UBI also pumps money into Amazon, and thence to the pockets of billionaires. So we'd need to tax the billionaires. I would much rather see UBI money spent on socialized medicine, education and maybe even socialized Amazon.
One thing we can say about the Morrison Government increasing Jobseeker is that it wasn't motivated by compassion.
It was about keeping the economy afloat, and when the threat subsided, we went back to pretending poverty is a personal failing that needs to be punished, not rewarded. #auspol
As I've said before, neoliberalism is basically the practice of concocting increasingly crapulent excuses for why applying blindingly obvious, and experimentally proven, solutions to problems affecting poor people, won't work.
Yeah, trickle down just gets sucked up in all kinds of rorts and dividends, but if we had money to meet our needs, we get to participate in our communities more.
It was so heart-warming to see the local store fill up with household appliances and equipment and families that had never lived beyond meagre subsistence means be able to buy something like a kettle, toaster, maybe even a toy for their kids or whatever. Dignity.
I don't think it's a vote loser, someone who thinks we should die if we can't work straight up isn't worth listening to. Ultimately that's what we're facing, death, with a barrage of constant victim blaming and humiliation, by people who have no training in disability, or even professionalism.
our elections hinge on a relatively small number of swinging votes, and too many vote according their perceived interest alone, and too often with a more than a spoonful of spite
Some of the worst people I know politically aren't enrolled to vote, and there's a lot of people who just decide on the day, idk, I'm gonna try reach them, but yeah there's only so much each of us individually can do
Didn't forget. When people are about to get wipedout by a virus you save them so you can punish workers to extract more profit when things recover. Old model economics.
If supplementing income directly is uncomfortable - a focus on universal basic services that are free or generally affordable can help many people and families out of poverty traps ( e.g. childcare, healthcare, education, public transport, subsidised meals)
In other words, treat them like idiots who don't know how to look after themselves & are not worth the dignity of those better off? 🤔
It's supplementing the income of billionaires that should be "uncomfortable" to the point of exclusion, for everybody.
Somewhere along the way, we Australians lost our empathy, understanding and willingness to help people out who needed it and do the right thing #Auspol
National debt isn't that kind of debt - it's money the Federal Government has loaned from people and countries buying Treasury instruments.
Ostensibly instead of using it to fund tax breaks to people who don't bring money back into circulation, focusing on the rest is the best way to close that gap
So I probably don't need to tell you that killing jobs, automating everything, starving your working population of being able to participate in the economy and bankrupting businesses is going to do the *opposite* of that.
I think you mean "... Government has borrowed from ..."?
Either way, the question becomes: why is the US government in such a need to borrow money? The US is spending more than it makes, and while I completely agree corporate/billionaire taxes would address some of that, it won't cover all of it.
Think of it this way: Every transaction in the United States results in a sales tax, every paycheck paid out results in a deduction.
The more people spending money and gainfully employed, the more often money changes hands, the more money the government collects due to the # of transactions
Looking for places to cut spending and in the process actively reducing the amount of people employed and those transactions is the exact opposite of that.
Taxing the rich and corporations is part of the solution - reinvesting that money in the way that the two historically haven't is the other
Government debt is public credit. That's what lubricates the economy (as would #UBI). But yes, a lot of it is concentrated in a small pocket of the public – the m/billionaires – where it has little positive effect at all on the productive economy. The logical place then to seek to reduce the debt.
Tax financial transactions. People are using micro transactions to make billions on Wall Street. Every one of those transactions should be subject to a micro tax. Shit adds up.
They don't pay taxes until they take the profits. Instead of waiting for them to sell stock, tax each trade. See Bernie's Tax on Wall Street Speculation Act
More than half of Alaska’s discretionary budget comes from returns from an investment fund and that is while they pay a UBI to all permanent residents of 10-15% of the poverty line. It took 43 years for them to get to this point. It would take the take a national wealth fund 6 years to pay that UBI.
Greg you can’t solve poverty by giving people money: that’s simplistic. Just like you can’t solve climate change by reducing fossil carbon burning or protect biodiversity by not destroying habitat…….
Too easy Greg, no political nuance or negotiating or wedges in that solution, the drivel from the party MPs 🤬🤯 apart from Zali who is refreshing at least.
I was jazzed when that happened. I thought surely once we experience that relief we’ll demand that it continue. In my eighth decade on earth I stubbornly cling to baseless optimism.
The poverty of others makes them feel better about themselves. Few in power are interested in pulling people out of poverty. That includes all Republicans and most Democrats, I think.
Back in October I was $500 above the poverty line.
Now my pension is tanking & my 401k too.
I have to call my medical plan to downgrade me from the "silver" plan to the "bronze" plan.
Wish me luck that I'll still be able to get my 7 prescriptions.
Sorry Greg, know it is late but perhaps in the morning may I please have the same graph but in dollar value? That resonates more than % with lower maths peeps like myself
Thanks for graphs non the less, always love ‘em
Yes we are a little bit broken and our 2 main parties are just mean on the one side and feckless on the other, it pisses me off that we want to emulate the USA bi tv by bit
Given the actual real life abuse I suffered at the hands of some of Labor's pet thinktankers speaking out on my robodebt and mutual obligations, I think they're both pretty well set in the mean camp.
Gawd we literally fixed the problem then sent everyone back into poverty. I'm so angry about it. We had the opportunity to secure a new world in those days and completely fucking failed.
Give them a chance to succeed - affordable child care, basic necessities, meaningful employment with salary that goes beyond just staying alive, good public schools, tuition for vocation/college, medical care…just give them a hand out of poverty.
We had a longer and more sustainable impact when we gave workers child tax credits raised wages, and provided low cost medical insurance all squashed by Trump. Same people who want to give guaranteed income want to squash Medicaid, Medicare, SS all worker savings.
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They just gave $4.5 trillion to needy Americans.
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unserious to ask why, you know why, tax cuts for the rich
It was about keeping the economy afloat, and when the threat subsided, we went back to pretending poverty is a personal failing that needs to be punished, not rewarded. #auspol
We only pretend to like fairness and sharing.
our elections hinge on a relatively small number of swinging votes, and too many vote according their perceived interest alone, and too often with a more than a spoonful of spite
It's supplementing the income of billionaires that should be "uncomfortable" to the point of exclusion, for everybody.
Universal Basic Income may be a good idea, but it doesn't come for free. We would need major adjustments to the government revenue sources.
Ostensibly instead of using it to fund tax breaks to people who don't bring money back into circulation, focusing on the rest is the best way to close that gap
Either way, the question becomes: why is the US government in such a need to borrow money? The US is spending more than it makes, and while I completely agree corporate/billionaire taxes would address some of that, it won't cover all of it.
The more people spending money and gainfully employed, the more often money changes hands, the more money the government collects due to the # of transactions
Taxing the rich and corporations is part of the solution - reinvesting that money in the way that the two historically haven't is the other
But wildly cutting for "efficiency" in a way that solves NEITHER your income problem OR your debt problem is what is going on now.
Crypto is for criminals, IMO.
How exactly?
All my financial transactions are taxed. From paycheck to purchases to dividends to interest.
Let’s be honest society needs to act on this not just politicians. The quotidian tedium of the Australian blame game
Now my pension is tanking & my 401k too.
I have to call my medical plan to downgrade me from the "silver" plan to the "bronze" plan.
Wish me luck that I'll still be able to get my 7 prescriptions.
Thanks for graphs non the less, always love ‘em
1. We aren't paying them enough to work
2. See 1.
And the solution is staring us in the face! #UBI