> Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 01:29:18 +0100 > From: Christoph Reuss <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: RE: [Futurework] FW Basic Income sites > > Franklin Wayne Poley wrote:
> > You may wish to ask the new Justice Minister, Irwin Cotler, what his > > position is on Canada adhering to the Universal Declaration of Human > > Rights Article 25 which says that necessities of life are a "right". > > Cotler is a former law professor with a human rights specialization. > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > The Swiss constitution (article 12) contains the right to a humane existence > and assistance to those who can't look after themselves. In times of high unemployment then, there must be a BI to make Article 12 mwaningful. Has anyone ever put it to the test in the courts? However, there's > no general BI, and no need for it. Maybe this has to do with article 6 > (which demands personal responsibility) and article 19 (which guarantees > sufficient education for free, even to women who marry mean patriarchs). > > Ed Weick wrote: > > If I read you right Ray, you are still associating BI with work, whether > > for profit or not for profit. I can't go there with you. It sounds a > > little too much like workfare, essentially grabbing people by the scruff > > of the neck and making them do the shit work nobody else wants to do > > Who will "do the shit work nobody else wants to do" in a BI system ? > Nobody, I guess. But it has to be done. (Not necessarily by workfare > crews!) Worse, a lot of "shit work" has to be done that isn't "profitable" > and thus is not done -- unless paid by the state, but the state can't > afford that if it has to pay a BI to everyone. That's where the laws of supply and demand step in. An odious or even odorous job will be accorded a high enough wage to attract employees. Take a look at those crazy tv shows like "Fear Factor". I've seen people crush worms with their feet and drink the worm juice just to win a few dollars. I've never seen Worm-Crusher-Drinker in the CCDO (Canadian Classification and Dictionary of Occupations) but if society needs such people it knows how to find them! FWP _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
