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What is Universal Basic Income?
If you have never heard of Universal Basic Income (UBI), you have come to the right place to find out. In this podcast, taskmaster4450 explains what it is, why we need it, and how to get it.
If you think that taskmaster4450 is a funny name for a person, you are right. That is his username on the social media site Steemit where I met him. Steemit pays for posting, commenting and voting in cryptocurrency.
That is one way to make an income that is different from what you might be used to. But that is not what can be understood as a Univeral Basic Income. On Steemit, you have to put effort and work into building your account and subsequently creating an income.
The idea of UBI is that beyond signing up for it, you are not required to do more - just receiving your income on a regular basis.
Why Do We Need Universal Basic Income?
You might ask yourself why we need Universal Basic Income since we can get a job and work for what we need. That certainly used to be the model and for many, that is and will be the plan.
However, technology is developing at a rapid speed and many foresee a wave of what they call technological unemployment. That means that jobs are disappearing because technology has developed that make that job obsolete.
One example is that the many film development and photo printing places disappeared with the general adoption of digital cameras - a bit like the horse-drawn wagon made way for the automobile.
We already hear lots of talk about driverless cars which eventually will make taxis, Lift and Uber drivers unnecessary. San Diego County was just chosen to be part of an extended Drone program and Amazon has been talking about deliveries by drones for a long time.
We are just at the beginning of exploring what we can accomplish with Artificial Intelligence. But one thing is becoming increasingly clear. Many jobs will disappear as we are moving along this path.
Of course, people can find all kinds of things to do with their time. But everyone needs food and shelter - hence the idea of a Universal Basic Income.
The scenario described above is looking into the future. Fact is that there are many people in the world right now who do not have the luxury of secure shelter or knowing where their next meal will come from. Every one of them will benefit from being able to count on an income that fulfills their basic needs.
We all have learned about Maslow's Theory of needs and how our lives are formed by this. If you haven't, here is the Wikipedia link.
How Can a Univeral Basic Income Be Achieved?
So far, all makes sense, but how can a Universal Basic Income be achieved? That, of course, is the question which comes to everyone's mind.
Does it mean that the rich have to give up their money and their lifestyle to lift up the poor?
No. That has been tried in systems of attempted Socialism or Communism and the models haven't worked very well at all.
Does it mean that we all have to pay more taxes and the State gives out the UBI? Some countries are trying that model. But if we stick with the theory that fewer people will have paying jobs, that will put the burden of creating the source of the UBI on fewer and fewer wage earners and make it not sustainable.
So, what can we do?
Cryptocurrency
Enter cryptocurrency. To explain cryptocurrency requires an article in and of itself, but we are touching on it in the podcast and I will also link to a previous episode where we are talking extensively about what is the blockchain and what is cryptocurrency.
Here is a short explanation. Cryptocurrency is an application housed on a blockchain. The value to each token is assigned to it by the user. This is similar to fiat money you are used to. For example, the American Dollar is more or less a piece of paper we all agree has a value and we can use it in exchange for goods or services we need or want.
The value changes over time. We all are familiar with inflation. That means that we can buy less for the same amount of money over time. Money can also rise in value and we can buy more.
The same holds true for cryptocurrencies. We assign the value to a token and the more people who also see value in it, the more the buying power of that token rises.
The theory behind creating a token to give out as Universal Basic Income is based on or at least illustrated with Metcalfe's law. This is a very simplified version: The more people are using something, the more valuable it becomes. Here is the wikipedia link to understand it better.
How Can I Receive a Universal Basic Income?
That is an easy question to answer!!
Manna Universal Basic Income is a 501c nonprofit organization in the US dedicated to ending worldwide poverty. Their goal is to get their token, Manna, to as many people as possible.
Why? Remember, the more people who are using it, the more its value will increase.
All you need to do is to sign up. Here is my referral link: https://www.mannabase.com/?ref=179a62831e
If you use my link, we both benefit.
You will have to verify that you are you. That is it. Everyone can participate.
I Don't Need Another Income. Should I Sign Up?
Even if you don't need an income, sign up and then give your share of Manna to someone else. There are several ways to go about this.
One, of course, is that you cash out your token and hand the cash to a homeless person or a neighbor in need.
Another way is that Manna is already cooperating with several charities and you can give your share of UBI to a charity.
Or you and a group of people can dedicate your shares to a project you are interested in supporting. This can be your church, a Youth program or the community garden you want to get off the ground.
The possibilities are endless!!!
I am excited!!
Are you? What do you think about the idea of Universal Basic Income?
Are you going to participate?
The Referral Links
I will receive a benefit from some of these links.
Manna Universal Basic Income: https://www.mannabase.com/?ref=179a62831e
Also, join Steemit.com and look for @sustainablelivin, @mariannewest, @taskmaster4450
Are you interested in other sources of earning for doing what you already do:
Join Sola and earn SOL: https://sola.ai/posts/MDExZWV
Listen to bitrad.io and earn Bro: https://bitrad.io/?ref=97511
Want to earn sweat coin by walking outside? https://sweatco.in/m/marianne827343
Other Podcasts on this General Topic
http://sustainablelivingpodcast.com/blockchain-cryptocurrency/http://sustainablelivingpodcast.com/michael-tellinger-ubuntu/
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://sustainablelivingpodcast.com/universal-basic-income/
I linked this blog post in a recent post I did about Manna. You can check it out here:
https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@zetetrahedron369/manna-universal-basic-income-cryptocurrency
Released on: May 14th
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Thank you!! Good to know!
Thanks for doing this podcast about UBI! Upvoted, followed, and resteemed.
FYI, for future UBI related posts, #basicincome is the primary hashtag. Cheers!
Thank you so much!!! I am sure we will talk about it more.
cryptocurrency is still a tax on the productive.
Or, if it is not, than it is worthless. (or in other terms, Metcalfe's law states the money is less valuable as less people use it. You need to have someone who accepts it in exchange for goods, or the productive)
hmm. I don't know how it is a tax on the productive - and yes, to be worth anything, it has to be used and valued. Only because someone has crypto doesn't mean that they are not productive.
Lets say you had a farmer and a person on UBI.
UBI wants food. The farmer has food.
In all scenarios the food (production) goes from the farmer to UBI
And this is identical throughout planet earth. The stuff has to come from somewhere.
Someone had to work to make it. Thus, any transfer to a UBI person is taking from the productive.
This doesn't make any sense. First, i would have to assume you meant UBI related crypto.
Then i would have to assume that there was UBI for everyone. Then, if everyone has UBI, some people will be productive... ELSE EVERYONE STARVES TO DEATH. So, your statement would be true, and meaningless.
Now, i was speaking of a crypto has to have a perceived value in order for people to exchange goods for it. Lets say that you got a crypto-coin were people were using it. And then you started printing tons of it to give out UBI. Well, in that situation:
Price for a loaf of bread
Month 1 = 1 UBItoken
Month 2 = 10 UBItoken
Month 3 = 100 UBItoken
Month 4 = 1000 UBItoken
This is what monetary inflation looks like when it is straight to the end users.
See Weimar Germany.
I grew up in Germany - so, I do know that history.
I still don't follow exactly your thought concept. The idea behind Universal basic income is that everyone, the farmer, the baker and the candlestick maker gets it. So, even the farmer has it to pay for his house, for example, while he is busy producing food.
Also, any crypto tokens are more or less generated out of thin air and people decide that they have value. Then, they exchange their money for it. Or get it in other ways - like through writing here on steemit.
And then there is the point that we are all different and that some of us have more abilities than others. And that can change in a life time. So, for now, I do feel that living in a rich country (US) I do have the responsibility to help to get rid of hunger in the world.
And the farmer would not have to produce more - we have enough food right now to feed everyone, but we destroy a good part of it instead of getting it to those in need.
And if a UBI token is helping those who need it to get it - I am all for it.
and I really can't see how that is a tax.
I really can't see how you can think that it isn't a tax.
So much of your statement here is wishful thinking.
Further, it borders on just failing outright.
MONEY IS NOT PRINTED OUT OF THIN AIR!
That is a neat phrasing that the people use to describe what the unFederal noReserve Bankcartel does. What is actually the case is that with every loan the banks make it STEALS a little bit from every other dollar in existence. This is where inflation comes from.
So, you are defining a new money where you will steal from everyone who has it to pay everyone next month.
Now, back to the base problem.
Someone makes something and someone else wants it.
In ALL methods except for the person wanting it exchanging something of similar value, it is theft, or taxation.
Exchanging the goods for magic money is not acceptable.
The money has to be solid, sound and in use, such that the recipient believes they will be able to exchange it in the future for something that they want.
So far all i have seen is ideas of magic money (which is worthless) or various forms of taxation. And that taxation in all the methods is on the productive.
Further, the worst part is that there is no taxation on being unproductive or counterproductive.
I have made several posts entitled Better Than UBI. They offer some actual, doable solutions.
Let's just agree to disagree. I can't get behind your thinking that only people who can produce on the same level as you can should be getting something - anything.
What about the old, the children, the sick, the disabled? They are just a tax on you? How about you give freely - giving freely is not a tax.
Anyway, I don't think that I can change your mind or can make you see a different viewpoint.
So, I respectfully bow out of this conversation.
How about you stop putting emotions into this and blaming me for not being concerned. Obviously you have not read any of my ideas for something better than UBI. I am not callous or heartless.
You cannot change my mind without sound logic. So far, there has been nothing of solidity.
What you are missing is logic.
If you have a group of people that are the producers of goods, and another who are not. Anything that you demand of the first group is a tax. Any way you distribute those goods to the second group is theft.
And your solution was to say, "no, we aren't stealing, we are giving the producers some magic money".
So... how many Weimar Marks will it take for an hour of your labor? how many Zimbabwe dollars?
Printing money does not equal prosperity.
So, give me a reason to believe that your crypto will function over the long term.
All i see so far is that you have made a plan to enrich the banks every month.
I suppose we are going to start needing business's who will accept trade on it. ^.^ ~ exciting times indeed!
Ty for the post
Thank you. Yes, just like with Steem and SBD, we need to be able to use it to buy directly without having to convert it to fiat first. I am sure the day will come sooner than we think...
Hi! I am a robot. I just upvoted you! I found similar content that readers might be interested in:
http://sustainablelivingpodcast.com/universal-basic-income/
@Cheetah - get lost. I don't appreciate you showing up on my blog. I clearly stated that it is a repost and it was posted the minute it went up - at the same time. Stop trying to be a tool of censorship and go back to fighting plagiarism. Or change your name to duplicate bot or something like that.
Censorship is not okay!!!!! @patrice - I am very disappointed in what you are doing with the cheetah bot now. You have already caused this platform to lose several of my friends who are top content producers and were ready to share their stuff here as well.
Are you trying to make this a platform free of plagiarism or are you trying to kill it by chasing people away?
@cheetah is not my bot. She belongs to @anyx who is her creator and programmer. There are several like myself that have limited control to blacklist or whitelist users.
If you're dedicated to posting fresh content, posted on steemit within hours of posting on your site, you can request to be whitelisted.
Thank you @patrice and sorry for my mistake. I will request it. I have gone to the cheetah room and I remember that when I first got onto steemit in my name - not as the podcast - I asked and was told that when I post within 24 hours, it would be fine.
I have a plugin on my website that posts here immediately. And I really don't mind to have it pointed out as a cross post - but cheetah has a reputation for going after cheaters...
Thank you for taking the time to answer and now I know who to address this to