As long as the owner class can leverage, "Hey, that {out group} is sitting around doing nothing and getting free money!" we'll never have anything close to UBI imo.
I still like the idea of clawing back mineral and water rights and paying for basic services out of the money payed by industry for the right to dirty our air and water. As a citizen you're entitled to compensation for the smoke you're breathing.
People talk about how socially progressive Scandinavia is but they have a shitload of petroleum resources and that money goes into social programs.
There's been enormous pushback, pushes for privatizing (ruining) it, underfunding it from Congress, an absolute refusal to remove the criminally low income cap on contributions, etc.
Minorities don’t just get social security. People don’t get social security if they don’t work or don’t have a spouse who worked. They pay in to the system via payroll taxes. With UBI who is going to pay into that? UBI just seems like a pipe dream.
A lot of conservatives want to retroactively throw off non whites from citizenship because they think birthrate citizenship is disgusting.
Expect a real movement to reduce the number of citizens in this country. Specifically, if you can’t trace your lineage to a founding father (including for kids of Geman or iish immigrants), than they want you disenfranchised.
> I ain't giving people something for nothing
but I suspect you do, or would do that for your children or immediate family.
I'm just some dude on the internet, so my opinions are worth exactly what you're paying for them (nothing). But when I try to understand this type of thinking, this is what I come up with:
In the old days of scarce resources (vast majority of civilization), children were expected to 'repay' their elders for the care they received by taking care of them in their old age. And the competition for resources made this idea of keeping those resources for your family only important for survival.
But with the resources available today, the dynamics a very different. Currently only about 25% of total employment is in agriculture, worldwide. In the rich countries this is very significantly less. Canada is 1%, USA is 2% [worldbank]
But we're living with the cultural baggage of generations of scarcity and tribalism, which still shape our policy in a time of incredible resources provided by technology. So instead of more sharing, we choose higher standard of living for ourselves. I know it will take time to change this culturally - generations - but I'm still disappointed it's not happening faster.
The useless people you are talking about _are_ the ownership class. They haven't worked a day in their life like you have, they are getting all the loans they want, and they are paying them off with welfare (tax cuts and loopholes).
You can't afford an apartment because the ownership class is working very hard to keep housing prices high while paying you as little as possible for the two decades you have been working. Not because some disabled person elsewhere is struggling to get by on government loans and welfare.
gruez|16 days ago
hinkley|16 days ago
People talk about how socially progressive Scandinavia is but they have a shitload of petroleum resources and that money goes into social programs.
Arainach|16 days ago
shigawire|16 days ago
The racist moral panic over "welfare queens" seems to be a counter example.
spicymaki|14 days ago
whattheheckheck|16 days ago
Der_Einzige|15 days ago
Expect a real movement to reduce the number of citizens in this country. Specifically, if you can’t trace your lineage to a founding father (including for kids of Geman or iish immigrants), than they want you disenfranchised.
Heritage Americans vs “hyphenated Americans”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyphenated_American
fragmede|15 days ago
[deleted]
allannienhuis|15 days ago
I'm just some dude on the internet, so my opinions are worth exactly what you're paying for them (nothing). But when I try to understand this type of thinking, this is what I come up with:
In the old days of scarce resources (vast majority of civilization), children were expected to 'repay' their elders for the care they received by taking care of them in their old age. And the competition for resources made this idea of keeping those resources for your family only important for survival.
But with the resources available today, the dynamics a very different. Currently only about 25% of total employment is in agriculture, worldwide. In the rich countries this is very significantly less. Canada is 1%, USA is 2% [worldbank]
But we're living with the cultural baggage of generations of scarcity and tribalism, which still shape our policy in a time of incredible resources provided by technology. So instead of more sharing, we choose higher standard of living for ourselves. I know it will take time to change this culturally - generations - but I'm still disappointed it's not happening faster.
[worldbank]:https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS
lbreakjai|15 days ago
The floor being three square meals and a roof would be a vast improvement compared to now.
zthrowaway|15 days ago
flanked-evergl|16 days ago
[deleted]
happens|15 days ago
atlintots|16 days ago
unknown|16 days ago
[deleted]
zrail|16 days ago
tty456|16 days ago