4 ms·

True but you don't want to incentivize not working though

ant6n 10y ago
The incentive to work comes from making the basic income "minimal", but also from allowing people to keep the first couple of thousand they make. Right now if you receive welfare, and you make a dollar, you lose a dollar of welfare. That's the actual disincentive to work.
matt4077 10y ago
Actually, you (they) kinda do want to incentivise not working. The idea is that, currently, "not working" is dis-incentivised to such a degree that it creates more problems than it solves. Consider: - For currently unemployed people: are they lacking in motivation, or in ability? - For people who legitimately cannot find employment: is it moral to expose them to policies aimed at punishing 'freeloaders'? - Considering existing work-requirements even for basic assistance with food and housing: is it correct to say these operate from a model of human motivation where people stop trying as soon as they can afford the basic necessities of life? - Do you stop trying as soon as you know you have enough food and a roof over your head for the foreseeable future? - Do you know anybody who does that? - If people are forced into jobs with the thread of starvation or homelessness, what are the trade-offs they are required to make? I. e. to what degree is this forcing short-termism, and hindering their ability to invest time into, for example, education? - To what degree does the looming threat of starvation compromise the position of low-income workers in negotiations with employers? - Consider some model citizen from the lower middle class that you can think of: maybe a factory worker from the midwest, or an accountant's clerk in Houston, whatever... They have been gainfully employed for all their (adult) life, and will be for the foreseeable future. Question: How much needless anxiety is that person possibly experiencing, because they are just some random economic events away from complete destitution? - To what degree could society profit by mitigating some of the risks associated with attempting something new?

ant6n 10y ago

The incentive to work comes from making the basic income "minimal", but also from allowing people to keep the first couple of thousand they make. Right now if you receive welfare, and you make a dollar, you lose a dollar of welfare. That's the actual disincentive to work.

matt4077 10y ago

Actually, you (they) kinda do want to incentivise not working. The idea is that, currently, "not working" is dis-incentivised to such a degree that it creates more problems than it solves. Consider: - For currently unemployed people: are they lacking in motivation, or in ability? - For people who legitimately cannot find employment: is it moral to expose them to policies aimed at punishing 'freeloaders'? - Considering existing work-requirements even for basic assistance with food and housing: is it correct to say these operate from a model of human motivation where people stop trying as soon as they can afford the basic necessities of life? - Do you stop trying as soon as you know you have enough food and a roof over your head for the foreseeable future? - Do you know anybody who does that? - If people are forced into jobs with the thread of starvation or homelessness, what are the trade-offs they are required to make? I. e. to what degree is this forcing short-termism, and hindering their ability to invest time into, for example, education? - To what degree does the looming threat of starvation compromise the position of low-income workers in negotiations with employers? - Consider some model citizen from the lower middle class that you can think of: maybe a factory worker from the midwest, or an accountant's clerk in Houston, whatever... They have been gainfully employed for all their (adult) life, and will be for the foreseeable future. Question: How much needless anxiety is that person possibly experiencing, because they are just some random economic events away from complete destitution? - To what degree could society profit by mitigating some of the risks associated with attempting something new?