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I think you're underselling the science and engineering behind building waste disposal systems that scale, the science behind the taste, shelf life, etc. of pac

by uiri 9y ago

I think you're underselling the science and engineering behind building waste disposal systems that scale, the science behind the taste, shelf life, etc. of packaged food & beverages, and the complexity of taxes. Sure, there is a lot of menial work, but society has been on a trend of automating that away for decades. No matter the field, there are things which can't be automated away and those are also things which someone somewhere is bound to find deeply interesting.

ianai 9y ago
“Burger flipping” is not a good nor service critical to society. It’s convenience food and expensive at that. No ones dying because they didn’t eat at McDonalds. If you can afford a burger then you can afford milk and cereal for more than one meal - just an example. I argue people will be more willing to take menial work with a UBI. Because with UBI people will move from working to survive to working for luxury. Ie the UBI won’t buy them a nicer apartment, but the UBI plus a cruddy but simple job will.
- Jtsummers 9y ago
  If you know you can afford a sufficiently large home and food for your family at wage X (UBI), how much higher does the pay need to be to motivate you to clean toilets or work in a steel mill? People don't do those things (in general) because they're a public good, or because they're a "calling". They do them because they need the money, and the pay is sufficiently good. UBI may be a good thing (if we can work out the economics of it), but people will still do the menial and risky jobs out of need, not to end up in the penthouse of a high-rise luxury building unless the pay is damned good.
  - ianai 9y ago
    You’re assuming a high UBI. I’m not. The economics are sound so long as it’s a simple income. Economists have argued for simple payments to decision makers instead of regulations many times and different contexts.

by uiri 9y ago

ianai 9y ago

“Burger flipping” is not a good nor service critical to society. It’s convenience food and expensive at that. No ones dying because they didn’t eat at McDonalds. If you can afford a burger then you can afford milk and cereal for more than one meal - just an example. I argue people will be more willing to take menial work with a UBI. Because with UBI people will move from working to survive to working for luxury. Ie the UBI won’t buy them a nicer apartment, but the UBI plus a cruddy but simple job will.

Jtsummers 9y ago
If you know you can afford a sufficiently large home and food for your family at wage X (UBI), how much higher does the pay need to be to motivate you to clean toilets or work in a steel mill? People don't do those things (in general) because they're a public good, or because they're a "calling". They do them because they need the money, and the pay is sufficiently good. UBI may be a good thing (if we can work out the economics of it), but people will still do the menial and risky jobs out of need, not to end up in the penthouse of a high-rise luxury building unless the pay is damned good.
- ianai 9y ago
  You’re assuming a high UBI. I’m not. The economics are sound so long as it’s a simple income. Economists have argued for simple payments to decision makers instead of regulations many times and different contexts.