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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: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @02:06PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @02:06PM (#749030)

    you are responsible for it in every meaningful way.

    That's not how cats see things, their "owner" is a source of food and warmth. Cats and dogs domesticated themselves. [wikipedia.org]

  • (Score: 2) by rleigh on Monday October 15 2018, @02:49PM (1 child)

    by rleigh (4887) on Monday October 15 2018, @02:49PM (#749067) Homepage

    The cat's opinion such as it stands is irrelevant. It is your property by law, and you bear legal responsibility for it, both for its actions and its welfare.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @04:43PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @04:43PM (#749123)

      Your opinion such as it stands is irrelevant to my cat. Cats are not slaves, they domesticated themselves in what remains a mutually beneficial relationship.