They are basically the counterexample for universal basic income.
But I do agree that UBI proponents have to come up with an argument against the "pay people just enough to do drugs and play videogames all day" example. Most of the population is not made of highly motivated self-starters, despite what every job posting looks for.
I support UBI and see no problem with people "slacking" all day. Like you say, society is not made up of highly motivated self-starters. Why force those people to work when automation will make it completely unnecessary?
Perhaps it will. It hasn't made it completely unnecessary yet, though. Somebody who can't work? I'm all for helping them. Someone who won't? Let them mooch off of someone that is not the taxpayer.
No one consented to be born into a system where they are enslaved by capital holders. Consider that an artifact of bootstrapping humanity through the industrial revolution.
I do not take automation as a given, because it is not yet able to produce all that we want. You're living in a dream world. That dream may one day be a reality; that day is not yet here.
> No one consented to be born into a system where they are enslaved by capital holders.
I did not consent to be taxed to pay for those who choose not to work, either.
> I did not consent to be taxed to pay for those who choose not to work, either.
If you support UBI you will also have the option to not work (and therefore pay no taxes). Really though unless you’re a billionaire I don’t think you have anything to worry about.
There’s nothing more “destructive” then spending your life working to survive. It’s literally wasting the most valuable thing you have. Putting those guys back in a coal mine so we don’t have to see them is not a solution.
If someone is happy enough with basic food and shelter, no luxuries, is it a problem if they just sit around? isn't this better than fostering a dangerous criminal with disdain for society, thus endangering everyone in the local community?
if someone wants more (e.g. a Gaming PC) then they will have to work for it. Food and shelters should be considered human rights by virtue of existence. We will flourish more as a species if we move away from that hyper-individualist view from which we see the world, to a kinder, community-oriented view.
Let's not be assholes. If I get 100k a year, losing 1000k for another person is no problem, assuming I'm not a greedy bastard with a hardon for cash.