What do you think about the Basic Income premise i.e. that everyone should be gu

1. 83

   gmwilliamsposted 7 years ago

   What do you think about the Basic Income premise i.e. that everyone should be guaranteed a
   
   basic living income?
   
   

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2. 92

   lisavollrathposted 7 years ago

   If a basic living income means being handed money for doing nothing, then no, unless the person is so disabled that they are incapable of working.
   
   If a basic living income means that any person that works 40 or more hours a week should be guaranteed a wage that will cover the rent somewhere in the area where they work, then yes. I think that a full week of work, at even the most menial job, should result in being able to scrape together a living.
   
   That means having higher wages in places where rents have skyrocketed, like New York and San Francisco. Pretty soon, there won't be a place in either of those areas where a busboy or a fast food worker or an office cleaner will be able to afford to live, even with a significant commute.
   
   It also means not picking some random number as the minimum wage for the entire nation, and then leaving it set for ages, without raising it. I live in Texas, where the cost of living is significantly lower, and rents are cheaper. A basic living wage down here would be very different than the one necessary in NYC.
   
   At a time when upper management and CEOs are being paid record salaries and bonuses, perhaps a review of how those on the lowest rungs of the ladder are paid is in order.

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   1. 59

      Alternative Primeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Let's not forget the FACT that many Americans become "DISABLED" due 2 the Stress, Physical and or Psychological Burdons of their Jobs where they R FORCED 2 Live in or at the Poverty Level while CEO's enjoy a Disproportionately HIGHER Pay.

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3. 50

   bradmasterOCcalposted 7 years ago

   The system of earning based on your performance and value to the company exists in many places. But the government both state and federal get in the way of allowing that system to prosper.
   
   The Income Tax is one of the main causes of unequal distribution of wealth in the country. Ask yourself how did Billionaires actually get to Double their billions after 2008? It is the Internal Tax Code which gives them all sorts of loopholes, while the poor don't need tax loopholes because they really don't pay taxes outside of FICA.
   
   In 1986 on the premise of lowering taxes for the average person, the Tax Reform Act was passed. The basic mechanism was for us to give up several of our only tax deductions in return for lower taxes. Seemed reasonable, until the taxes went up again a few years later.
   
   To remove this inequality, we could replace the entire Federal Income Tax system with a National Sales Tax similar to those already used by the states. The Internal Revenue Code would have to be scrapped.
   
   Don't be fooled by the unconstitutional, yet common practice of giving the rich a high marginal tax rate. The reason is the 1000s of loopholes in the Internal Revenue Code reduce the tax burden of the rich. To the point where ordinary people have been known to pay more taxes than the rich, even though their income is much smaller.
   
   What is a basic income?
   I guess one view would be something equal to or greater than what is given out as welfare. Welfare money is not taxed, and there is no FICA to pay. That means that a salary for basic income would have to include on top it the FICA and tax withholding to make the two equal.
   
   The premise should be teaching people to fish, rather than just giving them fish. And the former needs to also include incentives to encourage the people on welfare to leave it. Now, they have to have a substantial amount  more coming from a potential job to offset the costs like baby sitters etc to make the move to employment profitable and reasonable.
   
   The current paradigm for employment is based on an incestuous model. As the manufacturing and production job long the staff of American employment left in the 1970s and continues decade after decade, we have focused employment on sales and marketing of products imported into this country.
   
   We no longer have those kinds of jobs. Look where the big employment is today. Amazon, Google, Facebook, and social media. These are the top revenue companies in the country. What is their product? Sales and Market

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