-effort check for $30,000/yr and I won’t contribute $30,000 effort to the economy. I can live quite well (by my humble standards) on that.

There’s a reason the Bible opines “he who will not work, will not eat”. Without negative natural consequences, people will sit around wasting the fruit of other people’s labor. Pay me $30,000/yr for doing nothing and I’ll park myself in the woods reading library books; pay me nothing for doing nothing and within 3 days I’ll start paying $30,00/yr in taxes on my earnings.

[ctdonath2]

“The hand-wringers who wonder about those unable to budget their money could be taken care of by distributing the money electronically on a daily basis. Have a federal program to help make mortguage/rent payments on a daily basis and everyone is now covered with the basic needs.”

Ah, so next after giving them $30,000 cash no strings attached, the gov’t has to dole it out in $82/day increments so they don’t blow their rent etc money. Then the gov’t has to pay those expenses directly to make sure those bills get paid.

Good night, how much freebies and hand holding and pampering do these people need before they can start acting like adults and taking care of themselves? I know a very few truly need help but this is getting stupid.