Oct 24 2011: I hear this argument from Americans all the time. Is it possible that most Americans wouldn't bother looking for work if they received only $10K/yr from the government?
I tend to think that the majority of Americans would be more ambitious than that, but I could be wrong.
Anyway, I can only speak for Canadians and the majority of Canadians would have a hard time making ends meet with only $10K/yr. Plus, I know a bunch of Canadians who work very hard volunteering in their extra time for no pay at all. So the premise that people won't work if given a basic income I think is a flawed ideology. This is also why I would like to see an up to date study done in North America to scientifically prove or disprove this notion of "Original Laziness".
Oct 24 2011: How does having no social assistance address poverty? Can you actually support a government that looks the other way as people starve or die of exposure?
We also have to realize that this basic income will largely be fully spent every year (not likely that someone would be able to save any of the $10K if that's what they were getting). This means that many businesses would benefit from this basic income spending.
Oct 20 2011: I find it quite interesting that Americans continue to believe in the "American Dream" even though it is not realistic for the majority of Americans. I completely agree with Laurens that each country indoctrinates its citizens and it seems that the American government has been very successful with their propaganda.
If the USA is a place where success is reachable by everyone, why is the US Gini Coefficient on par with that of Mexico and China (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gini_Coefficient_World_CIA_Report_2009.png)? The statistic clearly indicate that success is shared only by a select few winners and these winners are duping the rest of the public to believe they can have a slice of the pie.
James, why is it that Americans seem to be so easily duped?
Oct 20 2011: Just to finish up my last thought... without a minimum wage, new jobs can be created like community volunteers and affordable child care. People can get very creative in starting up new businesses and pay people in different ways because the pressure to have a pay check will not be as great. I really see this system as a method to remove some of the complexity in our economy and our governments that prevents people from living up to their potential.
Oct 20 2011: Great questions! This seems to be the main obstacle in the implementation of a basic income is the notion that it will make people lazy. I encourage everyone to check out the results of one basic income pilot project here: http://www.bignam.org/BIG_pilot.html
Now, the first thing to address is will people work? Well, there may be a portion of people that don't work under this system. They may be housewives/househusbands, elderly, students and of course we will have the people who are very satisfied with $10,000/yr. The fact is that we already have all these people in society and, in a large part, we have to pay for them through social programs like welfare. The cost to us for each person actually exceeds $10,000/yr because we also have to pay for the bureaucratic institutions that administer these programs. I do not think that a basic income will change human nature. What it will do is provide opportunities for people to leave their dead-end soul-destroying jobs that they are keeping just to make ends meet. These people could then get re-educated or start their own business in a field where they will be more productive.
This leads me to answer the next question about how to eliminate the welfare trap. Right now, being on welfare is stigmatized and frowned upon, under a basic income, everyone receives the payment so it removes the stigma of taking "handouts" from the government. Also, right now a person who collects welfare will have their payments cutback once they find a job. After taxes have been assessed, a person earning minimum wage will have less money per year than a person receiving welfare, thus the incentive is to not work. Under a basic income, each dollar made through work will improve your situation, so there actually is a greater incentive to work under this system.
I also mentioned that this system would replace minimum wage. Since everyone already receives a basic income, there is no point to having a minimum wage. This will great new jobs.
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A reply on Conversation: Basic Income Guarantee
I tend to think that the majority of Americans would be more ambitious than that, but I could be wrong.
Anyway, I can only speak for Canadians and the majority of Canadians would have a hard time making ends meet with only $10K/yr. Plus, I know a bunch of Canadians who work very hard volunteering in their extra time for no pay at all. So the premise that people won't work if given a basic income I think is a flawed ideology. This is also why I would like to see an up to date study done in North America to scientifically prove or disprove this notion of "Original Laziness".
A reply on Conversation: Basic Income Guarantee
We also have to realize that this basic income will largely be fully spent every year (not likely that someone would be able to save any of the $10K if that's what they were getting). This means that many businesses would benefit from this basic income spending.
A reply on Conversation: Is social engineering by governments good for a country or bad for a country.
If the USA is a place where success is reachable by everyone, why is the US Gini Coefficient on par with that of Mexico and China (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gini_Coefficient_World_CIA_Report_2009.png)? The statistic clearly indicate that success is shared only by a select few winners and these winners are duping the rest of the public to believe they can have a slice of the pie.
James, why is it that Americans seem to be so easily duped?
A comment on Conversation: Basic Income Guarantee
A comment on Conversation: Basic Income Guarantee
Now, the first thing to address is will people work? Well, there may be a portion of people that don't work under this system. They may be housewives/househusbands, elderly, students and of course we will have the people who are very satisfied with $10,000/yr. The fact is that we already have all these people in society and, in a large part, we have to pay for them through social programs like welfare. The cost to us for each person actually exceeds $10,000/yr because we also have to pay for the bureaucratic institutions that administer these programs. I do not think that a basic income will change human nature. What it will do is provide opportunities for people to leave their dead-end soul-destroying jobs that they are keeping just to make ends meet. These people could then get re-educated or start their own business in a field where they will be more productive.
This leads me to answer the next question about how to eliminate the welfare trap. Right now, being on welfare is stigmatized and frowned upon, under a basic income, everyone receives the payment so it removes the stigma of taking "handouts" from the government. Also, right now a person who collects welfare will have their payments cutback once they find a job. After taxes have been assessed, a person earning minimum wage will have less money per year than a person receiving welfare, thus the incentive is to not work. Under a basic income, each dollar made through work will improve your situation, so there actually is a greater incentive to work under this system.
I also mentioned that this system would replace minimum wage. Since everyone already receives a basic income, there is no point to having a minimum wage. This will great new jobs.