(no subject)

[morgynleri]

via http://ift.tt/2a9IPct:

Anonymous asked:

what do you think of the universal basic income scheme some countries are trying out?? Would you ever consider doing some variation of that in America???

whitehouse answered:

I talked about my thoughts on UBI in a recent speech. Short answer: I don’t think it is the answer because too costly to give to everyone without a big and unrealistic increase in taxes and because the attitude behind UBI is giving up on work. Instead, I think we should focus on investing more to make college more affordable among other items.

#AnswerTime Jason

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I added:

You have got to be kidding me.

I mean, yes, the issue about taxes I can see.

But “giving up on work”?

How is making sure that no one has to worry about whether or not they’ll eat, or whether not they’ll have a roof over their head, by ensuring that everyone has enough regular income to cover that “giving up on work”?

How is giving people the freedom to find a job that is suited to their abilities and skills and doesn’t destroy their physical and/or mental health by relieving them of the stress of not being able to meet the basic physical needs of themselves - and their families - “giving up on work”?

How is taking care of children, those who cannot work, and the elderly, “giving up on work”?

How is rejecting the classist, ableist, racist, sexist notion that only those who can produce to an arbitrary standard deserve to live “giving up on work”?

Comments

[conuly]

You ever notice how people who express this argument never bother to explain why, exactly, we should want to work? They leave that part of the argument out, clearly hoping we'll fill in the blanks ourselves.

[morgynleri]

*nods* True enough. And while there are plenty of reasons to want to have work, it shouldn't be such that if we don't spend more of our lives working than anything else, we can't eat regularly, or have a roof over our head, or meet any other basic physical needs. And never mind any other need, because those fall by the wayside in the struggle to simply survive.