Basic income doesn't mean you can't go earn more. The idea is that people WILL, but it will also free people up to be more creative, and rebalance the power between employees and employers.

”To parrot one interviewee, what have we got to lose?”

That hammock line isn’t actually laugh-worthy. Is it unreasonable to think 10% or 20% (or more?) of the current workforce would simply stop working if they didn’t have to worry about food or shelter? What do those jobs add to the community and how do we replace them?

Broad arguments that either “we’ll make it up somehow” (ie: automation, higher taxes) or “it’s worth the cost” (ie: better unemployed than a wage slave) are pretty fucking unrealistic when it comes to actually meeting the world’s need for bus drivers, home healthcare workers, Stranger interns, and other unglamorous entry-level jobs.

The sooner poverty is eliminated the better. Creative people will create if they do not have to worry about survival. Wage slavery is slavery. People deserve a basic income especially the most disadvantaged who are kept down by the most privileged who want their cheap labor no matter what. Also, there is much unpaid labor mostly by poor and working class women who take care of children, the old and others and keep things clean and healthy.

Mr Wright,

As the projectionista at the Grand Illusion pointed out to me, there was a nearly throwaway line in the film about a UBI experiment being done in Seattle sometime in the 60s or 70s, which was apparently shut down in the Reagan era.

Any chance you'd care to pursue that and get back to us? I, for one, would be fascinated to hear the story.

Thank you in advance.