BROADCASTS.com

Micah asks if it is obvious we should have Universal Basic Income. Phil rants a lot. K Sera remains skeptical. Phil continues to rant. Micah predicts the future, K Sera expresses doubt, and Phil rants again.

Note: This discussion was originally recorded in the very beginning of 2021, almost a year before the release of this episode.

Show notes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_basic_income

Visit us at www.iiopodcast.fm to show support!

K Sera’s After Thoughts:

Sera: *doubt*

Phil: Micah is a prophecy of the future person!

Sera: *doubt intensifies*

I’m not the best forecaster for what would actually happen if people were given UBI, but if I had to make a guess, I don’t see UBI helping long term. It might provide temporary/immediate relief, and maybe that’s what you need in that moment of desperation, trying to choose between paying rent and putting food on the table. Long term, though, supplying UBI is like taking an aspirin for cancer relief. Short term it might slightly alleviate the suffering, but that sickness and pain isn’t gone. The Economic Impact Payments during the pandemic were helpful when things came to an economic standstill and millions of people were temporarily furloughed and relying on unemployment. Now, a year later, inflation has more than doubled. I’m looking at my most recent utility bill and see it has also doubled. Everything is more expensive and supply chains are in disarray. My wages haven’t increased proportionally to inflation. In short… my budget needs to be overhauled and the next few years are looking potentially lean.

While listening to this episode, or really any of our discussions involving our socio-political climate, I hear us putting a lot of blame for our unhappiness or dissatisfaction with our lot in life on the government or our society. That isn’t necessarily undue, but it sure is easy to blame the complex and inexorable systems of our unwieldy populous than to put any effort into self reflection. Just saying. Adding UBI or universal healthcare or abolishing capitalism won’t magically solve our discontentment.

Phil’s After Thoughts:

- After re-listening to this episode about 11 months after it was recorded I can proudly state that I am a moron. This is a classic example of Dunning-Kruger where I think I am smart but I am actually very dumb (especially about economics and finances). I am very ranty and very angry in this episode, and honestly I still am pissed to this very day. The literal “Billionaire” class is treating America like a toybox and our politicians are unfortunately not going to save us from the myriad of problems we face (rising poverty chief among them).

- I pretty much ranted on three sides of this terrible triangle of hell. First, if we have UBI how many Americans would stop participating in life? If I had guaranteed income for life (despite how paltry) would I stop trying to improve myself and just be a total consumerist and provide zero positive impact to society? Basically, just live in my mom’s basement and play MMORPG’s like I’m 18, but forever?

-Second, without UBI (at some level) we are going to start facing massive unrest to the point of becoming a failed state. The richest 1% own more SIXTEEN TIMES MORE WEALTH than the bottom 50% in America (as of Summer 2021). Eventually we are going to reach a tipping point where our consumer-based economy cannot consume because the rich have all the money. Once that happens, the rich will flee to a nice country while the exploited mass will suffer from an economic implosion. The only way to keep this stupid scheme going is to actually infuse more cash to the bottom, since ultimately poor people collectively will buy MILLIONS of things, and then they can’t the factories will close and the snowball beings to roll.

-Third (and final rant): UBI will be implemented wrong in the US. If it ever passes congress and the executive branch, whatever law that will be written that is meant for UBI will ultimately be so terrible that it would make our lives worse. My future prediction: they get rid of housing, child care, health care, social security, food stamps, heat/oil subsidies, tuition aid, and basically all the safety nets they (political-elite billionaire funded class) and they’ll replace it with a measly 500 dollars a month. Then of course inflation will make it worth tremendously less year after year, to the point where it wouldn’t even cover the cost of a cellphone bill. How do I know this? Because it’s the same playbook how they treat Veteran Affairs, Social Security, and all the other programs that we (the people) pay into and look at how those funds are robbed and run in return. Our nation is a garbage fire and the worst part is that almost half of the voting population LIKE IT THIS WAY.

-Fourth rant: all that being said, I think that things will eventually get better. Otherwise without blind and stupid optimism and naïve hope, the only other motivation we have is spite.