{"id":835,"date":"2016-04-26T22:39:01","date_gmt":"2016-04-27T05:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/?p=835"},"modified":"2016-12-22T14:14:06","modified_gmt":"2016-12-22T22:14:06","slug":"basic-income-how-would-it-affect-us-as-human-beings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/?p=835","title":{"rendered":"Basic income \u2013 How would it affect us as human beings?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Report from Penny U<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Didn\u2019t Penny U\u00a0talk about basic income before?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Yes, indeed, this is essentially the same topic that prompted a Penny U conversation back in December 2015<\/a>.\u00a0[More about Penny U\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/strong>] We suspected then that there was more to say on the topic\u2026and we were right! So, for\u00a0Penny U in March 2016, we used this as our overarching\u00a0question:<\/span><\/p>\n

What would happen if everyone received a basic income, regardless of the work they do or what their financial status is?<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This second\u00a0Penny U on\u00a0basic income was organized in partnership with Town Hall as usual, but was held in the cabaret at the Richard Hugo House \u2013 a space that’s very conducive to\u00a0discussion. The specific questions for the evening included one that triggered the discussion reported below:<\/p>\n

Would a basic income lead to fuller lives and an increase in the common good, or would it encourage people to be lazy and to work less?<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A second set of notes [here<\/a>] reports on other conversations that evening that took up other\u00a0questions. Some got more into the nitty gritty of how it would actually work:\u00a0If basic income is a good idea, should everyone get the same amount, and where would the money come from? And others ttook a big picture view and\u00a0considered the whole of society: Would a basic income just be a concession to capitalism,\u00a0and why are we having this discussion now?<\/p>\n

In drafting both sets of notes, I haven\u2019t tried to synthesize the conversations, opting instead to try to more closely reflect its spirit, offering a record that\u2019s more like dialogue. So, as you read, imagine lively exchanges, each one a combination of four or five discrete voices at one of four tables, all talking at once. The animated conversation went on for a good two hours and sometimes headed in unexpected directions. The notes add a modest order to it all by grouping somewhat similar ideas together.<\/p>\n

Our hope is that Penny U gives us\u00a0practice listening to each other and<\/em> speaking up, whether uncertain or confident, whether drawing on study and research or on our daily lives; a place where we hear our own voices and<\/em> listen closely to others, even when faced with conversational styles and ideas fundamentally different from our own.<\/p>\n

What would happen to our sense of self worth if everyone got a basic income?<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cOur jobs are linked to our feelings of self worth,\u201d one person claimed. \u201cOur sense of purpose in life is tightly tied to the way we make a living. We become what we do.\u201d The speaker worried that today many, maybe most, people have no habit of defining themselves. \u201cWe let our jobs do it for us.\u201d She went on to say that it would be a huge shift in the basic framework of our lives and our understanding of who we are \u2013 psychologically, emotionally \u2013 if we didn\u2019t have jobs to give us a purpose. As an example, she mentioned friends on social media who \u201cdon\u2019t love their jobs,\u201d and she\u2019s aghast at what they do with their time off.<\/p>\n

“Our identities very often come from our jobs; we become what we do.”<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cPerhaps having basic costs covered would take the fear out of having or losing a job.\u201d Without that fear underlying their lives, they\u2019d be freed up to define themselves in new, more meaningful ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, if people are released from the burden of economic fear, would society\u2019s necessary, sometimes unpleasant, work still would get done? Would people just be lazy?\u201d On the other hand, maybe we could \u201crun society like a household, where everyone takes turns doing the unsavory jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been an artist\/writer all my life. It would be easy for me to fill my time, I\u2019ve had practice. But, so many people haven\u2019t had the chance to define themselves, and it could take a long time to adjust.\u201d How long would it take for most of us to develop a purpose-driven life? \u201cI\u2019m nervous about our ability to float while we make this transition. Money has been such a driver.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho says not producing something has no value!”<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cA basic income shouldn\u2019t be tied to individual results. Who says not producing something has no value!\u201d \u201cThe program wouldn\u2019t be a failure if some people simply sit back. That will happen.\u201d \u201cIt isn\u2019t necessarily bad if some people don\u2019t get engaged. That <\/em>can benefit society as well.\u201d \u201cWe have such a Calvinist approach. Society\u2019s understanding of work and our sense of what\u2019s valuable are huge cultural hurdles to an idea like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to change our mindset about leisure. Leisure is meaningful. Education could help us. Its purpose can be directed to developing skills for a vocation or it can be directed to the liberal arts. College should be free.\u201d \u201cA college for all one\u2019s life.\u201d \u201cHas social security created a lazy generation of seniors?\u201d<\/p>\n

“Young people will find their self-actualization outside their jobs.”<\/strong> \u2013 Andy Stern<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In a 2014 discussion of similar themes, former SEIU President Andy Stern told a Town Hall audience, \u201cMy 3-5 year-old niece and nephew won\u2019t think about work the way we do.\u201d Referring to his own generation, he went on to say, \u201cWe often found our social environments through our work, our jobs. Young people won\u2019t, and many have already made that shift.\u201d They find what he called \u201ctheir self-actualization\u201d outside their jobs.<\/p>\n

Would people still fight for supremacy, still strive to get the most or the best?<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cPeople will always seek the advantage, everyone wants to optimize. Trying to convince others to our way is an universal aspect of human nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, is this just an institutional overlay? It isn\u2019t true everywhere. If this impulse is allowed free reign, we\u2019ll lose our democracy. Fighting for supremacy is a way of moving forward in a patriarchy, characterized by an attitude of \u2018you\u2019re with us or against us\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Can we shift to seeing ourselves as part of a collective whole?”<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cHow can we develop\u00a0a spirit of cooperation, can we see\u00a0ourselves as individuals who are part of a collective whole? How do we encourage a culture of generosity?\u201d \u201cThe commons gives us a different mode. It is an ancient system that still continues in many ways and in many places around the world. The commons is not, as a famous essay, \u2018The Tragedy of the Commons\u2019 by Garret Hardin, suggests, an unregulated resource to be taken advantage of by everyone. It is a resource, used by many and managed by the community that uses it, and this community of users establishes rules, values, and protocols for its use.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling optimistic. Surprising, radical transformations are more possible now.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cYounger people are less sympathetic with radical competitiveness. They feel they\u2019ve been given a \u2018bait and switch\u2019 deal, for example, big college debt for jobs that are disappearing. It\u2019s why they\u2019re in love with Bernie Sanders.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m feeling optimistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

[This conversation continues. See additional notes,\u00a0here<\/strong>.]<\/p>\n

\n

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Report from Penny U Didn\u2019t Penny U\u00a0talk about basic income before? Yes, indeed, this is essentially the same topic that prompted a Penny U conversation back in December 2015.\u00a0[More about Penny U\u00a0here.] We suspected then that there was more to say on the topic\u2026and we were right! So, for\u00a0Penny U in March 2016, we used…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-penny-u","category-whats-work"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7pXN0-dt","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=835"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":898,"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835\/revisions\/898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.annefocke.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}