Reply to post:

View from a Reg reader: My take on the Basic Income

Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

you no longer have to work to live.

Inevitably that cannot work for everyone, since then there would be no money coming in to pay us

You're no longer going to be slaving 70 hours at a restaurant for £350 a week while the multimillionaire proprietor takes all your tips and the state makes up the difference.

And that inevitably pigeonholes you as someone who thinks that all low wage earners are exploited by evil capitalists, which is not the case (nor is it's opposite, of course, reality is somwhere in the middle).

You're going to be slaving for 70 hours a week for £350 a week on top of the £500 or whatever the state is furnishing you with. It gives you the power to walk away,

Not really. Some people who are willing to work 70 hours for £350 will be so pleased to get £500 for doing nothing that they'll just put their feet up and open another beer. That will make it harder to find people willing to do those low-paid jobs, and will inevitably push up the wages in that sector. That, in turn, will push up prices and so depress sales. For industries that don't need to be local, like help desks, manufacturing, etc. it will just be another reason to offshore the work. That will export tax revenue, and make a UBI even harder to fund.

to work for your own betterment

Except that the reality is that other people will be working for your betterment, since the taxes of the people who work will be paying for your relaxed lifestyle. Many of us will want to know what we get out out of that deal. Yes, that's a self-centred point of view, but most people are self-centred.

Those people who see their taxes increasing to pay for people who choose not to work then have two choices, emigrate and take their tax money elsewhere, or elect a government that disagrees with UBI. Either way it ends in failure.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon