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>>Everyone will go on welfare then.

“The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them.” - Lenin

Well, I stated in another thread (IIRC, a few others here made the same points too) where if this happens, we can go two ways out of pragmatism. The first way, I hat to say it, but we would have to go full bore socialist with everyone, who pass the means test, will get a guaranteed living wage. It would be enough for a 1 bedroom apartment, food, healthcare, utilities and so on plus maybe just enough to go out to dinner every so often or to have a small hobby. People will still have needs and in a post scarcity economy where most needs would be taken care of via automation this will change the paradigm so much, the old debate between socialism and capitalism will be rendered moot. If someone wants to make more than the wage given, then they will have to find a niche somehow where they can work and earn extra above that. It would be much like Star Trek The Next Generation where Picard's family had vineyards and wine making in France or Sisko's father had a restaurant in San Francisco. To fund the whole system most likely the automation machines and robots will have punitive licensing and registration fees (think of the taxi plaques in New York City) along with heavy taxes levied on the profits made from their production. (Almost) Everyone will be on welfare as you put it.

Idle hands are the Devil's Workshop so the second possibility is to make the registration and licensing fees plus taxation so punitive that it would be cheaper to hire people. It might have to go further, legislation will be passed to outlaw the use of automation and robots on jobs humans can do or to have machines require a human operator at all times. Exceptions might be for hazzardous duty like inspecting atomic reactors on the inside and space probes. Again, if I may used an example from science fiction, the original Battlestar Galactica took this route in the book story, in their case, there was that 1000 "yahren" tussle with the Cylons that was influential as well.

Another interesting aspect too was touched upon in Star Trek the Next Generation too. What if robots and androids and so forth get sentient and demand their rights as a human being. Data from Star Trek fought and got those rights. The Star Trek Voyager, the Holographic Doctor was a small part of the Holographs that were created to assert for their rights too. IIRC, all the old Holographic Doctors were relegated to mining when newer holographs took over, they were not too happy with that,

While we are still debating how the economy should be run, the questions will be changed rendering both side's answers obsolete.

Star Trek has the matter replicator and cheap abundant power. We have wastewater to treat , oil to pump out of the ground, etc.

There is no means test in full bore socialism. Everyone gets the basic living stipend (BLS). So who works? If you get enough free money to have a nice little life, why would anyone go work in a sewage treatment plant?

It would either have to pay very well, as an add-on to the BLS, or they would have to make people do it. Same for every dirty, nasty, sweaty job. Not everyone gets to be an artist or vineyard owner in socialism without a matter replicator. Some people have to be laborer. In fact, most people have to be laborer a until the robots are perfected.

And then you have 6 billon useless eaters in the world, so be careful what you wish for unless you have robot repair skills.

But, getting back to the BLS. I work in the utility industry as a supervisor of SCADA technicians. It is the cleanest job in utilities, but it is still nasty. The hours are long and the demands are high. If you gave me a BLS, I would probably quit tomorrow and go find a BLS-supplement job that would let me go home at night, very night, and would leave my weekends free.

Full bore socialism requires coercion to get things done. Means tested socialism is just crony capitalism for certain people. Our present system is just crony capitalism for those with connections and power. In all three, the working middle class is the slave labor force that keeps it all running and it is seen as the most expendable.