I've noticed that the most vocal proponents of UBI are usually very ambitious people. But they seem pretty out of touch with everyman, who condemns everyotherman for using gov't assistance anyway. Sense: not made. Either way, the information age (/automation/whatever) is commoditizing intellect. People scared of that? Too bad for them, I guess, it doesn't end well.
I wasn't gonna post this opinion piece, but since you brought up UBI, here's a link . . . Mark Zuckerberg’s got some cheek, advocating a universal basic income: It is a bit rich for Facebook’s CEO to back the idea of people living on a meagre state handout while his company does everything it can to minimise its tax bill I don't know if I agree with her completely, but she does kind of have a few good points.
It's not a bad piece. And calling out Zuckerberg on his bullshit needs to be done. Sure, but if there aren't any jobs...? Agree. Just look at what the wealthy are doing right now with our nation's politics. If they keep up this pace, the torches and pitchforks are coming out even before the semi and taxi drivers lose their jobs (~6 to 8 years, I would guess). The problem will solve itself after enough people suffer, right? Woof, this is a cold-hearted thread. But what's a guy to do? Grassroots discussion like this is a good start, since our politicians seem to have no interest.We should be fighting for a society in which everyone has the right to a decently paid job that provides them with autonomy and fulfilment; not a future in which a big chunk of the population is consigned to exist on meagre state handouts.
We’d be naive to buy into the idea that the owners of the robots would happily carry on paying the rest of us a basic income if it no longer suited them.