this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2023
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[–] [email protected] 180 points 11 months ago (93 children)

Remember, we know how to address many of the world's problems, including poverty, homelessness, and climate change.

But those with capital in society choose not to.

[–] [email protected] 52 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Those with capital choose not to

Those with capital profit off of not doing so.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Like the one recent CEO saying the quiet part aloud by saying government should promote higher unemployment, since in the high employment environment employees aren't desperate and have more demands costing him money. That employees arent feeling enough pain and despair in economy.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago (3 children)

To be fair, this isn't that far away from the economic theory underlying using interest rates to manage inflation - it's just phrased in a different way.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago (41 children)

I recently heard it phrased like this:

Capitalism is built on hierarchy, which means someone fundamentally NEEDS to be at the bottom. There is no way around it, someone needs to suffer.

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[–] [email protected] 145 points 11 months ago (16 children)

Every single study on UBI finds that it is a good idea that benefits both the recipients and society as a whole, but because it contradicts the dominant ideology it can't be allowed to happen.

[–] [email protected] 80 points 11 months ago (1 children)

If people aren't forced to work to live then how can I get cheap labor for my shitty business that my dad gave me?

[–] [email protected] 37 points 11 months ago (4 children)

If people have UBI, you can get away with paying less though. That's how walmart does it; just encourage your workers to get welfare so they stay alive enough to work more

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 11 months ago (3 children)

How can a society built on capital work towards the betterment of society rather than the accretion of capital?

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

There was a UBI experiment in canada that was a huge success and of course the tories axed it as soon as they had the chance. Conservatives need to [extremely long bleep] ... [yeah still bleeping] ... ... [still going] ... [leeeeep] -yeah i'm going to have to redact this in post.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago (8 children)

I've yet to see a study at a scale large enough to impact the local economy. Will the results hold when everyone gets monthly cash payments, or will rent go through the roof and that's about it?

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[–] [email protected] 54 points 11 months ago (15 children)
[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago (3 children)

That isnt socialism, the proletariat doesn't control the means of production.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago

Love too go down to the government store and order an extra large socialism

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

Yh a lot of mfers on this site need to actually read some theory.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I think you are confusing socialism with communism.

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 11 months ago (3 children)

1K a month is pretty trivial compared to the cost of all the public money used to punish them (e.g cops). Even if you don't care about the humanity aspect at all UBI makes sense just from a pure numbers perspective.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 11 months ago (1 children)

But think of all the money prisons will lose!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I know it's a popular sentiment, because private prisons are so in-your-face evil, but they're not as ubiquitous as the population seems to believe.

Twenty-seven states and the federal government incarcerated 96,370 people in private prisons in 2021, representing 8% of the total state and federal prison population.

Yes, that's too many. Yes, we need to ban these things at the federal level. But let's not forget the grift from state and local prisons, in many cases worse because they can't be as readily audited.

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Rent is only high because of artificial scarcity of real estate. The scarcity only exists because building new housing is decided neither by supply and demand nor central government planning, but by the people who accumulate more capital if housing isn't built.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)

We really need to push for the feds to step in and start constructing government housing against the will of the NIMBYs and local and state governments then.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 11 months ago

OK, so you're telling me that giving money to people who need it, is better than giving it to rich people?

I am Wage Slaves inner shocked pikachu. Same thing, just more sarcastic and massive eye brows.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 11 months ago

The cruelty is the point, so this isn't likely to be expanded. ![capitalist-laugh](https://www.hexbear.net/pictrs/image/fdc96d7d-9fc4-4fc0-95ef-17aaf25405a2.png "emoji capitalist-laugh")

[–] [email protected] 15 points 11 months ago

To be clear here, while they advocate for UBI this isn't really a study on the topic as much as it is on direct cash payments to the homeless. Which has been supported by tons of different research in Canada, London, so many places I can't even remember them all.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago

People without money mostly need money.

Somehow this is surprising and confusing... primarily to people who cannot imagine change.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago

Wow.

Can’t wait for this to never roll out nationwide at the Federal level.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

I'd love to show this to people who say "but lazy people will be getting paid for nothing" or "competition is human nature" that capitalists made the fuck up, but it'll probably go over their heads, or they'll conveniently say that the test was not done properly

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago (3 children)

I think my biggest problem with these tests (not the idea of UBI) is that they go entirely based on what the recipients say. There's not really any indication that fact checking is done to confirm they actually are living somewhere now, or they did get their cars fixed, etc.

I'm confident that the money helped, because obviously it would, but I wish we could get some actual solid data on how much it helped. The cynic in me believes that desperate people getting 1000$/mo will embellish how much it helps in order to keep getting the money, when in reality they need 1500$ or 2000$ to afford housing in Denver.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

I'm not sure what definition of UBI you're using, but not all forms of UBI need to cover the entirety of living expenses. UBI is just having income without strings attached. This very study is showing that even small amounts of money can help people get out of shitty situations.

Also as someone who lives in Dever, it's not that expensive. Sure $1500+ is what you'll pay around LoDo, but there are plenty of cheaper places.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

"Those damn homeless and injuns get EVERYTHING for free"

-my racist and jaded ass coworker

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

the Pew Charitable Trust wrote in a recent analysis that research had "consistently found that homelessness in an area is driven by housing costs."

Well, yeah, and we can thank investors, landlords and capital funds for that. Housing in Denver is ridiculously expensive currently... and it was bad but not to this extent a few years ago. A house next door to me that was $250k and $1000 a month a few years ago is now $450 and $2100 a month.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

“No shit”

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

Poverty is a lack of money, that's it. Tax the rich, help the poor, grow the middle class.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I wonder if rent would go up if ubi became a thing

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago

That depends on the housing market. If you have a surplus in housing, rent will remain stable because tenants will move if their landlord increases rent.

If you have a deficit in housing and more people look for a place to stay than there are available places, then tenants cannot move. Landlords and other businesses in deficit markets like healthcare will take all additional income.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The Maoist uprising against the landlords was the most comprehensive proletarian revolution in history, leading to almost totally equal redistribution of the land amongst the peasantry.

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