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Growth may not over but I've been thinking a lot of thoughts related to Krugman's final point. I think employment may generally decline and perhaps a skills gap
by ErikAugust 14y ago
Growth may not over but I've been thinking a lot of thoughts related to Krugman's final point. I think employment may generally decline and perhaps a skills gap will only continue to widen. Wealth disparity will widen also, perhaps.
- michaelochurch 14y agoI think that humanity will eventually go to a basic income, first on a national and then on a world scale. I think national BI will follow the next real economic catastrophe (not 2008, but 1930s) and the global one will be possibly 50 years later. I'm optimistic on the long-term future, but I think we have at least one more Great Depression and, unfortunately, at least one big-ass war ahead of us. BI will probably happen too late, but if we don't want to die, we will implement it. It used to be that it took a 22-year one-time investment to get people ready for the work force, but now it requires continual education, and without BI, people who lack independent income are going to be in trouble.
- ErikAugust 14y agoYeah, I agree - a basic income welfare system may be inevitable. One other thing to think about is - basic income allows for more people to live a life of independent experimentation/research. The effect might be quite positive on open source communities in technical fields but as well as the arts.
- learc83 14y agoI lean heavily libertarian, but my practical side says we should implement a basic income and do away with almost all labor regulations.
- michaelochurch 14y agoSame here. Minimum wage is, effectively, an incompetently structured and meager basic income financed by low-end employers (who react by reducing low-end jobs).