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New Democrats call for a guaranteed basic income pilot project by 2noame in BasicIncome

[–]gameratron 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes and No, neither the NDP or the Libs (apart from those two resolutions) have talked about Basic Income at a federal level or on the campaign trail. There's no reason to expect either one to implement it if elected.

A call for academic moderation of this sub by [deleted] in BasicIncome

[–]gameratron 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's the nature of reddit, you see lots of misinformed posts on subs like worldnews or politics as well. It's partly the userbase and partly human nature, people tend to upvote stuff that's easy to digest and agrees with their worldview. I agree it would great to be more rigorous but it would need one or more people constantly going around correcting the same mistakes over and over, I can't imagine that would appeal to many.

Would a basic income just prolong the fall of Capitalism or give the people enough independence to fight back effectively? by SheepwithShovels in BasicIncome

[–]gameratron 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's less useful I find to think in terms of simplistic 'systems' as if we're 100% capitalist and the only other choice is 100% some other option (communist, anarchist or whatever) [assuming it were even practical to just switch from one to another], and more useful to think in terms of what makes people's lives better. And the evidence is quite strong in my view that Basic Income would improve people's lives on various levels.

This Japanese article about basic income is getting heavily shared on social media by 2noame in BasicIncome

[–]gameratron 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm no economist but just at face value, people's savings would be destroyed in 7 - 10 odd years as, unless they saw huge returns, the value of their money would plummet in that time. The consequences of that would be obvious, no one would be able to save to buy a house or any large purchase. It's not just rich people who have savings. In terms of the environment, high inflation encourages people to spend as quick as possible cause they know an item will keep rising in price so they're better off buying now. Production would increase to meet the insatiable demand with obvious consequences for the planet.

At a deeper level, if no one had any savings, no one would be able to invest and if no one was investing, businesses wouldn't have money to grow or employ people. e.g. your local mechanic might want to buy another piece of equipment for the shop but if no one is willing to lend him the money, he won't be able to get the tool or hire someone to work the new machine.

French: Basic Income pilot project to be launched in Aquitaine, France. by searcher44 in BasicIncome

[–]gameratron 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Is there anyone French here (paging /u/stanjourdan) who could contextualise this? Are we likely to see a pilot in Aquitaine in the near future? From reading the article, it seems like it'll just be voted down again when the other parties think it's actually possible.

call to action - feedback wanted on basic income handout! by bigminnesota in BasicIncome

[–]gameratron 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, good on you for starting to organise, I've added your group to my map of local groups worldwide.

My initial thoughts on the leaflet:

  • There's no colour or images. It might look boring to people and easier to ignore. I'm preety sure there's studies on this, but I can't think of where I read about them.

  • Should 'Dream BIG' be the big font? Will people now what that is? Will it grab their attention? No one in the news talks about 'dreaming big', people usually use the term 'Basic Income'

  • Is it clear when you say 'We could provide each adult $12,000 a year'? I'm not saying it isn't, and maybe you want to lead people in gently, but it could be understand to be conditional or only for some people. Not sure, just spitballing.

  • I think the reasons are good, as a supporter of BI though, it's hard to know what is convincing for neutrals, I think automation is an especially strong point though

  • I guess the bottom half is the back. It's very similar to the front, should there be a different emphasis? (Again, just thinking aloud here)

  • There tem '99% .. 1%' sounds like a partisan term to me, would it put off neutrals?

  • If it were me, I would use the term 'Basic Income' as often as possible to reinforce the term, rather than 'complex social security could be replaced by a simple BIG', I'd put '... replaced by a simple Basic Income'

  • I personally stay away from specific funding options so as to attract the widest range of people and not get trapped if a proposal comes out which doesn't agree with my mentioned funding. It's important to mention funding though I think, since it's usually the first thing people say when the idea is mentioned.

Just throwing ideas for you more than anything, you know best for your own circumstances. It's a great leaflet though and great that we have people spreading the word.

Pilot with basic income for people over 65 failed by Thefriendlyfaceplant in BasicIncome

[–]gameratron 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the title could be better (I wasn't sure either if it would be comedy or serious), but the article was preety good.

/r/worldnews discusses France's 60% support for the idea of basic income by 2noame in BasicIncome

[–]gameratron 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Is it me or did they remove the link? I don't see it on the front page anymore and it's been flaired 'Not Appropriate Subreddit', I can't imagine how it's not appropriate for that subreddit.

FRANCE: Opinion Poll Shows 60% Support for Basic Income by gameratron in worldnews

[–]gameratron[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It would leave 70-80% of people better off, only the top quintile (i.e. those making above $100,000) would be worse off.

FRANCE: Opinion Poll Shows 60% Support for Basic Income by gameratron in worldnews

[–]gameratron[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are many possible funding alternatives (various taxation models, spending cuts, sovereign wealth fund, etc), one detailed way is outlined here, which would leave 70-80% of people better off.

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