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Universal Basic Income Is Silicon Valley’s Latest Scam

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

An Anonymous Coward writes:

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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Original Submission

• Re:Wishful thinking leads into danger (Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @02:19PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @02:19PM (#749042)

  I find your attitude regarding your fellow human beings revolting.

  And I find your attitude placing your emotions before demonstrable facts lunatic. So what? You, I, and the populace are what we are.

  Given the opportunity, most of us have the aptitude to make something of ourselves.

  Once more: WHAT aptitude has someone with an IQ of 70 in a world of robots and (simplistic) AIs? Stop regurgitating sound bites and THINK.

  It doesn't matter whether your or I think something lacks meaning or is unproductive.

  Now you start contradicting yourself: "Gaming is fundamentally meaningless and unproductive." is what you argued just ONE message ago. Doublethink, or amnesia?

  The incentive to get up, go out and earn some money to keep your family going is really important

  Yeah, sure it is. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_labour#Punitive_versus_productive_labour [wikipedia.org]

  Parent

  Starting Score:	0		points
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  Insightful=1, Touché=2, Total=3
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