Basic Income should be a basic right

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It means giving people money for nothing. It's a needless burden on the taxpayer.

Concentrate on free and clean public toilets being a human right instead.

Much more expensive, with much less gained.

UBI would mean we could scrap the minimum wage, most worker's rights, and most of the welfare system. It would mean no child ever going hungry. It would improve educational and healthcare outcomes, meaning we wouldn't spend as much on those. It would increase the amount of disposable income people have, a huge boom for the economy. It would mean that people wouldn't need to be scared of immigrants "stealing their jobs" so we could greatly reduce the barriers to immigration. People would be able to pursue passion projects rather than being forced to do menial jobs that provide little benefit. All of that would be a huge boost to the economy, a reduction in the strain placed upon the taxpayer, and also a huge boost to the welfare of ordinary citizens.

The market does a good job of providing clean public toilets already and people can also go to the toilet in their home or place of work.

Damn...
I thought it was the U.S.S.R....

If there was UBI as well as Universal Health coverage, it would help people have economic mobility instead of being stuck with a job they hate because of the health insurance. They might be more willing to pursue the direction aligned with their talents and passions being much more successful if they no longer have to fear the financial consequences if it didn't work out.

Other people might be able to develop side gigs selling on Amazon or Etsy. Or if that Age of Automation is coming, so might retrain in Coding or Robotics.

That depends on the parents of course.



How? Education has nothing to do with a UBI.



Immigrants will want a UBI too. Would you demand they work for a period?



Most jobs I would think are in the service sector.



Of a fashion. Not everywhere though. A RADAR is a godsend.

http://theconversation.com/universal-ba ... 2016-70395

I was specifically talking about a constitution that valued freedom and legal equality. I know it didn't value everyone equally at the time but it created the framework for everyone to be equal.

Wealth has a significant impact on educational outcomes. If UBI makes it easier for low-income families to be well fed, get a good night's sleep, participate in extra-curricular activities, and hire a tutor, then UBI has improved educational outcomes.



Initially, yes, as a compromise born out of pragmatism. I'd pitch the policy as a "Citizen's Wage" so only people with an EU passport could get it. But I don't think there's much reason to exclude immigrants in the long run.

Basic income is a great idea, however currently it will be hard to finance unless we upped corporate tax every time a company lays off employees when it isn't in the red.

Having decent parents who care is most of it. Dosh is a factor among others.



Hire a tutor?! What is this?!

Should they be able to take them for polo lessons too on that UBI?



No, they are foreigners, not citizens. We know they're mostly nice foreigners, but they are non-citizens. If we had it I'd restrict it to British citizens.

Still free money.

I think the best solution would be guaranteed work for all you would achieve this by every working fewer hours and getting rid of income tax and corporation tax and replacing it with a tax on hours worked, you tax people at a higher rate above a certain threshold.

It always boils down to the fundamental question: Can it be funded?

I'd like everyone to have solid gold heated toilet seats...
No skin off my nose...
But where does the money come from?
Punishing people with a good work ethic is only going to result in loss of productivity, as happened in the Soviet Union...

Lost of productivity results in a weak economy...
A weak economy leads to a lower living standard...
And guess who suffers the most when the financial situation collapses in a country...
Yep, the people who can least afford it...

Look at what happened in Greece...
People were retiring at 55...
The government was throwing money out to every man and his dog...
The last I hear, the Greek pension was reduced by 40%

In conclusion:
A balanced system of government is required to maintain a country's economic strength so it has the funds to support the welfare needs...
Disincentivising people through additional tax burdens isn't the answer...
Get rid of the carrot and you are going to get a very obstinant and resentful donkey who has a sh***y work ethic...
Ivory tower ideology isn't going to solve real-life problems...

I'm single, while many people my age are married and busy taking care of children.

Also, I work in a field I love. In other words, my motivation is far more intrinsic than extrinsic.

https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation/

Problems:
1. Where to get the money from?
2. Lazy people.

Benefits:
1. More specialists (people choose jobs they love, not ones simply available, they can also go to college instead of finding a job).
2. More part time jobs (no need to work full time unless you want to).
3. Better work conditions (employers will want people to work for them so they won't set 16h/day schedules for minimal payment etc).
4. Happier families (people happy with their jobs, parents working part time having time for their children).
5. More volunteers and people who help others (their whole time isn't consumed by work).
6. Technical improvements (workers and cashiers replaced by machines, more engineers due to point 1).
7. Sooner independence of children (adult children often won't leave family home because they don't have the money needed to survive on their own).
8. Less domestic abuse (the victim can move out without being worried about the money for living).
And much more.


I was living with my parents for 28,5 years, without any money on my own. I always wanted to move out due to the abuse and wanting to become independent but I couldn't find a job. I tried convince my parents to rent a place for me like my cousin parents did for her but they refused, saying they don't have that kind of money. So I was stuck. I was living in a small city, with barely any public transport, without any institutions and with high unemployment rate. Having nothing else to do I ended up attending 2 colleges - it wasn't a bad thing (I am happy I did so, it was definitely better than doing nothing at all) but I felt stuck. And I still couldn't get any job after graduating. My abusive father didn't help at all. And the lack of friends. In the end I developed depression, anxiety and weird attitude towards money. At times I was refusing to eat because I felt like I don't deserve eating the food bought with my parents money because I don't earn any money myself.

Finally I got my disability pension due to Asperger, anxiety and depression. My psychiatrist said there is no chance but miracle happened. I got it till 2020. I am safe for now.

As soon as I received my first money I found a room to rent in a big city, asked my mom to help me with the paperwork and moved out. A week after getting the money I was already living in the big city and had a monthly ticket for it's public transportation (going every 3 mins from a tram stop 8 mins walk from my room). I started looking for a job there. It didn't go too well due to my difficulties but I have 2 part time jobs now (not enough to live on but it's an improvement) and I am attending a group made for people with mental health issues, where I learn valuable skills and where I finally gained some friends (one of them helps me with paperwork now, so my mom doesn't have to help me anymore).

I wake up at a normal time now (9AM instead of 12AM) and spend a lot of time outside (I used to spend most of the time in front of computer, playing games). I do shopping by myself, travel the city, find places, go to doctors. I can keep the house clean and I finally learned how to do laundry. I am also slowly learning how to cook - although I usually just eat my dinner outside, in cheap family bars I found by my own.

I am on a break with job hunting for now because it's winter and depression hit me but I plan to start doing it again when spring comes because my mood always gets better then. The disability pension is not enough to have a comfortable living and I don't want to live on government money all my life. I am looking for a job where I will feel needed and my job will be valued. I believe I have the skills and my brain ability to learn is no joke. The only problem are the social skills required to get a job. I am currently doing some paperwork that will hopefully help me skip the regular job recruitment process(searching offers, making phone calls, going on interviews and such) - there is an institution that helps disabled people find jobs but I have to get some documents first in order to qualify. Before I moved out my mom dealt with stuff like that. Now I am keeping track on them by myself and I only ask a friend to book appointments for me because I still can't deal with phone calls (social anxiety hits me badly in that area). I predict I will be fully independent by 2020 when the pension ends, based on the improvements I made in that short time (8 months).

Therefore I believe "getting enough money to survive" from government lead to great increase in my quality of life and productivity. That was just what I needed to break out of my previously hopeless situation. I will become a proper member of society soon, out of previous NEET.

What happens in 2020.

My disability pension right ends then. I can ask them to give it to me again but the decision depends on my health, presence, medical documentation gathered and their whims so I can't be sure if I get it again or not.

Ideal option for me would be keeping the right for disability pension while working (you can put it on hold and not receive the pension while working without losing the right to receive it if you lose the job). That would keep my mind calm and I would focus on doing my job.

But they will probably refuse me the right to disability pension if I will be having a job at that time. This makes me scared. If they decide to take the right from me due to "You are capable of working so you no longer need it" my mental state might decrease due to anxiety, I might lose my job because of it and then I might be forced to beg them for the right again. I only hope I will have enough savings gathered in that case to not be forced to return to my parents.

They will probably prelong my right with no problems if I won't get a job between now and 2020. It will prove I am really incapable of getting one despite help and they might even give me the disability pension right forever. But I don't want that - it would be a huge hit to my self esteem and I might start to believe I am really good for nothing.

In case I get a job between now and 2020 and manage to keep it for a while but won't have a job during the assessment in 2020 I might lose the right and be forced to return to family house (then I will probably get the right back after a few months because my mental state gets worse again due to losing all my contacts and being forced to live again with my abusive father), keep it or even... get a higher disability pension (if I manage to work for over a year before 2020 - so far I have the lowest disability pension due to never paying taxes) depending on their decision.

They will also probably take the right if I end up married by 2020 and my husband will be able to keep us alive.