Posted: Dec 27, 2016 4:06 pm
There has been one thread touching on this subject although there have been points raised about it elsewhere. The thread just mentioned regards Finland and as is likely known by many, the Swiss voted against it. Here in the Netherlands, there are a number of councils in a few cities that have been trying it out.
I thought I would open a thread to get the subject going again.
Across the world there are various movements touting the idea. Just google the subject of this thread.
Personally I am in favour of it. On the whole I think it is a good distribution of the wealth that is automatically generated through efficiency in information systems, robotics and so on and it should raise people out of poverty. Having worked for government departments and having seen the waste that takes place, it seems far better to reduce the complexity of social support systems and pay part of the costs through (largely) disbanding these institutions.
In the Netherlands, a basic income of €1500 p.m. is being proposed (by whom I am not sure as they do not identify themselves) which would cost around €300 billion per annum, which is about 40% of GDP. However, the cost of managing social security is already around one half of this. You could therefore, by largely abandoning the social care systems, provide a wage of €750 p.m. (and put a select breed of pen-pushers out of a job).
Another 20% (almost) of the income could come from removing some of the entrenched rebates and exemptions such as mortgage relief. The process is portrayed, in essence, as a redistribution of wealth although there is the proposal to increase wealth tax and VAT.
The site (basisinkomen.nu trans: basicwage.now) also tackles (very simply) the risk that people will stop working by pointing out that experiments show that people indeed work fewer hours when given a given a basic wage although to a very limited degree.
The suicide rate in the Netherlands shot up during the crisis. Would the national wage have prevented a poverty trap and saved many people or would they still have lived beyond their means?
Surely we just have to move forward with this and add a wage to the list of entitlements we enjoy: health care, education, law and order, highways, railways and so on, which have been enabled by our scientific and engineering endeavours.
I thought I would open a thread to get the subject going again.
Across the world there are various movements touting the idea. Just google the subject of this thread.
Personally I am in favour of it. On the whole I think it is a good distribution of the wealth that is automatically generated through efficiency in information systems, robotics and so on and it should raise people out of poverty. Having worked for government departments and having seen the waste that takes place, it seems far better to reduce the complexity of social support systems and pay part of the costs through (largely) disbanding these institutions.
In the Netherlands, a basic income of €1500 p.m. is being proposed (by whom I am not sure as they do not identify themselves) which would cost around €300 billion per annum, which is about 40% of GDP. However, the cost of managing social security is already around one half of this. You could therefore, by largely abandoning the social care systems, provide a wage of €750 p.m. (and put a select breed of pen-pushers out of a job).
Another 20% (almost) of the income could come from removing some of the entrenched rebates and exemptions such as mortgage relief. The process is portrayed, in essence, as a redistribution of wealth although there is the proposal to increase wealth tax and VAT.
The site (basisinkomen.nu trans: basicwage.now) also tackles (very simply) the risk that people will stop working by pointing out that experiments show that people indeed work fewer hours when given a given a basic wage although to a very limited degree.
The suicide rate in the Netherlands shot up during the crisis. Would the national wage have prevented a poverty trap and saved many people or would they still have lived beyond their means?
Surely we just have to move forward with this and add a wage to the list of entitlements we enjoy: health care, education, law and order, highways, railways and so on, which have been enabled by our scientific and engineering endeavours.