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I've met plenty of people who have been happily sitting around, smoking weed and playing video games all the time, and showing no sign of stopping as they barre
by jff 13y ago
I've met plenty of people who have been happily sitting around, smoking weed and playing video games all the time, and showing no sign of stopping as they barrel into their 40s.
- eropple 13y agoYou have met an anecdotal few. If you'd like to make the argument that this is a pervasive, generalizable thing, I hope you've brought your citations.
- arvinjoar 13y agoOk, so let's go with your assessment, that life-long slackers are indeed quite few. What happens when being a life-long slacker becomes acceptable in the culture (or as it might start out, in some subculture)? If slacking makes its way into culture, and becomes more accessible, isn't that potentially quite a big threat to the prosperity of future generations?
- informatimago 13y agoOpen your eyes! More than 10% of the work population is already FORCED to be life long slackers!
- eropple 13y agoWhy would it be a threat? We've multiplied individual worker productivity by fantastical amounts. I think it's vastly more likely that we will have more people who want to work than meaningful jobs in which to employ them.
- robotresearcher 13y agoLegal and funded does not mean acceptable in the culture. It's legal to go about naked in many places, but it's not often done, because it's not acceptable in the culture. Welfare already exists and while the lazy scrounger stereotype definitely exists, I feel it's worth that overhead to take care of vulnerable people and those in hard times.
- knieveltech 13y agoAnd why shouldn't they be able to do so? With a guaranteed income they would still be actively participating in the economy and whatever work niche they had inhabited before would be freed up for more motivated individuals to perform. Win win.
- jff 13y agoI'm just countering the claim that people won't sit on ass forever; not everyone is as motivated as angersock.
- knieveltech 13y agoMost assuredly some will, that's to be expected. If given a similar option I'd mothball my career over the course of six months and spend $n years engaging in unprofitable creative pursuits and maybe travel.
- jotm 13y agoBut they wouldn't actually be participating, they'd just be a middle man that takes a small cut to support their own life without providing anything useful in return (aka a parasite)... The good part is that it looks like most people wouldn't just do nothing all day long, they would contribute in one way or another...
- knieveltech 13y agoThey would be providing consumer spending. You claim this isn't useful to the economy?
- jotm 13y agoWith money that were pretty much gifted to them by other people - those people could cut the middle man and just spend it themselves...
- EricDeb 13y agoUntil we have an easy/efficient way of identifying such folk though (those who are truly capable vs those who are disabled/incapable) the most efficient solution is probably something like a minimum basic income.