Matt Zwolinski, “BIG and BIGger – On the Feasibility of a Basic Income” Cato Unbound: The Basic Income and the Welfare State. September 2, 2014
The Basic Income and The Welfare State
[Craig Axford]
Experts responding to a Pew Research survey were nearly evenly split on the question of whether or not robots and digital agents would displace a significant number of workers between now and 2025, creating huge knock on effects for the economy as a whole in the process. According to the Pew Report’s key findings, “Half of these experts (48%) envision a future in which robots and digital agents have displaced significant numbers of both blue- and white-collar workers—with many expressing concern that this will lead to vast increases in income inequality, masses of people who are effectively unemployable, and breakdowns in the social order.” Stowe Boyd, lead researcher with Gigaom Research, argued “The central question of 2025 will be: What are people for in a world that does not need their labor, and where only a minority are needed to guide the ‘bot-based economy?”
Aaron Smith & Janna Anderson, “AI, Robotics, and the Future of Jobs”, Pew Research Internet Project, August 6, 2014
Dylan Matthews, “A guaranteed income for every American would eliminate poverty — and it wouldn’t destroy the economy”, Vox, 05 August 2014
Betty Wallace, a recipient of the monthly payments who still lives in the farmhouse where she lived in the 1970s, recalled Mincome’s major impact on some families. Benjamin Shingler
[Craig Axford]
Residents of Dauphin, Manitoba who benefited from Canada’s experiment with a basic income guarantee look back upon it fondly. Research conducted four decades after the so-called “Mincome” experiment found the project resulted in a significant decline in hospital visits without producing a reduction in labor market participation.
Benjamin Shingler, “Money for nothing: Mincome experiment could pay dividends 40 years on”, Aljazeera America, August 26, 2014
Daily Kos
SUMMARY: This article argues that there will come a day when most human labor is outmoded, replaced by machines. The author the argues, “And what do we do on that day – or rather, on the daisy-chain of days, months and years that Great Shedding will likely fall across? There are a lot of bad options, but maybe at least a few good ones. I’m personally a fan of the UBI – Universal Basic Income – in which the government drops all unemployment and other social safety net programs, including Social Security, in favor of a baseline, lifetime income (say, just above poverty level) for every American citizen. You want to work anyway? Great. Your work income is icing on the cake. The UBI is yours whether your other income is seven figures or none.”
Jaxpagan, “Your Services Are No Longer Required – The Coming “Great Idleness.” the Daily Kos, Aug 12, 2014
SUMMARY: Oil tax revenue funds Alaska’s Permanent Fund, which distributes dividends equally to state residents. Peter Barnes wants a nationwide dividend system (or basic income) based on shared assets like our atmosphere.
Peter Barnes, “Why you have the right to a $5K dividend from Uncle Sam.” PBS Newshour, August 27, 2014
Photo by Flickr user EricaJoy via PBS Newshour
