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SufficientGrace  ·  4188 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Sympathy for the Luddites: Krugman endorses minimum income

Thanks for sharing this. This is a difficult conversation fraught with strong emotions on all sides.

    And with an ever-rising share of income going to capital rather than labor, that safety net would have to be paid for to an important extent via taxes on profits and/or investment income.

The writer of this op-ed seems to think the only solution is for the haves to give in the form of forced charity (is that an oxymoron?) to the have-nots.

Aren't 'fair' labor laws a better way to provide for those hard-workers? If Americans value good hard-working people then they must make laws which force owners to pay them according to their work. Healthy self image is fostered by earning more for hard work, in the form of wages. That same person is demoralized when given a hand-out in the form of welfare.

People don't normally and naturally do what is right - that is why we have laws. A simple example of this can be seen by looking at traffic. In India, Kazakhstan, and other countries with minimal traffic laws, you see crazy scary drivers everywhere. Going on a short drive is taking your life in your hands. Here in America, where we have amazing traffic laws, people are conditioned to do what is best for everyone - not just themselves. The result being much fewer traffic accidents then you see in most other countries. My many foreign friends tell me that our traffic is one of the marvels of the world.

I'm barely scratching the surface of this problem and am not entirely convinced that my own argument holds water. I'd just like to see a more open dialogue about this issue without all the finger-pointing and anger that usually ensues.

Hopefully, others will join this #currentevents #labor type conversation :-)