Tuesday, October 24, 2017

UBI


At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements. 😉

Have you heard of the idea of a universal basic income? It's something that's been all over my Twitter feed recently as #basicincome and #CASHcon. (If you haven't seen it, check it out.) I first heard of this only this year, but it seems to be getting more and more press. And this got me thinking...

What if you started getting an extra $1000 a month from some philanthropical concern? Would you be suspicious? What would you do with the money?

19 comments:

  1. I'd be suspicious - it would probably be coming out of my taxes, which would mean I'd be paying myself.

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  2. I hadn't heard of this universal basic income concept, so I did read the article. Not sure how I feel about it in general, but to answer your question, I think I would be suspicious too. I would probably save the money so that if they ever decided it wasn't a good idea and wanted it back, I'd have the money available to pay them back.

    betty

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  3. If I don't know where it's coming from, of course I'd be suspicious.
    If it's a basic income, then I'm happy for the extra cash, though I'd like to think it would go automatically to savings.

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  4. Of course I would be suspicious since I am not really a trusting person anyway....would I spend it....probably not, I would save it waiting for the other shoe to drop and someone want it back!

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    1. I think in this case no one is going to want it back. Although, the payments may stop...

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  5. I'd pay rent and buy food. I'm too poor to be suspicious.

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  6. I'd be suspicious but would stick it in a savings account.

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    1. It sounds like everyone thus far would be suspicious. Interesting.

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  7. I would be suspicious as well and wonder what they want in return. I would be investigating to see if this is legit, if I will be taxed and I would be saving this money in a separate account until i know for sure there is not anything attached to getting this money.

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  8. An extra $1000 a month woulkd mean I could visit my mom in FL more often and boy would that make her happy. My feeling is, if someone sends me a valid check, I'll cash it as long as there's no nefarious strings attached.

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  9. Hi Liz - it's been around a while ... if someone (a country) is brave enough to set it up - it could certainly help lots of people - and get them off welfare benefits - it is being seriously looked at. It could make a world of difference - cheers Hilary

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  10. I would definitely be suspicious and would investigate it deeply. However, if this were the case and it was legit, that shit would be invested lickity split.

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  11. There is a UBI scheme being implemented in Stockton, CA. as I type.

    If I were a recipient, I'd probably use the money for schooling, if there were any left over after paying bills.

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    1. I believe it's the Stockton experiment that is referenced in the article I linked to.

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  12. What would I do...perhaps first research to see if things were legit ie...a group that really gives things away so later you didn't get a nasty note saying you had to pay it back. I would use it for charities I currently can't afford.

    Trying once more on the hyperlink thing, sorry for all the practice.

    Traveling Suitcase

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I appreciate your comments.

I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.

*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.