“But I go to work and barely scrape by! UBI isn’t fair!”
-Americans who’ve been propagandized by the wealth class to resent the even more powerless and victimized people below them than even considering getting angry at the little club above them keeping them scraping by.
I don’t know how we’ll get past that mindset. So many bloodthirsty Americans rooting against eachother economically.
Comic was about immigrants, but applies easily to homeless, minimum wage workers vs. Slightly less exploited workers, on and on. That’s what they do. It fucking works on many if not most who refuse to understand common cause, rugged individuals that we are.
Working people would also get UBI. Most likely taxes would go up, making their paycheck smaller. But then they’re getting UBI. Ideally this would result in the majority of stable, permanent workers getting the same pay from 2 different sources. With richer people getting less and poorer people getting more.
Lots of workers would stop working, and that’s OK. That will mean certain industries will have to pay more. UBI will result in people working just to not starve or die of exposure a thing of the past. And let me tell you, capitalists and business with FIGHT this to hell and back. It removes a huge cudgel from workers.
But more realistically, UBI will probably start with a below-basic income level subsidy for homeless and jobless to help house and keep people in houses. Kind of like unemployment, but it actually works long-term.
I’m fully aware friend. I’m not arguing the merits, multiple successful studies, or the desperate need.
My point is how do we convince the poor, deluded, beaten dog people to vote for leaders promising to enact this policy? Can’t you already hear the ignorant screams of “TROJAN HORSE COMMUNISM!!!” Yes, fully aware its not.
How do we sell this on a bumper sticker? A paragraph won’t help with most Americans.
Ah, sorry. I wasn’t replying against your comment but trying to add my ideas/explanation to it and the idea of UBI.
My only ideas on how to convince Americans aren’t great: that UBI will prevent homelessness both of them and probably prevent people sleeping on the streets. It’ll prevent hunger which means no real risk of not being able to feed your kids. Overall it’ll prevent some desperation so it’ll prevent a lot of the causes of crime.
Buuuut that won’t convince the majority of Americans who think it could never happen to them. Honestly we’ll probably get universal healthcare before UBI and I’m not holding out hope to see that in my lifetime. :(
Wouldn’t it be great… People would no longer need to work two jobs to survive, heck some might just stop working altogether - which is great, as it creates an undersaturated job market where employees have way better footing to negotiate.
The only people this doesn’t benefit are the uber-wealthy who rely on people needing to work in order to bleed them dry - and for that reason alone, it may very well never come to fruition. Bloody shame ain’t it.
Trickle-down doesn’t work. Trickle-up does.
You want rich people to have more money? Distribute funds to people, and let business compete for those new customers.
If you get UBI, you get to choose how to spend it. I’m not sure where the notion of a company store would come in?
See? We’ve literally been conditioned to the point that the idea of addressing inequity makes some of us blow a microchip, and then come the incoherent, non-relevant buzz terms they couldn’t define with access to a library and a gun to their heads.
Company Stores!
Marxist Leninist commie pinko socialism!
Picking winners and losers!
Venezuela!
And to be clear, I’m not trying to further divide, I still want these poor, deluded bastards to get a UBI. That’s whats so sad, they’ve been conditioned to want others to suffer to feel more successful by comparison. Jesus Christ horses, fucking drink! You’ll feel better!
Maybe I’m too pessimistic, but I feel like someone’s going to try to find a way to “farm” UBI the same way many other things have been farmed in the past. I chose “company store” to represent that because collusion could make prices of necessities just adjust to compensate.
I still worry that prices would compensate for the additional income simply for added profit. We see it already without UBI.
I want to believe in UBI. How do we combat this?
Nah. The price will keep low to fit in with the UBI. If the price are too high people will simply not buy. It has even a positive effect on the salary. People will work for more money as you reverse the power. People will work but if it give them a good amount of money otherwise they will use the UBI. The capital can’t have capitalize as it does actually. It will be a lot less in favor of the worker. It change the entire dynamic on peut to see a worker, a price, etc.
This is partly why the corporations don’t like the idea. They will lose a lot of power with a new actor.
I think you’re mixing up UBI with basic welfare. Main point of UBI is that it’s given to everyone regardless of their income. From the poorest of homeless to Musk and Bezos.
You don’t give people cash, you give them what they need. It’s the unfortunate part of UBI.
But isn’t that the “I” in UBI? Income. Cash?
You give people cash with the idea that they know how best to utilize it. You simplify all other forms of assistance (SNAP, rent assistance, etc) and just give everyone cash.
Yes, some people will still need more assistance until they can figure out how to best utilize that money, but the idea is that will not be the majority.
And to clarify it is not “just that easy”, but that’s the general concept as I understand.
Income doesn’t necessarily mean cash though. I’m not saying don’t have it part of the package, but the basics need to be met. Like food/water/electric/shelter. The rest they have to figure out.
