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Comment by huytersd | Hacker News Reader

It’s not worth it unless you truly enjoy working. I really wish AI would hurry up and get good enough to truly replace the vast majority of us at our jobs so the government would have no choice but to implement some kind of basic income.

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I don’t want basic income. I want the ability to differentiate myself and earn more than others. And I don’t think the government would ever “have no choice” but to implement basic income and I do not think it would be preferable to most. People would become dissatisfied. Money made by all is in my opinion money made by nobody

> I don’t want basic income. I want the ability to differentiate myself and earn more than others.

Basic income allows that, in fact, a big argument is that, compared to conventional means tested welfare, it enhances that for people currently in the lower end of the income distribution.

> I don’t want basic income. I want the ability to differentiate myself and earn more than others.

Universal basic income (UBI) does not mean everyone is fixed at the same income. It means everyone earns the same basic income, and on top of that - and without affecting that basic income - they can take a job or do whatever to earn more.

Many people would have to do that, in fact, as someone has to pay the UBI for everyone.

In this new paradigm, that someone is labor done by machines and AI as stated in my original comment.

Walk me through the flow of money there.

A few people own a lot of automated machinery that hypothetically makes everything including procuring raw materials (farming, mining etc.). They make enormous amounts of money and the taxes they pay essentially pays for the entire populace. Alternatively the government owns the means of production. There’s a smaller secondary economy where new ideas are tested and eventually filter up to automated mass production if it’s good enough. It’s obviously a pipe dream but it could all happen very quickly if there is some kind of true AGI event.

So the people that made and operate the machines work, and the machines work, but no one else

Pretty much unless you want to work and in my opinion atleast 40% of people will want to.

> I want the ability to differentiate myself and earn more than others.

No higher aspirations?

Sure, I’m already doing what I love (programming) but yes I would like to be better and better at that while also providing as nice a life as possible for my family. My point is there is no level of UBI that would be considered fair in a for-profit world. Rhetorically should people in Wyoming get the same UBI as people in California? Or do all the people that don’t want to work move to the less expensive areas and those that do live in the nice ones? This doesn’t create equality, fairness, or satisfaction for the recipients of UBI

There is fundamentally no reason you couldn’t still differentiate yourself and earn/demand/command more money.

You still can. I know I would. Even in my free time I’m always working on something, I just wish I had more time for my solo projects. Given time I’m sure atleast a small number of those would turn into profitable ventures.

It’s money to live a basic life with adequate housing, food and healthcare. If people want to drop out they can comfortably but a LOT won’t.

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