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When discussing Universal Basic Income, inevitably the retort comes: "So you just want people to not have to work, is that it?" Accompanied by a smug smirk, expecting me to backpedal and hem and haw, say "Of course not, that& #39;s silly." Except...yes. Yes, I do. 1/11
People shouldn& #39;t HAVE to work. People should WANT to work. Sharing in the labor of building and maintaining a society because it benefits everyone should be desirable, not forced. It shouldn& #39;t be something we do because we& #39;ll die otherwise. 2/11
Imagine a society where survival didn& #39;t depend on a job. Imagine how that would alter the fabric of...everything. Imagine if you could leave a job without fearing the loss of income or health care. Imagine the power of the worker in that society. 3/11
If a person could survive without a job, imagine what employers would be like. They& #39;d have to treat their workers fairly, and make themselves attractive to entice workers. They& #39;d have to offer a better option than other employers, and make people want to participate. 4/11
Places that have offered UBI have seen the results: most people do want to work. The people who choose not to are generally young parents, students, people with disabilities and the elderly. people have a desire to contribute, for our lives to have purpose and to be useful. 5/11
And before you say it, yes, some people will take advantage. That is true for absolutely everything ever. You think people don& #39;t take advantage of the economy we have? Like, say, the 1% who grow wealthier while their employees have to work three jobs and use food stamps? 6/11
They can only do that, by the way, because people are so terrified of losing a job and the destruction that would follow that they tolerate mistreatment, disempowerment, the destruction of their unions, healthcare, retirements and even their bodies to avoid it. 7/11
That would not be the case if everyone were guaranteed a baseline survival income. Your boss couldn& #39;t treat you like shit because he knows you can& #39;t leave. You CAN leave, and you will. 8/11
What if desperation didn& #39;t motivate everything? Imagine the impact on health, relationships, parenting, well-being, crime, violence, progress. When you aren& #39;t desperately scrabbling for the rent, you can spare a neuron to contemplate long-term problems. 9/11
