Universal Basic Income: Its Time Has Come
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is bringing a great deal of benefits to humankind and their businesses – but will it be a great deal for all of us? Increased productivity is the golden goal in the economic equation but what this means for many is loss of job, career and severe disruption to lifestyle. Retraining is never easy and for too many it will pan out as not possible and a hit to their bottom line. Supply is not the only factor in economics and if too many of us lose our jobs and income levels, then, demand will plummet. Who is going to buy all the wonderful stuff if lots of folk can no longer afford to? Universal Basic Income: Its time has come.
What Is Universal Basic Income?
Universal Basic Income (UBI), as the name suggests, is the provision of enough money for all members of a participating community to live on so that they can enjoy a life without the rigours of poverty. UBI involves no attachments from the provider re-work requirements or debt accruement. There have been various trials and experiments involving UBI in different places and historical times. How the money has been paid and on what basis has varied also within these contexts.
“In recent years, UBI went from a utopian proposal to a policy with growing currency. UBI experiments have been conducted in countries as different as Kenya, Finland, Namibia, India, and Canada. In the United States, variants of the UBI proposal were very much alive in the early second half of the twentieth century—including through figures like Martin Luther King, Jr., and Milton Friedman—but the conversation did not pick up much in subsequent decades.”
More Universal Basic Income
A great recent champion of UBI has been the Dutch historian Rutger Bregman. A proponent of UBI as the better moral choice for a humanity free of poverty Rutger Bregman has fought the good fight on its behalf. In many of his speeches and presentations Bregman has highlighted the positive results that the provision of UBI has achieved in reducing crime and ill health within the designated communities. In one such example the UBI was instigated as a top up payment based on the individual’s income tax return. Thus, the amount of funds required are not a flat rate for all but dependent upon need and requirement to reach an income level capable of meeting the basics in a modern lifestyle.
This is above the poverty line, as defined by the?
“The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year’s worth of necessities for the average adult. The cost of housing, such as the rent for an apartment, usually makes up the largest proportion of this estimate, so economists track the real estate market and other housing cost indicators as a major influence on the poverty line. Individual factors are often used to account for various circumstances, such as whether one is a parent, elderly, a child, married, etc. “
Unlike welfare payments, like the dole in Australia, which are purposely designated well below the poverty line, the UBI is about lifting people out of poverty. It is not about condemning them to a life of misery and shame.
The Economic Imperative & AI
Obviously, UBI payments appear, on the surface, to go against the fundamental tenets of capitalism and the free market economy. Labour is one of the inputs into the economic paradigm we have all struggled and worked hard under to achieve our outcomes in this world. A UBI may seem to be offensive to some who have played the game and won under the previous economic rules. However, things are changing big time on this front and humanity is being priced out of the labour market in the 21C by AI and automation. The giant corporations, which rule the global financial realm are in a race to automate and embrace AI to give them any economic advantage they can accrue. Human jobs and careers are, already, heading for the dustbin and sentimentality is not a factor in this upgrading for greater productivity. Middle management jobs are disappearing, along with those formerly involved in analysis of data, as AI machines take over these roles more efficiently. Goldman Scahs have predicted the loss of some 300 million jobs globally over the next period.
“Goldman Sachs previously estimated that 300 million jobs could be lost to AI, affecting 25% of the global labor market. “
Who Is Going To Buy All The Great Stuff?
Universal Basic Income: Its time has come. Otherwise who is going to buy all those shiny new high tech cars and devices? Demand will fall off a cliff in no time at all if something is not done. The bean counters at work in the multinational corporations better look at this other side of the graph if they too want to keep their jobs. Or will AI take over their roles, as well, and revel in the demise of humanity? It is easy to get dystopian on the topic, as many of us have seen the science fiction movies and read the novels – they generally don’t end well for us. Some folk think that we could not be so stupid and will not allow things to degenerate so far. However, with the election of Trump 2.0 the idea that humanity is smart has gone out the window like a one of those Great Depression businessmen leaping to their demise having been financially ruined back in the day.
Those Against UBI
The push against UBI has been mounted by those firmly committed to having winners and losers – the zero sum game. The advent of billionaires and oligarchs, where a few amass obscene levels of wealth whilst hundreds of millions struggle in poverty puts them in this camp. Donald Trump is a hater and thrives on taking revenge upon those who have slighted him. This type of person is dedicated to the unfair nature of things and getting rewards whatever it takes. The moral question does not rate on their compass, as it is largely defined by dollars and little sense. The world, however, is rapidly changing and these individuals will fight like hell to hold onto their advantages but change is coming like a tornado. If Elon Musk has $200 billion have a think about just how many ordinary human beings that amount of money could help sustain.
The Enemies Of UBI
The earth currently is home to 8.2 billion people. Some consider this too many and unsustainable in terms of available resources. Of course, the distribution of wealth and resources are not evenly spread about the globe. The dog eat dog approach of capitalism is founded upon violence, invasion and colonialism. The taking of lands previously occupied by Indigenous populations. Globalisation via trade has seen considerable improvements in wealth distribution with the rise of China and India to name two substantial populations. There is still a very long way to go on this score. The Trump regime is attempting to reverse this any way they can. The establishment of spheres of influence via naked avarice and aggression are the Trump and Putin ways forward. These power hungry men and their ilk will not be big fans of UBI. It is good to know who your enemies are, however, on any mission.
“Unless you are dumb and disengaged you would be worried about where the world is heading. The US is in the hands of a madman who fluctuates between acts of stupidity and evil. Global trade is being threatened and thus the interconnectedness of humanity is going backwards. What can you do about such matters? Boycott Trump and don’t buy American. “
Misnomers About UBI
There are many misguided thoughts about UBI that can be cleared up. It does not have to replace the entire economic system straight up. It can be gradually introduced to help needy people out. There is this persistent idea that most folk will immediately give up all work and take the hand out instead. This is not true and has been found in trials not to be the case. Many people, I would say the majority of us, enjoy working at jobs when they treat us well and provide real world stimulation. By this I mean meaningful challenges in the contribution our labour provides at work. Work offers a number of essential elements in our lives and we are poorer socially and meaningfully without it. Often, it is the misuse of power hierarchically and the economic mistreatment of workers which poisons the well. Not all of us want to screw and backstab our way to the top. In fact, many are content to go about their work, as long as they are treated fairly and with respect. Capitalism and its agents do not always comply with these wishes, however. In the past, when big shifts have occurred via the advent of machines and automation impacting upon human labour we have allowed those people effected to bear the brunt economically and existentially. Perhaps, it is time to do it differently this time? Quite simply, the economics no longer add up without the introduction of something like UBI. Our overarching concern with economics in the 21C has put all other factors in the shade. It is time to honour human beings with a fair and basic income rather than shaming them and calling them failures. Universal Basic Income: Its time has come.
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump
& Money Matters.
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