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posted by martyb on Monday October 15 2018, @05:18AM   Printer-friendly
from the perpetual-motion dept.

Think of it: The government prints more money or perhaps — god forbid — it taxes some corporate profits, then it showers the cash down on the people so they can continue to spend. As a result, more and more capital accumulates at the top. And with that capital comes more power to dictate the terms governing human existence.

UBI really just turns us from stakeholders or even citizens to mere consumers.

Meanwhile, UBI also obviates the need for people to consider true alternatives to living lives as passive consumers. Solutions like platform cooperatives, alternative currencies, favor banks, or employee-owned businesses, which actually threaten the status quo under which extractive monopolies have thrived, will seem unnecessary. Why bother signing up for the revolution if our bellies are full? Or just full enough?

Under the guise of compassion, UBI really just turns us from stakeholders or even citizens to mere consumers. Once the ability to create or exchange value is stripped from us, all we can do with every consumptive act is deliver more power to people who can finally, without any exaggeration, be called our corporate overlords.

No, income is nothing but a booby prize. If we're going to get a handout, we should demand not an allowance but assets. That's right: an ownership stake.

https://medium.com/s/powertrip/universal-basic-income-is-silicon-valleys-latest-scam-fd3e130b69a0


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by c0lo on Monday October 15 2018, @10:14AM (4 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday October 15 2018, @10:14AM (#748937) Journal

    Some people, only some people. Many go through life (if they are lucky) just content of getting through life. The Americans call it "pursuit of happiness", it's the basis of their dream.

    There's a reason why a lack of purpose is a prime cause of drug addiction and suicide due to a sense of worthlessness and hopelessness. We need more than that.

    And if you think at the amount of people that worth mentioning on a larger scale than their family/friends circle or be remembered longer than their life time, you realize that more than 99.9% of all of us that will achieve exactly that: go though an unremarkable life, different from any other only in a matter of insignificant details.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
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  • (Score: 2, Disagree) by rleigh on Monday October 15 2018, @01:32PM (3 children)

    by rleigh (4887) on Monday October 15 2018, @01:32PM (#749010) Homepage

    > And if you think at the amount of people that worth mentioning on a larger scale than their family/friends circle or be remembered longer than their life time, you realize that more than 99.9% of all of us that will achieve exactly that: go though an unremarkable life, different from any other only in a matter of insignificant details.

    That's missing the point though. It doesn't matter whether you are or aren't remembered by society at large. What's important is that you felt *within yourself* that your life has meaning and purpose. Welfare and UBI take that away for many.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by c0lo on Monday October 15 2018, @02:12PM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday October 15 2018, @02:12PM (#749035) Journal

      That's missing the point though...What's important is that you felt *within yourself* that your life has meaning and purpose.

      (consider the context: " Merely existing isn't enough. People need purpose in life and pride in themselves and their achievements.")
      That's exactly the point: in reality most of the people are passing through the life with, statistically speaking, little consequences - their "achievements" are almost inconsequential for the world.

      However, as almost are "going through life just content of going through life", makes from this a thing something that actually keeps this world going.
      In other words "merely existing" is not to be dismissed as worthless, even if the individual "achievements" are so trivial that one may discount any of them from the bigger picture.

      Welfare and UBI take that away for many.

      Because those many are chasing something meaningless - whatever they "achieve" is weakly dependent on whatever wealth they can accumulate their entire life.
      Just ask TMB if he needs millions to go fishing or to fight "dick niggers" with regex-es on S/N.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 2) by sjames on Monday October 15 2018, @04:17PM (1 child)

      by sjames (2882) on Monday October 15 2018, @04:17PM (#749110) Journal

      How would UBI take that away? I'd be willing to bet that doing a single painting (even one with zero artistic merit) and selling it for $1 at a garage sale would provide more sense of creation and more "immortality" than a lifetime of flopping whoppers or filing TPS reports in triplicate

      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday October 16 2018, @02:45PM

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday October 16 2018, @02:45PM (#749546) Journal

        How would UBI take that away? I'd be willing to bet that doing a single painting (even one with zero artistic merit) and selling it for $1 at a garage sale would provide more sense of creation and more "immortality" than a lifetime of flopping whoppers or filing TPS reports in triplicate

        Let us keep in mind that even with a "lifetime of flopping whoppers or filing TPS reports in triplicate", you have the opportunity for promotion. And you're flipping burgers and filing TPS for a reason, which is to provide service to others. That can generate more of a sense of creation and more "immortality" than a mere throw-away piece of art. Depends on the person, I suppose.