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That assumes that a basic income would only motivate people to do nothing, which seems more pessimistic than realistic.
by badrequest 9y ago
That assumes that a basic income would only motivate people to do nothing, which seems more pessimistic than realistic.
- sigzero 9y agoI think it is more realistic.
- bunderbunder 9y agoFollowing that maybe-pessimistic-maybe-realistic vein a bit further, that might not be such a bad thing. Crime is a huge problem in poor communities, dealing with it is hideously expensive to taxpayers, and one of the major motivators behind it is economic stress. Wouldn't it be sweet if people who are currently motivated to commit crimes were instead motivated to do nothing?
- stretchwithme 9y agoCrime is caused more by envy for what others have and a failure to understand the role of work in getting what you want. Basic income will only FEED these two problems.
- bunderbunder 9y agoYou might be surprised to learn how many people get into jobs like drug dealing because it's the career option in their community that pays better than minimum wage. Crime also tends to correlate negatively with wealth redistribution, not positively. Correlation != causation, natch, but it's also the case that if your causative claim were true, then one would expect the correlation to be positive rather than negative.
- stretchwithme 9y agoI don't consider selling products to people to be a crime.
- bunderbunder 9y agoIt's generally an entry level position in a company that operates in the "organized crime" market sector.
- stretchwithme 9y agoOnly where it is illegal. If victimless crimes like gambling, high interest lending, drug use and adult prostitution were all legal, there be less of a reason for organized crime to exist. My feeling is that this sort of things should be regulated at a neighborhood level, so that it is possible to not have them in some neighborhoods where they are unpopular, while still being accessible in other not-too-distant areas where people do want them. In any case, such trade is not a crime that would go away with basic income. People will have MORE to spend on vices, actually. I think there are plenty of people on disability who also use opioids. That would be a lot harder without that money.
- pavel_lishin 9y agoDoesn't it depend on the crime? Someone breaking in and stealing my television to sell for drug money isn't envious of my TV; he just needs to get high. Someone engaged in a hit-and-run isn't envious of my car, they just can't afford car insurance and know that if they stick around they're very likely going to lose their license, car, and the ability to get to work. Sure, some crime is due to just people being too lazy to get a job, but it's not a universal cause.
- stretchwithme 9y agoOf course. But nobody is doing hit and runs so they can make a living.
- pavel_lishin 9y agoThey don't do the hit to make a living, but they might commit the run to continue doing so.
- stretchwithme 9y agoSure, but that has nothing to do with making a living or basic income so I fail to see the point of discussing that particular crime. When I said "Crime is caused more by envy", I was not making an absolute statement about all kinds of crime.