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I would like to disagree with your point on basic income. It’s usually called _universal_ basic income. Precisely to clarify that it is not a “charity for the d

I would like to disagree with your point on basic income. It’s usually called _universal_ basic income. Precisely to clarify that it is not a “charity for the destitute”, it is absolutely meant to be for everyone. And for the larger discussion on building the commons I happen to think UBI is an important component. Focusing on the amateur work being done by the civil society at least, an UBI could be precisely the thing needed to free up time for cultivating the commons. Now, granted, most UBI proponents do argue from a solidarity angle, and do think of it as some kind of charity. But I’ll offer an alternative view point. To me UBI is the foundation from which private property can be justified. Locke argued that commons, such as land, can only be taken as property when there is no contention, which is clearly not the case for anything having a market value. The just way to solve that conflict could be for the owner to simply pay the market value in rent to the commons, as compensation for the exclusive rights. Such payments could be divided as as an UBI. And I suspect it would also result i a pretty handsome amount. Enough to fund a few open source projects at least.

ac29 7y ago
> I would like to disagree with your point on basic income. It’s usually called _universal_ basic income. Precisely to clarify that it is not a “charity for the destitute”, it is absolutely meant to be for everyone. In the credible UBI plans I've seen, the income is Universal in the sense that "everyone gets a check", but in practice that income is paid for by those with middle or higher incomes, such that for many earners that "income" is a net tax (or neutral). "Charity for the destitute" is a bit hyperbolic, but its absolutely income supplementation for the less well off at the expense of those better off.
- CuriousSkeptic 7y ago
  In case it was missed. My take in UBI outlined above would avoid this. Even better, I’m hopeful we could abolish all forms of income tax.

ac29 7y ago

> I would like to disagree with your point on basic income. It’s usually called _universal_ basic income. Precisely to clarify that it is not a “charity for the destitute”, it is absolutely meant to be for everyone. In the credible UBI plans I've seen, the income is Universal in the sense that "everyone gets a check", but in practice that income is paid for by those with middle or higher incomes, such that for many earners that "income" is a net tax (or neutral). "Charity for the destitute" is a bit hyperbolic, but its absolutely income supplementation for the less well off at the expense of those better off.

CuriousSkeptic 7y ago
In case it was missed. My take in UBI outlined above would avoid this. Even better, I’m hopeful we could abolish all forms of income tax.