Another Day, Another Dollarydoo
I’ve heard it argued a few times that the idea of a basic universal income would be bad because people wouldn’t want to work so the economy would fall apart.
This seems backwards to me. People don’t want to work now, in a society where you’re steered into finding a job early and your social standing is determined by how much money you get paid by somebody else. Give people a month off now and they’ll run off to explore or sleep or do all the things they can’t do the rest of the time sure. But if they could do it the rest of the time?
I didn’t pay much attention to Star Trek as a kid. It felt like the tv equivalent of playing dungeons and dragons. Extremely nerdy, likely to get me bullied like mad, and from the outside looks like the dullest most boring idea in the world. But once I got persuaded to play I discovered it’s so much fun it feels like cheating. Trek is a bit like that. Q is my spirit animal.
Anyway, society in trek has no money, at least not at first. People don’t take positions for a paycheck, they take the position for the opportunity to be in that position. They become engineers because they like engineering and want new challenges, or become scientists to go out and study the world. Later series started bringing in money through other alien cultures mostly as a way to stir up drama and tension because it was entertainment after all.
But I can’t help thinking that the original vision was onto something. There’s plenty of issues with a basic income scheme, just like there’s plenty of issues with medicare for universal health cover - but I’m still ridiculously grateful to live in a country where my mothers cancer diagnosis didn’t require her to start a meth empire to pay for treatment. The how and the means are a great debate to be had.
The idea that people would just not want to work though? That there would be no motivation left to take on the jobs that currently pay just enough to make people think they should be able to afford things? That feels like a deep misunderstanding of humanity to me.
Would the world be the same? No bloody way. Half the jobs that exist today nobody would touch if they didn’t depend on it to get by. But would we really NEED those jobs at that point? More likely there would be a shift. How many people are there who love gardening and growing things they can eat who would be helping feed the community if they weren’t stuck in a 9-5. How many people have been born in the last hundred years who could have been the next Albert Einstein but instead of questioning the universe itself they’re busy questioning how to pay the electric bill this month. How much nicer would people be to those working to clean or provide services if everyone knew the only people doing those jobs are the ones who genuinely wanted to help make things better for everyone, instead of the constant subtle messaging that they’re in those roles because they aren’t good enough for anything else.
The world would be different for sure. But everyone being able to live day to day without needing an income wouldn’t stop people from wanting an income. Imagine your food and shelter are covered, but if you want that new fancy phone or a high end gaming rig you go find work to pay for it. The basics are covered, you could live happily and comfortably without ever lifting a finger, but why not take a gig mowing lawns a few times a week so you can buy that latest release.
In a world where you have the basics covered but then have the choice to take jobs to gain more than the basics, the only people who would be worse off are the people who rely on others being unable to walk away. Companies that mistreat their workers because there’s always someone else desperate for any job to pay rent. People who’s sense of self worth comes from looking down on service workers and people just trying to get by.
This wasn’t intended to be anything political, just a ramble of thoughts after finishing another long day at the day job. Possibly inspired by my shifts being just slightly longer than what is good for my mental health, but if I reduced my hours I’d be homeless. And noticing I’m waayyy more motivated and energized working on days like public holidays when I’m choosing to work extra rather than working because it’s an obligation.
Words is words though, I’m gonna go turn into a zombie now.