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submitted 1 week ago by Zeon@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

Hello, I'm not that informed about UBI, but here is my arguement:

Everyone gets some sort of income, but wouldn't companies just subside the income by raising their prices? Also, do you believe capatilism can co-exist with UBI?

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[-] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 33 points 6 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

I'm a fan of UB I+S. Universal basic income AND universal basic services. Plus ~~hight~~ high taxes for the rich. And workplace democracy. And a massive shift of the economy to the nonprofit sector: if what your ~~company~~ multimillion corporation is providing is a utility, you can't have making a profit be your fiduciary responsibility.

Basically, fuck capitalism, I want socialism.

[-] Buildout@lemmy.world 10 points 6 days ago

plus hight taxes for the rich

Nobody should be rich and tall! \s

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[-] DacoTaco@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Though i dont disagree in theory, beware of the utility part you mentioned. A plumber is providing a service and im not sure why he shouldnt make a small profit on top of his ubi in that world of yours. Can you elaborate?

[-] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

I'm thinking more of the "commanding heights of the economy", rather than small time professionals. So, I'm talking Amazon, Google, Walmart, that stuff.

[-] DacoTaco@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

I know what you meant, and i dont disagree with the core of it really. Just really think about your wording, as it hits more people than youd think :)

[-] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 3 points 5 days ago

Got it. I edited for clarity.

[-] surph_ninja@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

Exactly this. Beware of the Silicon Valley tech bros selling their version of UBI. It’s a Trojan horse they want to use to cut all social services.

[-] Malfeasant@lemm.ee 20 points 6 days ago

do you believe capatilism can co-exist with UBI?

UBI might be the only thing that can save capitalism.

[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 10 points 5 days ago

UBI doesn't mean everybody has more money. It comes from somewhere.

The poor will have more, the rich will have less, the middle will have about the same.

One of those three does not want UBI to be a thing, and they're trying to convince the other two.

[-] MY_ANUS_IS_BLEEDING@lemm.ee 12 points 6 days ago

I am on principle because what the fuck is the point of all this industrialisation and technology development if we aren't trying to break out of the cycle of scarcity?

As for how it can be properly funded: fuck knows.

[-] Rakonat@lemmy.world 17 points 6 days ago

As long as UBI covers basic living expenses, then yes I would support it. Capitalism, as it exists in the west, is not sustainable and if it continues as is, there is probably going to be massive employment issues within a generation as common working people without specialized degrees and can't afford to get them will be unemployable due to automation, AI and robots completing most common labor jobs cheaper and more efficiently.

I know the pushback against UBI is that if you take away the need for people to work to live, most people won't work... and honestly I'm okay with that. I doubt there would a be serious decline in people seeking work because if you can still earn extra income for luxuries and nicer things over what UBI would cover... why wouldn't you? And those who are content to sit at home or not work, is fine by me. Because I've worked with a lot of people over the years who only have a job because someone told them they needed a job. They were miserable fucking people to be around and we were more productive the days they called in sick or skipped. Some people should be paid to stay the fuck at home, and society would be a better place for it.

[-] agent_nycto@lemmy.world 9 points 6 days ago

Iirc the places that tested ubi found that people kept working for the exact reason you said. I forget if more people got jobs or not.

[-] tmyakal@lemm.ee 2 points 6 days ago

I read about a pilot program in Canada back in the '70s or '80s that found that fewer people on UBI had jobs, but those people who left the workforce were overwhelmingly new mothers and older teens who were still in school.

[-] Malfeasant@lemm.ee 2 points 6 days ago

And those who are content to sit at home or not work, is fine by me. Because I've worked with a lot of people over the years who only have a job because someone told them they needed a job. They were miserable fucking people to be around and we were more productive the days they called in sick or skipped. Some people should be paid to stay the fuck at home, and society would be a better place for it.

This needs repeating - so here I am repeating it. I've worked with those same people, hell I've been that person when I was working the only job I could find, absolutely didn't want to be there, but needed the money so couldn't afford to be taking the time to find where I did want to be.

[-] vin@lemmynsfw.com 22 points 6 days ago

No, I don't support UBI, but I support UBS - Universal basic services. Food, housing, water, education, etc should be free at a basic level. Basic level for housing for example will be 'Housing First' concept in Finland.

[-] weew@lemmy.ca 10 points 6 days ago

I'd be in favor of both. Universal services and some income.

A little bit of basic income would allow some flexibility just in case there's something that UBS doesn't cover on an individual level.

UBI that's big enough to cover housing, food, clothing, education, etc would almost certainly get abused and exploited in every way possible to not be used on housing, food, clothing, and education...

[-] Odd_so_Star_so_Odd@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

Those basic services all have a cost associated with them... that's why people support UBI to cover those basic services...

[-] Acters@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Why are you under the impression that UBS will not pay for those services?

The US Post service is the biggest UBS that most Americans pay with taxes. Those who can't afford or can't make money to pay taxes or otherwise still benefit from it as "free"

You seem to think it doesn't exist or will not work. Yet it does. Libraries exist, public transportation exists. People needs can be met.

[-] vin@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

When I say it should be free, it means that there is no cost to be paid by individual

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[-] orcrist@lemm.ee 18 points 6 days ago

Your theory about companies raising prices to offset UBI is actually undercut by historical and present evidence.

There was a time when the United States had welfare. The United States still has food stamps. But nobody is seriously pretending that these things did or do drive up grocery prices.

Similarly, over time various states have raised minimum wage, and if your argument were accurate, then the prices in those states would have immediately risen to match minimum wage, but they didn't.

In other words, you're repeating a conservative talking point that has been repeatedly debunked by reality. I think you could try to improve your argument by arguing that inflation happens across the board, to everything, and therefore it would also happen to UBI. But what we've actually seen is that's not true.

[-] Big_Boss_77@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

The only counter to this argument I've seen play out in real time (at least to the best of my knowledge, it could be propaganda) is the fact that when the government offered tax credits for EVs, Ford raised the prices of their EVs to essentially absorb the tax credit and profit off of what was supposed to benefit the people making the switch.

I'll see if I can find the article I'm remembering.

Here is one link from the daily wire

Here is another from tech times

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[-] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 days ago

my country has started a program a few years ago that gives a lot of money to couples that produce children, primarily to be able to afford buying a house. it has contributed to many problems, from convenience marriage, to parents literally not caring for their children, but maybe the worst of all is that it has raised property prices by the exact amount of aid received for producing 2-3 children.

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[-] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

not a 100% ubi fan, BUT, the times, they are a changing - and I firmly believe every robot deployed should have to offset ubi. every AI cycle should drive ubi funding.

Trained on the involuntary corpus of millions if not billions of people, it must benefit society overall otherwise we're going to destroy everything.

[-] OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml 10 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Everyone gets some sort of income, but wouldn't companies just subside the income by raising their prices?

As someone planning on starting a B2B company, I don't see a problem with that. If companies make a ton of money, tax companies more and redistribute again. The curve can be made to fit.

But there's a bigger reason for doing UBI: It's cheaper and more effective than existing welfare. And more people will like it.

[-] kinther@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

Yes, if it is a tax on speculation, investments, and gambling. I can get behind it being a trickle down system that the wealthy can't opt out of.

[-] fritobugger2017@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago

USA needs universal healthcare first

[-] Itsamelemmy@lemmy.zip 9 points 6 days ago

While I agree, I personally think we should get rid of the existing support like food stamps, unemployment and replace with UBI.

Reasoning being with the current system it's too easy to work and be worse off. Example being if you make $20 over the income bracket you might lose $100 in food stamps. With UBI there's less administrative costs because everyone is eligible, less fraud and most important any effort you make to work will always improve your financial situation.

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[-] kandoh@reddthat.com 6 points 6 days ago

I don't like the idea of of subsidizing demand, but i'll take anything at this point

[-] agent_nycto@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

I feel like it's less about whether the process will go up or if capitalism can survive with it. I in feel that it's going to be necessary for humans to function. With population increasing, and jobs actually decreasing from technology for the first time in human history, from businesses automating stuff or self check out counters, we're just not going to have a job for every single person out there.

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[-] jagungal@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

I heard an idea once about making minimum wage 0$ and giving everyone a liveabke UBI. That would mean that nobody is required to participate in the workforce, meaning that employers who can't afford to pay their workers a good wage would be priced out of the market rather than being able to prey upon peoples need for, y'know, money (which can be exchanged for goods and services). A very appealing idea for a 16 year old boy, and the only issue I see with it now is extreme specialisation in the workforce leading to less competition between different workplaces for similar jobs.

[-] yarr@feddit.nl 3 points 6 days ago

Here's what I say about UBI. We may not need it today, but we better figure it out because we'll need it someday. As an example, take a look at America in 1800. 95%+ of people worked in agriculture. With tractors, the cotton gin, etc. all those careers will be eliminated. The cotton gin of tomorrow is autonomous vehicles, robots and/or drones. Jobs like delivery driver, cashier, etc are all on borrowed time. If we don't figure out some new economic framework before that time, our society is toast. All the "unskilled" jobs that served as on-ramps to more advanced employment will literally be wiped off the face of the Earth.

Of course, America being America, we'll treat this like climate change. Deny deny deny, even when it starts actively harming you. By the time someone tries to solve it, we'll all be screwed.

[-] TurboHarbinger@feddit.cl 2 points 6 days ago

Be aware that UBI needs to go in hand with other reforms that can finance it, eliminating things like tax evasion via donations, and certain foundations that exploit those

[-] IhaveCrabs111@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

Well I’m on Lenny so sure I’ll pick a fight.

No.

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this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2024
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