The last series of interchanges have been the main reason I joined (and
have remained lurking) on Futurework.
I just don't see that there are now enough needed jobs at sufficiently
high wages to give everyone (at least in the post-industrial world) a
living income. Many, perhaps most, people are currently kept employed not
for their labor, mental or manual, but for their purchasing power. But
easy and extensive consumer credit, with no expectation (or need) for pay
back is still necessary, but not enough.
In my view, this is bad now, but will get much worse, and worldwide.
Separating "work" entirely from access to goods and services, and
permitting/enabling people to live meaningful, satisfied lives without
"working" seems one of the biggest challenges of the present, and
foreseable future. Trying to create more jobs is futile and degrading.
Is that what many of you have been saying in these last exchanges? Or
not?
On Fri, 20 Feb 1998, Arthur Cordell wrote:
>
>
> One practical reason for a basic income. Maintain effective demand in the
> economy. Maintain purchasing power. Going to be hard to buy all that
> output without access to purchasing power.
>
> arthur cordell
>
>
> On Fri, 20 Feb 1998, Colin Stark wrote:
>
> > At 03:34 PM 2/20/98 -0500, Thomas Lunde wrote:
> > >Tom Walker answered:
> > >
> > >If I can try and paraphrase your answer, it would be that we should change
> > because "a wage system is no longer appropriate to the way that a modern
> > economy works." And because of this, the cost of providing a worker is
> > borne by society as a whole and when business becomes more efficient and
> > produces more with less labour the costs to society increase. Therefore the
> > current system has an imbalance in the redistribution of income.
> >
> > Thank you for boiling it down
> >
> >
> > >
> > >I think many would agree with you but the question I would ask is what
> > philosophical reason would justify introducing a Basic Income in answer to
> > the unspoken question of those who are benefiting from the current system?
> >
> > Because!
> >
> > Because IT IS OBVIOUS!
> >
> > Just do it!
> >
> > Who cares about philosphical, hypothetical, theorizing?
> >
> >
> > There are 3 answers -- plus a hypothetical question!
> >
> >
> >
> > Colin Stark
> >
> >
>
>
