Universal Basic Income

Came across this old thread while cleaning up my subscriptions, and I thought during these times it's a good topic to bring up again.

There's been experiments with basic income in some cities like Stockton, CA. I saw a headline about it being "considered" in L.A., CA one of the costliest places to live.

COVID really exacerbated the gap between the haves and have nots.

Some people don't even qualify for unemployment or they do yet can't get any benefits. They make it cumbersome to even qualify. Same with any government benefit.

UBI may or may not work, but I think it should be considered on a federal level. It could make a difference between someone ending up on the street....or not.

I think that if our current welfare system were easier to access it would help. You have to be really really poor to get help and those of us who could just use a little help are sol.

Kind of interesting thoughts here. I'm a simpleton really, but in my Country I do have a disability that I still am on benefits through the Govt, In all honesty, those with even less on welfare, it's not enough to find housing. People have to dig into the alloted amount for food clothing and basic needs to cover rent. I've seen videos where people end up with less than a few hundred dollars to cover everything other than shelter, meaning groceries, which have skyrocketed in price, lucky if you have a phone, no internet, and lucky to be able to buy the luxury of soaps and tp. It really is a sad world, so wishing the middle class could get a hand up, that's fine, but I wish they knew what it's like to live below poverty level. Then if you try to work, good luck finding a job that lets you work minimum hours lest you work a few too many hours and lose the right to disability :benefits" that no one can realistically live on.
And I do think there's good reason we don't have a universal wage. What would people's motivation be? What would they compare their situation to and want to be productive for?

What does sol mean? Is that an acronym?

Where are you? Of course you don't have to say.

I'd like to hear from more people in other countries too.

Hi nonightowl.... i think sol is short for shyte out of luck
I'd like to not say where I'm from. Right now though, I have a problem that shouldn't be... being on this disability doesn't allow me to give part of my "estate' to my own sons... Can't even live with one because if I charge rent like I'd have to, it's considered income to me. Anyway, in some ways as I think of this idea.... it would be great to have euqality. If mankind could agree that some efforts get rewarded, yet realize not everyone is capable of contributing like more intelligent people can contribute to things like medical needs. flying airplanes.. some of us aren't rocket scientists so to speak. So how would we ever get along. It's so basic..... someone decided at one time to draw a line and start fighting over what they considered "theirs".... when really every human should have their basic needs met. If we could all work 8 hours, play 8 hours, sleep 8 hours.. eliminate the night shifts.. that would be an almost perfect world. It hurts to know some struggle so badly to make ends meet, yet some take for granted the fact they have housing and food. It's a sad world. and politicians aren't ever going to fix it. There's too much greed, and I don't think that will ever change. It's as though no matter what, the "system" has set us up to fail.

I don't know about it. Where would the government get all that money? And the U.S. is already having a great deal of trouble hiring people for low-wage jobs like food servers, because of unemployment money for COVID, I think.

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Originally Posted by Travelinglady I don't know about it. Where would the government get all that money? And the U.S. is already having a great deal of trouble hiring people for low-wage jobs like food servers, because of unemployment money for COVID, I think.

I hear w. hat you are saying but I do not think the unemployment money or extensions are keeping people from working. I dont know about your state but in nj there is a maximum amount you can get and thats it. So even if you are a laid off ceo making 8 figures you still max out just the same as John Doe the baker. Years and years ago in 08 when everything collapsed my husband was in his last year of journeyman's school. He did 3 years of teledata and transferred to journeyman for another 4 years. With apprentices you have a set scale. When he started at that time 1st years started at 12$ an hour (in 2000) my husband graduated with a geology degree and worked for environmental consultants. His dreams of living on the edge of a volcano were fleeting because very few average science majors actually get to study their dreams. Reality was science grads worked for firms doing semi-unethical work. So summer of 08 he graduated and he was to earn his full rate of 45$/per hour. That first month was like a dream. We had just bought the house and thought we could breathe a sign of relief. We knew we werent rich and we have always have been careful but the idea of not worrying was so wonderful. Fast forward to the crash and he was out of work for almost a year and 3 months. At that time the max benefit was 575 a week. That was the top tier. I couldnt believe that anyone thought a family of 5 could live on that. My disability was 700/month. We nearly lost the house.

The pandemic is an situation that was poo-pood by most every one until they saw the ripple effect and how it started with a virus and morphed into a life situation that was crippling families. So i think it was an extra 300$ from the feds for a bit. Some states gave some extra too.
So lets say a person gets 550/week and an extra 300$ from the feds. So roughly 3400 gross dollars a month. Not sure how much was taken out for taxes. So using the standard( outdated and not adjusted for inflation) a family of 5 making about 31k is impoverished- not just poor but poverty, 3400 a month means your raking in a whopping 40k a year (no tax taken out yet) 40k a year for 3 kids/2 adults is very poor. Working poor. It is a myth imo that people are staying home willingly to just reap all the riches rather than take a job. It is a myth spun by certain people to perpetuate the sterotype that people needing assistance are really just lazy people that want a handout. Cause ya know that 40k is a life of luxury. Its just letting old uncle sam take care of you while you ignore job searches and eat bon bons on the sofa. And the assistance has already run out or cut off for many. But screw those lazy people. They just need to get up and take care of themselves and if they cant? OH WELL.

Yeah, you here business owners griping that they can't hire people because people are getting too much in benefits and so don't want to work.


I'm in Canada. When COVID hit last year and thousands of people lost their jobs, the gov't rolled out a benefit called the CERB which paid 2000 a month and they made it very easy to access it right away. Now 2000 / month is not a lot especially if you live in a big city but it was better than landing on welfare, which is like 700/month in my province. CERB has ended, but the gov't has enhanced and increased eligibility for employment insurance which it needed to do for years anyway. But it's still below what someone working full time at a minimum wage job.

Well what employers discovered and employees were saying was that it wasn't that people didn't want to work, it was that they didn't want to work in bad jobs - poor pay, no security, inconsistent hours, abusive employers etc. Employers offering better wages/benefits had no trouble hiring.

I'm not sure UBI is an answer to inequality, I've heard arguments both ways. I think targeted interventions work better. For example successive federal governments have done a fairly decent job in reducing child poverty and poverty among seniors through targeted tax credits and benefits and they work.


The one group that's completely ignored is the disabled. I'm on provincial disability insurance, and even with the maximum allowable help from family, I barely survive the month, and [part of my part time job salary is deducted from my benefits so while I want to work, I'm penalized for it. And I'm just not well enough to work full time.


A member of parliament was proposing a federal disability benefit, similar to what seniors have, but parliament was dissolved and now we're having an election, so who knows if something similar would be proposed by the next government, and if the provincial disability programs would want to claw it back.

I just hope they do something to address income inequality.

I'm seeing lots of "scutwork"--low-paying, physically-demanding jobs like being restaurant works being rejected by people. We need higher wages, even if products and services will cost more.

It BURNS me up how some politicians say people "don't want to work". Not EVERYBODY can do physically demanding work like working in a grocery store, retailer, warehouse, or fast food place. Yes, they are JOBS but like mentioned, some people can't do that kind of work. They are not lazy, they just have limitations. But it's not a "disability" per se, so they don't need to be accommodated. I can't stand long or work irregular shifts or work till 11pm, etc. I'm too old for that.

The unemployment rate is much higher than reported, I'm sure. Once you run out of benefits, you are not in the system and don't get counted. So of course the government can brag of a "lower" rate. Also, temporary jobs temporarily "pad" the rate.

I hate it when politicians say "It will create jobs." What KIND of jobs?? Temporary, low-paying? It's true we need our bridges, roads, etc. repaired yet these are construction jobs. Good for people who do that kind of work, but can anybody do construction??? Absolutely not! We need a system that works for everybody.

Some adults may not be working due to having to take of children or older relatives, esp. during this COVID never-ending nightmare. Yet I keep hearing how employers are whining they "can't find" people. It's so biased, I don't even listen now.

Not everybody qualifies for unemployment or if they do, it's so hard to apply it's like they don't want to help you. There's been so much fraud of course, like prisoners getting benefits but legitimate claimers are rejected.

Kind of an old thread but I think I have changed my mind on this.. after the pandemic

1. Something that I think is becoming clear now is that there are lots of crap jobs that, frankly aren't really necessary. Do we really need one more McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts? No and people don't want to work in these jobs because they don't really offer sufficient benefits. Sometimes it seems like a vicious circle... the only reason we need McDonalds or D and D is that we have to get up early to work and don't have time to make breakfast at home.

2. Looking into it... truthfully people of the past really expected revolutions in manufacturing etc.. to free people from needing to work at all. And lets ask, do we really need to work? People suffered and died in order so what we didn't have to work. That was always the goal... so people could free themselves from chores of life. Now we have the tools to do that and we still stubbornly work like dogs, mostly with jobs that, lets face it... don't really need to be done!

3. It is only the culture of work that is making us work. There are many other countries that have drastically cut back on hours and given more vacation time... and, it works for them.

I feel like it isn't going to happen soon because there is a generation that won't allow it because they worked there whole lives but, as it goes on, I think people will be pushing this more. I truly think the vaccination mandate hit the people who generally will be the first to say "no" to this and now they are thinking about it. They don't want to be in a position where their employer can make crazy demands and they have no options. I mean a lot of the people I talk to say one shot isn't that bad but what will be the next demand?