$0. Cover everyone’s basic needs by default whether they work or not.
Then you will have no need for a minimum wage, and people who do work will be in much better positions to negotiate their pay because getting fired or quitting has zero chance of being deadly.
What do you do when there’s a shortage? I never understood the “cover everyone’s needs” idea. Don’t you eventually run out of other peoples stuff to give away?
Idk if you’re American, but I am, so I’m using as the example.
There are more empty houses in America than there are homeless people. There is more than enough wasted food to feed those who are starving.
There are no shortages of our basic needs. There is only unrestricted greed of the rich. People die, not because the resources to keep them alive don’t exist, but because politicians value their wallets over the lives of their citizens.
Furthermore, to address “other people’s stuff” This proposed scenario isn’t like capitalism, we aren’t forcing people to work so others can leech off their effort. We are building the infrastructure to support everyone by using everyone’s money. This stuff doesn’t belong to someone, it belongs to everyone. You participate in the system because you want the benefits and you get them just like everyone else.
Lastly, arguments like yours usually come from people who don’t understand that many people actually like helping others. So, I’m here to tell you: lots of people actually like doing things to help others.
If my government was trying to build infrastructure to help support my fellow citizens, I would volunteer to help. Most of my friends would too. And, if people no longer have to “be productive” on threat of death/destitution, they will be much more likely to do this kind of volunteering.
On a related note, lots of infrastructure and cool inventions are built by people like that. You know, like this website we’re on right now, and the protocol that makes it work, and the software that most internet servers run on, and the operating system that your phone and computer’s operating systems are based on, etc.
Most people like making things. We like creating things. Most people like to help others. It feels good to do good things. The limiting factor is not that people do not want to help others, but that, as things stand, taking the time to help others or create is wasting time that could impact your survival. Many people only care about capitalizing on their work because they need money to survive. If you remove that threat, you free millions of people from the chains that prevent them from sharing their effort and creativity with the world freely.
$0. Cover everyone’s basic needs by default whether they work or not.
Then you will have no need for a minimum wage, and people who do work will be in much better positions to negotiate their pay because getting fired or quitting has zero chance of being deadly.
Human life has innate value and worth.
Also having a $0 minimum wage would create a lot of jobs that simply can’t exist with a higher minimum wage.
What do you do when there’s a shortage? I never understood the “cover everyone’s needs” idea. Don’t you eventually run out of other peoples stuff to give away?
Agree with the 0$ min tho!
Idk if you’re American, but I am, so I’m using as the example.
There are more empty houses in America than there are homeless people. There is more than enough wasted food to feed those who are starving.
There are no shortages of our basic needs. There is only unrestricted greed of the rich. People die, not because the resources to keep them alive don’t exist, but because politicians value their wallets over the lives of their citizens.
Furthermore, to address “other people’s stuff” This proposed scenario isn’t like capitalism, we aren’t forcing people to work so others can leech off their effort. We are building the infrastructure to support everyone by using everyone’s money. This stuff doesn’t belong to someone, it belongs to everyone. You participate in the system because you want the benefits and you get them just like everyone else.
Lastly, arguments like yours usually come from people who don’t understand that many people actually like helping others. So, I’m here to tell you: lots of people actually like doing things to help others.
If my government was trying to build infrastructure to help support my fellow citizens, I would volunteer to help. Most of my friends would too. And, if people no longer have to “be productive” on threat of death/destitution, they will be much more likely to do this kind of volunteering.
On a related note, lots of infrastructure and cool inventions are built by people like that. You know, like this website we’re on right now, and the protocol that makes it work, and the software that most internet servers run on, and the operating system that your phone and computer’s operating systems are based on, etc.
Most people like making things. We like creating things. Most people like to help others. It feels good to do good things. The limiting factor is not that people do not want to help others, but that, as things stand, taking the time to help others or create is wasting time that could impact your survival. Many people only care about capitalizing on their work because they need money to survive. If you remove that threat, you free millions of people from the chains that prevent them from sharing their effort and creativity with the world freely.