Reply to: Basic income for all?

[Mordac]

Excellent idea that! Only idiots say no to free money.

Why not pocket it and burn it on hookers?

Just a suggestion, but take it out of your pocket before you burn it. Nobody wants to see you nursing a scorched chipolata...

[DimPrawn]

The trick is that the basic income has to be low enough that working in a useful job pays substantially more, but high enough to be liveable.

Well there's the rub, since most useful jobs don't even pay a living wage....

[VectraMan]

The trick is that the basic income has to be low enough that working in a useful job pays substantially more, but high enough to be liveable.

The article said 2500CHF or ~£1750 per month, which sounds like quite a lot. If that were here surely that's equivalent to a salary of something like £30K. If we all got JSA, £70per week, then perhaps that's not such a bad idea. For most of us that would just be part of our tax free allowance and it'd make no difference. For Psychocandy then at least it would save him a trip to the dole office every fortnight and he wouldn't have to be the butt of JSA jokes.

We have a basic income for all. For all over 65 anyway. Pensioners get £119.30 a week for not doing anything and nobody really minds.

[d000hg]

The main problem with the system is it assumes everyone wants to be a productive part of it.

As we know that is not a realistic exception.

I'm not sure that's correct. The system assumes people want to work, not that they are doing so for any other reason than to put a roof over their head, food in their bellies, care for their children, and aspire to a higher standard of living.

It is not really dissimilar to what we currently have in that most people in the UK get enough to basically live on without working

This point I broadly support - one argument in its favour is that rather than fight people on benefits and hound them to work, we just pragmatically give them the money.
Because most people on benefits are not those who actively work not to have to work - those are a minority. A large proportion of those on benefits would rather work both for reasons of pride and because they want a higher standard of living than befits provide.

If it ever happens here, I for one will be quitting working, and take up a life long hobby of watching porn and posting on CUK.

You'd be happy getting NMW for doing nothing, rather than £X00 per day for working?

The trick is that the basic income has to be low enough that working in a useful job pays substantially more, but high enough to be liveable.

[MrMarkyMark]

FTFY

If it ever happens here, I for one will be quitting working, and take up a, full time, life long career of watching porn and posting on CUK.

[DimPrawn]

If it ever happens here, I for one will be quitting working, and take up a life long hobby of watching porn and posting on CUK.

[original PM]

The main problem with the system is it assumes everyone wants to be a productive part of it.

As we know that is not a realistic exception.

So even if those who do not contribute get a basic something they will still complain because they want more even though they cannot afford it.

It is not really dissimilar to what we currently have in that most people in the UK get enough to basically live on without working and yet the scum class will still 'demand' more otherwise they will steal it.

[d000hg]

So it got convincing slammed and it seems that nobody really ever wanted it or thought it could get through; it was forced through by another silly e-petition system?

The concept is laudable in that the whole point of automation decades ago (50s onwards?) was to free people up from drudgery - people should work because work needs doing rather than we find everyone something to do to keep them busy - but I don't think we're there. Whether the new wave of automation really changes things, who knows, but ultimately we should reach a point where there are loads of people we don't need to work; not in some happy-clappy communist sense, but that its cheaper to use a robot and pay people not to work!

But it's also very idealistic and the transition sounds like being a nightmare.

[FatLazyContractor]

Excellent idea that! Only idiots say no to free money.

Why not pocket it and burn it on hookers?

[The Spartan]

who is this us?

If they start taking more tax most mid earners will incorporate / move to in tax havens. Or the rich will offshore it.

There is no reason I need to be in the UK to do what I do.

Apologies, I should have said anyone who doesn't have the means to evade tax. I'm not in favour of the Universal Benefit Income and like it was said earlier there is no magic money tree, so it is more than likely taxes would raise to fund it should it ever be implemented.

[vetran]

They'll probably try to shake us down for more tax

who is this us?

If they start taking more tax most mid earners will incorporate / move to in tax havens. Or the rich will offshore it.

There is no reason I need to be in the UK to do what I do.

[DimPrawn]

People will find things to do.

Yes they will.

They will watch daytime TV, breed endlessly, go down Wetherspoon's for some cheap drinks, watch some more TV, do some more breeding, eat junk food...

You wanna pay for that? I don't!

You friggin Latte drinking Liberals need to wake the **** up!

HTH BIDI

[The Spartan]

as mentioned earlier please tell us where this magic money tree is so we can pick the fruit.

We can't even get big multinationals to pay minimum wage to their delivery drivers.

They'll probably try to shake us down for more tax

[vetran]

as mentioned earlier please tell us where this magic money tree is so we can pick the fruit.

We can't even get big multinationals to pay minimum wage to their delivery drivers.

[Hobosapien]

This will only happen when there are enough indebted forced to continue working, so they aren't free to become lazy daytime TV loving slobs.

If you see people living on credit cards to buy food/petrol, paying over 50% of their monthly income on a roof over their heads, 40+ year mortgages, cars only affordable on a monthly lease, wages suppressed by immigration (from within EU for manual labour, via visas for skilled jobs) then we may be getting close.

Freedom doesn't start with anything the goverment do, it starts with your own choices.