UBI - it would change our lives

[Copied from a post by MadLori on FB][In other words - not my words]

When discussing Universal Basic Income, inevitably the retort comes, “So you just want people to not have to work, is that it?”, accompanied by a smug smirk, expecting me to backpedal and hem and haw, say “Of course not, that would be silly.” Except… yes. Yes, I do.

People shouldn’t HAVE to work. People should WANT to work. Sharing in the labour of building and maintaining a society because it benefits everyone should be desirable, not forced. It shouldn’t be something we do because we’ll die otherwise.

Imagine a society where survival didn’t depend on a job. Imagine how that would alter the fabric of everything. Imagine if you could leave a job without fearing the loss of income or health care. Imagine the power of the worker in that society.

If a person could survive without a job, imagine what employers would be like. They’d have to treat their workers fairly, and make themselves attractive to entice workers. They’d have to offer a better option than other employers, and make people want to participate.

Places that have offered UBI have seen the results: most people do want to work. The people who choose not to are generally young parents, students, people with disabilities and the elderly. People have a desire to contribute, for our lives to have purpose and to be useful.

And before you say it, yes, some people will take advantage. That is true for absolutely everything ever. You think people don’t take advantage of the economy we have? Like say, the 1% who grow wealthier while their employees have to work three jobs and use food stamps?

They can do that, by the way, because people are so terrified of losing a job and the destruction that would follow, that they tolerate mistreatment, disempowerment, the destruction of unions, healthcare, retirements and even their bodies to avoid it.

That would not be the case if everyone were guaranteed a baseline survival income. Your boss couldn’t treat you like shit because he knows you can’t leave. You CAN leave, and you will.

What if desperation didn’t motivate everything? Imagine the impact on health, relationships, parenting, well-being, crime, violence, progress. When you aren’t desperately scrambling for the rent, you can spare a neuron to contemplate long-term problems.

Imagine a society where terror of destitution wasn’t a constant thrum underneath everyone’s existence. Imagine the creative works that society could produce. Imagine the children it could raise, the elderly it could care for. Imagine the inventions it could produce.

Now imagine knowing all of this and saying, “NOPE. We can’t have all of that, because someone I don’t like might benefit from it. So to avoid that, the rest of you can hang.” And there you have modern conservative thinking.

Also: The number of people saying “Well, nobody would work if there’s a UBI.” Don’t realize that UBI would only provide about $20,000 - $24,000 per year. Just enough to survive on. Not enough to travel, have a car, have a house, have kids, etc. If you want any of those things, you need to work. It just gives you a basic income so that you don’t end up on the streets if you’re not working.