Haven’t heard either Clinton or Trump mention Universal Basic Income. Capitalism as we know has been changing as neoliberalism, AI, and automation have moved labor requirements and median wages downward. Companies like Facebook and Alphabet do not need the tens of thousands of employees that General Motors did a few decades ago. Capitalism needs consumers to function and many countries are considering Universal Basic Income. Y-Combinator is starting a trial in the US. “We think everyone should have enough money to meet their basic needs—no matter what, especially if there are enough resources to make it possible. We don’t yet know how it should look or how to pay for it, but basic income seems a promising way to do this.One reason we think it may work is that technological improvements should generate an abundance of resources. Although basic income seems fiscally challenging today, in a world where technology replaces existing jobs and basic income becomes necessary, technological improvements should generate an abundance of resources and the cost of living should fall dramatically.And to be clear: we think of basic income as providing a floor, and we believe people should be able to work and earn as much as they want. We hope a minimum level of economic security will give people the freedom to pursue further education or training, find or create a better job, and plan for the future.We’ll be spending the next few months designing the pilot, and we welcome any input to help us do the best job possible—especially from the Oakland community 1. And again, we hope to follow-up with a long-term study on how people’s happiness, well-being, financial health, and time are affected. “https://blog.ycombinator.com/moving-forward-on-basic-income
Haven’t heard either Clinton or Trump mention Universal Basic Income. Capitalism as we know has been changing as neoliberalism, AI, and automation have moved labor requirements and median wages downward. Companies like Facebook and Alphabet do not need the tens of thousands of employees that General Motors did a few decades ago. Capitalism needs consumers to function and many countries are considering Universal Basic Income. Y-Combinator is starting a trial in the US. “We think everyone should have enough money to meet their basic needs—no matter what, especially if there are enough resources to make it possible. We don’t yet know how it should look or how to pay for it, but basic income seems a promising way to do this.One reason we think it may work is that technological improvements should generate an abundance of resources. Although basic income seems fiscally challenging today, in a world where technology replaces existing jobs and basic income becomes necessary, technological improvements should generate an abundance of resources and the cost of living should fall dramatically.And to be clear: we think of basic income as providing a floor, and we believe people should be able to work and earn as much as they want. We hope a minimum level of economic security will give people the freedom to pursue further education or training, find or create a better job, and plan for the future.We’ll be spending the next few months designing the pilot, and we welcome any input to help us do the best job possible—especially from the Oakland community 1. And again, we hope to follow-up with a long-term study on how people’s happiness, well-being, financial health, and time are affected. “https://blog.ycombinator.com/moving-forward-on-basic-income