a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment by wasoxygen
wasoxygen  ·  2983 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: YC Wants to Fund a Basic Income Study

    So it would be good to answer some of the theoretical questions now. Do people sit around and play video games, or do they create new things?

An important consideration is whether the recipients believe the income is temporary or permanent. They are more likely to give up productive work (i.e. work that others are willing to pay for) if they have long-term assurance that their basic expenses will be guaranteed by outsiders.

    Our idea is to give a basic income to a group of people in the US for a 5 year period

This experiment, like Mincome, will therefore be a nice bonus for recipients, but they will still have a long-term need to support themselves. The way people think about seeking education, pursuing a career track, and retirement won't change much because of a five-year allowance, though it might if the allowance were understood to be permanent.





rob05c  ·  2983 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    They are more likely to give up productive work (i.e. work that others are willing to pay for) if they have long-term assurance that their basic expenses will be guaranteed by outsiders.

Certainly. I don't think it's possible to do a true study over less than 50 years. We should do the studies we can afford, financially and temporally, and then just implement it. We can repeal it if things explode. Even Congress in their ineptitude has always acted fast in true crises. The alternative is things exploding anyway as labour-based economy fails to keep up with automation.

    productive work (i.e. work that others are willing to pay for)

I do take issue with that definition. People aren't willing to pay for many things which are valuable to humanity. Art, philosophy, antibiotics research, space travel, to name a few.

wasoxygen  ·  2983 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    We can repeal it if things explode.

I salute your moxie! I confess feeling some trepidation at the thought of combining ineptitude and acting fast.

    People aren't willing to pay for many things which are valuable to humanity.

How do we know things are valuable to others if no one is willing to pay for them? People pay for all the things you mention.

    The alternative is things exploding anyway as labour-based economy fails to keep up with automation.

The trend of technology reducing the burden of labor and increasing leisure has been going on for a very long time, and I haven't noticed any explosions yet. Maybe this time it's different.