Canada to trial basic income

Although there are a number of countries that have taken none

Like which ones Cyclone?

Off the top of my head, Saudi Arabia and it's neighbouring states.

I support the introduction of a basic income. I'm disabled and find it very difficult to get work; a basic income would mean that I could take whatever work I could find, no matter how poorly paid or precarious...and it would do away with the stigma of having to rely on benefits.

I support the introduction of a basic income. I'm disabled and find it very difficult to get work; a basic income would mean that I could take whatever work I could find, no matter how poorly paid or precarious...and it would do away with the stigma of having to rely on benefits.

Yes it would be perfect for millions of people in your situation.

People have argued that it would make people more dependent on the state but you would be made more free.

Sure, I bet that they send all the refugees to go and live in a lightly populated semi wilderness... Not in an area with support services and urbanisation!

 

Texas is pretty empty isn't it, maybe the US should take more refugee's and put them up in the desert?

This is a fascinating subject which (I'm led to believe) is pretty big in Germany and Holland. Both Countries have trialled the idea in small communities, and the Dutch especially (again so I'm told) are urging their Government to install the system as soon as possible. People around 50 could easily retire, and I'm sure that's what they want to do. If it was introduced in Britain now, I'd retire before I'd finished this senten .....

What is commonly believed/expected/required is that within 30 years, owing to the introduction of robots and automation, unemployment could reach as high as 80%. Before you laugh and scoff, just look at what 'experts' think is on the way.

No shops, everything will be delivered to your house.

No delivery vans, no petrol stations, no pilots, no bus drivers, no postmen, no bar staff, no train drivers, etc, etc, etc.

No personal vehicles. All transportation will be owned and operated by the Government. The Government HAVE to own 99.9% of the businesses, which will enable them to pay the unemployed for doing next to nothing.

New inventions, innovations and stuff will be done by inventors and 'entrepeneurs' as of now, but paid for by the Government, and the resulting business will be Government owned.

There will be no cash, so scams and stuff will be impossible.

There'll be no way to make a 'fast buck'.

Almost all money, paid for almost everything, will go to the Government bank to be used for everyone in the UK.

If it costs you and your partner say £500 a week to run your house (food, heating, upkeep etc) then the Government will give you £250 each, EVERY WEEK (paid on to your 'card' remember) and they will then take back 99.9% of it to pay your food bills, heating bills etc. Again, no cash changes hands.

This means that no one NEEDS to work. Some level of voluntary work will be expected. This will be to keep people active and involved, and NOT as some sort of slavery. Remember, no one has any incentive to scam you, or rob you, so there's no need whatsoever to rip someone off, or to be ripped off. Remember, any payment goes straight to the Government, so no individual will benefit by scamming, or profiteering. The Gov will own the food outlets and Electric and Gas supplies, so they get ALL the profits. There'll be no incentive to charge too much for anything as profits will no longer be paramount.

The Government will make White Goods, cars, furniture, games consoles etc. They will have a stake in EVERYTHING.

This will make burglars, drug dealers, scammers and such redundant. Just think of it for a moment.

The payment will be made from say 18 years old until you die. There will be no pension scams, and no one will die of starvation, or from the cold etc.

No one will ever be skint.

It's difficult to imagine what life will be like in 30 or 40 years, but they do say that we won't have mobile phones. Maybe a watch or some other device?

TV could be beamed directly on to a wall or something.

Broken machines you may have in your house (Washing machine? Fridge? who knows? will not be paid for by the Government, so that's when you have to go to work and do your bit. You'll just work the hours needed to buy your machine, then you'll stop working to allow someone else to work.

No-one will need, or want to earn loads because there will be very little to buy.

There'll be no Richard Bransons, or Rupert Murdochs. Yes, companies will exist, but again, the top men down to the sweeper up will be paid the 'Basic Income'.

Like the rest, the 'top men' will only work for extras needed at home, they'll just work less hours than say, a fork lift driver to buy the same product.

The top man at the company may work just 1 month a year and 11 others will cover the other 11 months. The sweeper up may work for 2 months on a job share basis with 5 others. This job share will be rife in every company everywhere, no one will be allowed to monopolise the available work.

Of course, specialist jobs will be treated differently, but that's what the past trials in Canada, Holland, Germany and such are working on, filtering out problems, and closing loopholes. In 2017 trials are being held in Finland. Interestingly, the Finns are concentrating on just the unemployed. There's a reason for this which will be revealed later in life.

The experts say that the above situation is inevitable, there's no point trying to avoid it, or putting ones head in the sand.

Automation of most things WILL happen (it's already affecting something like 5% of jobs already, car makers, supermarket check outs etc)

Most people will be unemployed, and they WILL have to be paid for doing nothing. To do this, the Gov have to take control of the money. There's only one way.

Today, people are saying to tax robots and automation to raise cash for the Gov. Yes, this will happen, but it won't last long.

The Basic Income system will be the future.

That's enough from me for now, I'm off for a cuppa.

---------- Post added 16-07-2017 at 10:48 ----------

 

As well as being fundamentally flawed from an economic point of view (based as it is on the assumption that the state will generate enough tax revenues to pay each adult citizen a living income), it would also be disastrous for British society, in that it would increase the dependence of everybody on the state and thereby reduce individual incentives to generate personal income, or even to work at all.

I've not picked on your post for any other reason than to reply to a few people on here. Hope you don't mind.

Individual companies probably wont exist, so the Government will get probably all of the money generated by whatever business.

Research and development (Industrial, Medical) will continue. The hope is that some individuals are so driven to keep at it for the good of mankind, rather than a fatter wallet. I for instance, would volunteer for Environmental and Wildlife work. Others would get involved with the Arts, or Sport or anything under the sun really. Nursing, animal welfare, care of the elderly, etc will rely on the goodwill of people, but if people can't be bothered (and I think enough workers will volunteer to help) then I'm sure the Authorities will make some people get involved. Dirty, smelly, horrible jobs will have to be done regardless, so covering this type of work will be incorporated somewhere in the Basic Income system.

We have to get it in to our heads that profits, greed, scams, and stuff will be dead in the water.

The population will do something about the lazy and feckless.

After saying that, even they will be able to work the 2 months or so a year that will be required from them.

If they won't work for their stuff, then I say we just shoot 'em!

Surely no-one's that idle?

This sounds brilliant and amazing,but added to it,everybody should have to wear white robes,and there must be the sound of running water in the background,laughter and people talking in a dreamy kind of voice,plus there should be huge bowls of fruit all over the place.

I think Canada is a few inch larger than the UK, so can squeeze a few more in.

But try getting into Canada from the UK without a firm job offer or a Canadian citizen/resident to sponsor you. It is not like it was in the 60's when Canada and Australia were begging British people to emigrate and even paying most the fare. Even in 1981 , I only got into Canada because I was hired by a Canadian company in England. Unless you meet those aforementioned conditions or are a bona fide refugee, you will have a problem getting into Canada permanently. I should add that like most places you can get in if you are filthy rich lol