I think a lot of people misunderstood what I wrote.

I agree that many of us are kept “poor” because of how the system is stacked against us. But you can have more than enough money and still be poor because you aren’t good at managing it.

There does need to be some personal responsibility, along with a rebalancing of the system.

You’ll find that, overall, it’s actually the opposite. Healthy people who have all of their basic needs covered feel a big incentive to do productive and valuable work. Sure, there will be the freeloader here and there. But in general, people want to do cool things, even boring or simple things, as long as they feel they are contributing to something good.

a universal income is that it discourages healthy people from working and thus contributing to our collective wellbeing

Is it better for people to be in constant fear of poverty while being maximally productive or for people to choose to be less productive in a field they enjoy while being supported by taxes extracted from corporations and the ultra-rich?

The last chapter of ‘Bullshit Jobs’ covers it way better than I can. https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-bullshit-jobs#toc52

A UBI program was implemented in a part of Ontario to study it’s impact.

Results showed that people were able to cover their basic essential needs and the vast majority were able to improve their career by finally being able to spend time getting training for better job opportunities and improve their living conditions as a whole. It also allowed them to get certain healthcare services that aren’t covered by OHIP like dental care.

Sources:

https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/cpp.37.3.283

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200624-canadas-forgotten-universal-basic-income-experiment

My concern with a universal income is that it discourages healthy people from working and thus contributing to our collective wellbeing.

Every study I’ve heard of shows that is not what happens except in very narrow situations. For example, the study run in Dauphin, MB found that teenagers were less likely to work or to work less, but that was because they were choosing to focus on their schooling and, in some cases, actually stay in school. IIRC, there were also people who chose to stay at home with young children or care for infirm relatives rather than find other care options so they could go to low wage, “low skill” jobs. Those outcomes seem positive given the results of other studies regarding education and family care.

There is a general problem in mass psychology where people sitting around a table or in their armchairs try to imagine the impact of a policy without conducting a study or looking at historical results.

My concern with a universal income is that it discourages healthy people from working and thus contributing to our collective wellbeing.

😂😂😂🤡🤡🤡

Really hope these comments helped you reasses this crappy take. Or at least ask yourself where this concern actually came from.