this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2024
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I don't see how UBI would materially worsen the lives of the chronically ill and those who cannot sell their labor. It's essentially universal welfare that allows anyone to survive whether they sell their labor or not. That gives you the ability to leave a job that is exploiting you. Without UBI losing your job means potentially becoming homeless.
I'd say that it isn't far enough, sure. I'd also say that food and shelter should be considered universal human rights that everyone has to by law have access to regardless of their circumstances. Which would itself provide many of the same benefits as UBI.
As an anarchist and a socialist I'd change almost everything about the way the current world functions. But as a direct thing that would improve the lives of almost everyone, I am very much in favor of UBI.
I never said we dont need reforms. In fact the issue I have is Capitalism as a whole.
All UBI would do is give those who own the means of automation 100% power. What leverage would we have if not our labor?
Thats not at all to say what we have going on right now is not evil.
UBI doesn’t give any power to those who own the means of automation, nor does it take power away from laborers. Automation does that. Automation reduces the leverage of the laborer by reducing the capitalist’s reliance on labor.
We have the same leverage regardless of whether we have UBI or not, but the leverage of employers is reduced with UBI. That said, if more people opt not to work thanks to UBI, then the people who choose to work will see their leverage increased.
Not sure why you think there wouldn't be any more need for labor, unless you're thinking of some far future post-scarcity society where literally everything is automated. A UBI implemented now would give the working class even more power because they'd be able to actually use their labor as leverage instead of being forced to choose between working for shit pay or starvation.
No, the automation technology gives them that power, ubi is a consequence of it. The more productivity per worker a company can achieve, the fewer employees they need.
You really think as technology advances and companies implement more and more of it, that companies only end up with more leverage if the local government is doing UBI?
UBI is welfare product that helps low bracket earners. If the tax code was functional it would be paid for by the corporations and 1% themselves and even so it's still extremely helpful where it's implemented.
Many governments have mandatory severance pay to prevent this. UBI is next level