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There is simply not enough 'work' any more. Here's a thought. Why can't we as a society ensure that everyone is paid a living wage according to their need. It

There is simply not enough 'work' any more. Here's a thought. Why can't we as a society ensure that everyone is paid a living wage according to their need. It may take a while, but I believe this will be the only way that we can hold this society* together. * Deep irony here, speaking as one of 'Thatcher's children'.

orangecat 11y ago
Deep irony here, speaking as one of 'Thatcher's children'. Not really; there's a fair amount of support for a basic income from conservatives and libertarians, for good reason. We've decided that we aren't going to let people starve in the streets if they can't find a job. Given that, it makes much more sense to just give people money than to have a huge bureaucracy with dozens of programs trying to alleviate individual aspects of the problem of not having money.
- JackFr 11y ago
  The social services bogeyman of present day conservatives is no longer the mythical 'welfare queen' but the extensive poverty industry taking their cut as the money sluices through the pipes.
  - TheOtherHobbes 11y ago
    In the UK a number of government funded orgs have admitted that they are: 1. Unreasonably expensive 2. A net negative for the social problem they're supposed to solve The underlying problem isn't poverty or lack of education. It's a complete collapse of public moral leadership since the 80s - not in the sexual sense, but in the business sense of "Fuck everyone in the world, because money." Politics and business have always been corrupt. But from the 30s to 60s you could still find good people trying to do good things. Now they're institutionally corrupt, and politics and business - especially finance, which is the de facto government in the US - have become industrial asshole factories. This is barbarism, and it can only lead to more barbarism.
collyw 11y ago
So I guess every street around you is perfectly clean, you never have to wait for a doctor appointment and your life works with 100% efficiency? Of course there is plenty of work that needs done. The resources to pay for it are misallocated.
- lmm 11y ago
  My streets are clean enough. I see a doctor quickly enough in terms of the problems I have. I wouldn't pay for improvements in either. Many people simply don't have the skills or ability to contribute real value to the modern economy. 50 years ago simple physical labour was a valuable economic contribution and remunerated accordingly; today there's a constantly shrinking pool of minimum-wage jobs.
  - collyw 11y ago
    At the same time public services get worse and worse. The problem is a shrinking amount of money to pay for these work that needs to be done, as its all being filtered into CEO's pockets rather than corporations paying taxes.

orangecat 11y ago

Deep irony here, speaking as one of 'Thatcher's children'. Not really; there's a fair amount of support for a basic income from conservatives and libertarians, for good reason. We've decided that we aren't going to let people starve in the streets if they can't find a job. Given that, it makes much more sense to just give people money than to have a huge bureaucracy with dozens of programs trying to alleviate individual aspects of the problem of not having money.

JackFr 11y ago
The social services bogeyman of present day conservatives is no longer the mythical 'welfare queen' but the extensive poverty industry taking their cut as the money sluices through the pipes.
- TheOtherHobbes 11y ago
  In the UK a number of government funded orgs have admitted that they are: 1. Unreasonably expensive 2. A net negative for the social problem they're supposed to solve The underlying problem isn't poverty or lack of education. It's a complete collapse of public moral leadership since the 80s - not in the sexual sense, but in the business sense of "Fuck everyone in the world, because money." Politics and business have always been corrupt. But from the 30s to 60s you could still find good people trying to do good things. Now they're institutionally corrupt, and politics and business - especially finance, which is the de facto government in the US - have become industrial asshole factories. This is barbarism, and it can only lead to more barbarism.

collyw 11y ago

So I guess every street around you is perfectly clean, you never have to wait for a doctor appointment and your life works with 100% efficiency? Of course there is plenty of work that needs done. The resources to pay for it are misallocated.

lmm 11y ago
My streets are clean enough. I see a doctor quickly enough in terms of the problems I have. I wouldn't pay for improvements in either. Many people simply don't have the skills or ability to contribute real value to the modern economy. 50 years ago simple physical labour was a valuable economic contribution and remunerated accordingly; today there's a constantly shrinking pool of minimum-wage jobs.
- collyw 11y ago
  At the same time public services get worse and worse. The problem is a shrinking amount of money to pay for these work that needs to be done, as its all being filtered into CEO's pockets rather than corporations paying taxes.