5 ms·
And what happens in the very long term? What happens when kids are raised with the attitude that they are guaranteed to survive on basic income? What happens wh
by blahi 10y ago
And what happens in the very long term? What happens when kids are raised with the attitude that they are guaranteed to survive on basic income? What happens when their number grows? What happens when that large group feels that bare survival doesn't cut it any more and want more? What happens if the numbers actually don't pan out but scared politicians doon't want to give up power and cook the books for decades? Remember that after similar initiatives short and mid-term gains were huge, but in the long-term they lead to apathy, corruption and very uncompetitive economy.
There are two states in nature. You either grow or you shrink. You remove the incentive to grow and guess what happens next.
Or if you want to really start thinking hard, maybe you should ask yourself what happens when everybody has X in money and businesses raise their prices accordingly?
- glenda 10y agoYour comment made me a bit sad because I read it as "What happens when those who struggle everyday to survive no longer have to?" - I understand your fear of entitlement etc... but I don't think things could get much worse than where we are now. For instance, "affluenza" is an acceptable excuse for killing a person in the US.
- esarbe 10y agoHey glenda, I wanted to congratulate you on your enduring politeness and civility while enduring exactly the opposite. I thank you for your tone and your contribution. While I may not agree with you, I applaud the manner in which you communicate. It's people like you that really make HN a different place.
- glenda 10y agoThank you! This means a lot to me.
- ntaenta 10y ago> What happens when kids are raised with the attitude that they are guaranteed to survive on basic income? When kids are raised without the persistent threat of not surviving? They'll stand a better chance of flourishing and reaching their full potential, like many of us here on HN who have an affluent background.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- geezerjay 10y ago> When kids are raised without the persistent threat of not surviving? Having to contribute to society by keeping a job, and using the income of said job to finance your cost of living is far from being a life-risking enterprise. You're trying to avoid the point by inventing absurd emotional examples.
- calvano915 10y agoYou're ignoring the seemingly obvious threat of less job opportunities over time that provide a living, thriving wage. There's many people who have "a job" now who are barely getting by, enough to live but not thrive by any means. As efficiency increases over time because of tech, in combination with increasing reliance on cheap global labor and further stagnating wages locally, there will need to be some way to keep the local economy flowing beyond people just "keeping a job".
- geezerjay 10y ago> You're ignoring the seemingly obvious threat of less job opportunities over time that provide a living, thriving wage. That's your assumption, and a baseless one at that. Back in reality, we're experiencing unprecedented economic development which includes the inception of a whole new economic sector. You're essentially complaining that buggy whip artisans have less job opportunities in a world that's creating whole new jobs such as forum moderators, social media experts, and data scientists. Today's economy even creates jobs playing video games, surfing, and talking about gourmet food. The world's most developed economies are enjoying structural unemployment rates. And you're here talking about "less job opportunities over time". You need to separate facts from fiction, including your own baseless beliefs.
- erikpukinskis 10y agoViolence is generally not a good motivator. Positive reinforcement is much better.
- alanwatts 10y ago>There are two states in nature. You either grow or you shrink. There is also homeostasis. Perpetual growth is cancer.
- joesb 10y agoWhat happens when kids have rich parents? What happens when kids know they don't have to steal or rob to survive? What happens when kids know living for the good cause will never starve them to death? What happens when kids know they can pursue their best interest without worrying about being starved?
- geezerjay 10y ago> What happens when kids know living for the good cause will never starve them to death? Can you point out exactly how many people starved to death in any western country? Because I vividly remember that there isn't any universal basic income program in effect, and somehow people manage to feed themselves just fine. You can't expect to be taken seriously if all you can come up with are absurd emotional works of fiction.
- katherineduh 10y ago>people manage to feed themselves just fine http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/hunger-and-poverty/hunger-and-poverty-fact-sheet.html http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hu... https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/12/teens-america-hunger-food-poverty https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/12/teens-americ...