- First and foremost, "It's payback time for Women". Recently, a Woman named Judith Shulevitz wrote an op-ed titled thusly, arguing in favor of a Universal Basic Income Guarantee for all. Her feminist argument for a UBI, which I agree 100% with, was that such a thing would provide long-overdue compensation for Women's unpaid work (i.e. housework and caregiving) that society currently takes for granted and considers a "free resource" for the taking. As the saying goes, there are two kinds of work that Women do: underpaid, and unpaid. While that is true for some men as well, it is overwhelmingly true for Women. Thus, her argument makes a great deal of sense overall, and I agree. It is indeed LONG overdue.
- Men are becoming increasingly redundant in the long run due to technology, globalization, and the overall ascendancy of Women. When men are no longer artificially propped up, they will fall--and the bigger they are, the harder they fall. And this will only increase in the near future. This is a potential ticking time-bomb that must be defused sooner rather than later. Men become extremely dangerous creatures under either of two conditions: 1) when they have too much power relative to Women, and/or 2) when they are desperate for money. Ever see the 1996 film Fargo? Indeed, a Universal Basic Income is one of the best ways to tackle the second one.
- A UBI is far more efficient in theory and practice than much of what currently passes for a social safety net these days, and would have far less bureaucracy. No means tests, no discrimination, no playing God. It's simply a basic human right, period. And it would be far less costly in the long run.
- As Buckminster Fuller famously noted, there are more than enough resources for everyone to live like a millionaire with today's technology. And he said this back in the 1970s, mind you. And the specious notion that everybody and their mother must "work for a living" is not only outdated, but is also seriously classist, ableist, and ageist, and by extension indirectly sexist and racist as well.
- Poverty is a razor-sharp, double-edged sword, spiritually speaking. Being attached to riches is clearly counter to spirituality, but then again, so is being attached to poverty. Either way, it's the *attachment* that is the problem. And poverty today is largely if not entirely man-made via artificial scarcity.
- We would all be better off on balance, spiritually and otherwise, if material poverty were eradicated--and a UBI is the most efficient way to do so. As William Bond (and others) noted, with today's technology that is certainly doable, but for the greed of the oligarchs at the top who control the system. And that in turn is a result of patriarchy, given how men tend to see war and scarcity as inevitable, so they create a self-fulfilling prophecy as a result.
- With an unconditional UBI instead of means testing or other conditions, gone will be the perverse incentives that exist under the current system that trap too many people in poverty today.
- Negative liberty and positive liberty are NOT opposites, but rather two sides of the same coin. Indeed, one cannot be truly free if one is systematically denied the basic necessities of life. And truly no one is free when others are oppressed in any way.
- Inequality, at least when it is as extreme as it is today, is profoundly toxic to society and makes the looming problems/crises of climate change and ecological overshoot that much more difficult to solve. This is over and above the effects of poverty alone. And a UBI can dramatically reduce both socio-economic inequality as well as absolute material poverty. (And when funded by an Alaska-style tax on fossil fuels, it can also double as a Steve Stoft or James Hansen-style carbon tax-and-dividend as well.)
- We consume and waste a ludicrous amount of (mostly fossil-fuel) energy in the so-called "developed" world, and much of that wasteful consumption can be curtailed simply by making it so no one has to "work for a living" unless one really wants to. Just think of all the energy spent (and commuting to and from) unnecessary work at a job you hate, to buy stuff you don't need, to impress people you don't even like. A UBI could thus greatly reduce our carbon and overall ecological footprint in the long run.
- And finally, one should keep in mind that, as Carol Brouillet has noted, the literal and original meaning of the word "community" is "free sharing of gifts". What we currently have now under patriarchy/kyriarchy is more of a pseudo-community in that regard. And that needs to change. Yesterday.
Showing posts with label unemployment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unemployment. Show all posts
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Why We Need A Universal Basic Income Yesterday
I have repeatedly noted before why any serious proposal for a pragmatic utopia would require some sort of unconditional Universal Basic Income (UBI) Guarantee for all. At least as long as we still have a monetary system, of course, and it will be quite some time before money can be phased out completely. To wit:
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Defusing the Ticking Time Bomb Known As Men
As I have noted in at least two previous posts, men are currently in decline and are becoming increasingly redundant. That trend essentially began in the 1970s when men's real wages, employment rates, and labor-force participation rates all peaked and have since been falling, gradually at first but accelerating recent years. For a while, only a few pundits (mainly those in the Matriarchy movement and other feminists) have picked up on this erstwhile subtle trend, but now even Larry Summers has noticed it and is growing concerned. He predicts that by 2050, roughly one-third of men between the ages of 25-54 will be out of work, and even proclaims that "a disaster is looming for American men" as a result.
We can all see the writing on the wall at this point. Women are rising, while men are falling. In fact, women have already crossed the Rubicon in terms of education and are well on their way to becoming the richer gender, meanwhile us fellas are falling away and falling apart. We are being gradually replaced by both women (for higher-skilled jobs) as well as robots/machines/AI (for less-skilled jobs), our wages have been falling, our once-great labor unions have been torpedoed by the powerful men at the top who threw the bottom 80-90% of us under the bus, and we are thus are becoming increasingly redundant as a result.
So what should be done with all of the redundant drone males after Women finally take over? Ultimately, it will be up to the Women of the future, of course, but now is the time to start discussing the best course of action to take in both the near- and long-term. Currently, we are witnessing the death of an obsolete system, one that has been kept on life support for many years now, and sooner or later we will have to pull the plug on it. Continuing to prop up that woefully moribund system in the hopes of propping up men is clearly not a sustainable long-term solution. And while men are slowly going extinct due to deterioration of the Y-chromosome, that will take thousands of years to occur. So what to do from now until then?
As for how to defuse the ticking time bomb (think crime, violence, civil disorder, and stuff like that) that rapidly-made-redundant men would bring in the near-term, one should note how there are two circumstances in which men become particularly dangerous creatures: 1) when they have too much power (whether on an absolute basis, like the oligarchs, or relative to Women, like most ordinary men), and 2) when they are desperate for money. (The 1996 movie Fargo illustrates the perils of the latter case.) As men become increasingly redundant and un(der)employed, the first circumstance will gradually decrease while the second one will rapidly increase at least at first. And while this will likely happen before Women take over completely, it is indeed a ticking time bomb. Thus, if there are only two policies that can be implemented, they should be as follows:
Failing that, well then I guess the redundant men of the future can go join the circus, lol. Free the animals and replace them with men--and I am only half-joking about that one. Clearly we will need to have plenty of "bread and circuses" in the future to keep the drones occupied while they party their way into extinction.
We can all see the writing on the wall at this point. Women are rising, while men are falling. In fact, women have already crossed the Rubicon in terms of education and are well on their way to becoming the richer gender, meanwhile us fellas are falling away and falling apart. We are being gradually replaced by both women (for higher-skilled jobs) as well as robots/machines/AI (for less-skilled jobs), our wages have been falling, our once-great labor unions have been torpedoed by the powerful men at the top who threw the bottom 80-90% of us under the bus, and we are thus are becoming increasingly redundant as a result.
So what should be done with all of the redundant drone males after Women finally take over? Ultimately, it will be up to the Women of the future, of course, but now is the time to start discussing the best course of action to take in both the near- and long-term. Currently, we are witnessing the death of an obsolete system, one that has been kept on life support for many years now, and sooner or later we will have to pull the plug on it. Continuing to prop up that woefully moribund system in the hopes of propping up men is clearly not a sustainable long-term solution. And while men are slowly going extinct due to deterioration of the Y-chromosome, that will take thousands of years to occur. So what to do from now until then?
As for how to defuse the ticking time bomb (think crime, violence, civil disorder, and stuff like that) that rapidly-made-redundant men would bring in the near-term, one should note how there are two circumstances in which men become particularly dangerous creatures: 1) when they have too much power (whether on an absolute basis, like the oligarchs, or relative to Women, like most ordinary men), and 2) when they are desperate for money. (The 1996 movie Fargo illustrates the perils of the latter case.) As men become increasingly redundant and un(der)employed, the first circumstance will gradually decrease while the second one will rapidly increase at least at first. And while this will likely happen before Women take over completely, it is indeed a ticking time bomb. Thus, if there are only two policies that can be implemented, they should be as follows:
- A Universal Basic Income Guarantee for all is an idea that is LONG overdue. This would eliminate or at least take the dangerous edge off of the kind of desperation that male redundancy can bring, and solve many other problems in addition.
- The Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act, which was passed in 1978 but never fully implemented, should be revisited as a way to guarantee full employment without significantly increasing inflation. In other words, the government should create a Job Guarantee program.
- Raise the minimum wage to $15/hour in 2016 dollars, and index to inflation from then on.
- Create jobs rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, green energy, and ecological restoration.
- Overhaul the tax code to make it simpler and more progressive, or at the very least remove perverse rewards for corporations offshoring jobs as well as hiding trillions of dollars overseas.
- Improve our education system, and make all public colleges and universities tuition-free. Do the same for trade schools as well, as plenty of young men would probably benefit more from those.
Failing that, well then I guess the redundant men of the future can go join the circus, lol. Free the animals and replace them with men--and I am only half-joking about that one. Clearly we will need to have plenty of "bread and circuses" in the future to keep the drones occupied while they party their way into extinction.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
The Drone Problem, Part Deux
Uh oh. Looks like men are becoming redundant even more quickly than I had predicted, according to the latest predictions about technological unemployment. According to the White House, who keep in mind would typically want to paint a rosier picture than is actually the case, if you make less than $20/hour today, there is an 83% chance that robotics/automation will eventually take your job. And if you make between $20-40/hour, there is a roughly 31% chance that you will lose your job to technology in the future, which drops to negligible levels for those making over $40/hour. And whether enough new jobs will be created in the meantime to offset such job losses still remains to be seen.
Of course, those figures are for people of both genders. But there is good reason to believe that things will be significantly worse for men in that regard, since Women are leaving men in the dust in terms of educational attainment and are thus more likely to get the best jobs of the future. That is especially true for higher-paying and higher-skilled jobs, but also true for any jobs that can't be outsourced or automated and don't require much brute muscle power. And as the general pace of life continues to accelerate, more and more multitasking (which men aren't exactly known for) and speed will be required in nearly all jobs. Thus if technology doesn't take your job, Women eventually will, fellas. And when the next big economic crash happens, it will likely be you who needs to be rescued by the better half of humanity.
So how does knowing that make you feel, fellas? If your answer is "like I want to worship Women even more, and help them take over", you're basically golden. Otherwise, now is the time to do some serious soul-searching, because in the not-too-distant future (sooner than you think) there will be "no country for burly men". And remember, as the saying goes, "don't be a fool, stay in school"--even if that is no longer a guarantee of anything anymore. Failing that, I suppose you can always go join the circus, lol.
Of course, those figures are for people of both genders. But there is good reason to believe that things will be significantly worse for men in that regard, since Women are leaving men in the dust in terms of educational attainment and are thus more likely to get the best jobs of the future. That is especially true for higher-paying and higher-skilled jobs, but also true for any jobs that can't be outsourced or automated and don't require much brute muscle power. And as the general pace of life continues to accelerate, more and more multitasking (which men aren't exactly known for) and speed will be required in nearly all jobs. Thus if technology doesn't take your job, Women eventually will, fellas. And when the next big economic crash happens, it will likely be you who needs to be rescued by the better half of humanity.
So how does knowing that make you feel, fellas? If your answer is "like I want to worship Women even more, and help them take over", you're basically golden. Otherwise, now is the time to do some serious soul-searching, because in the not-too-distant future (sooner than you think) there will be "no country for burly men". And remember, as the saying goes, "don't be a fool, stay in school"--even if that is no longer a guarantee of anything anymore. Failing that, I suppose you can always go join the circus, lol.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
The Drone Problem
No, not that drone problem (i.e. the use of unmanned airplanes in today's warfare). The other drone problem, namely, what to do with all of the unemployed or underemployed men of the future?
I recently posted an article about the coming crash of 2016, and how men would likely be hit so hard by it that they will never fully recover, and will be begging Women for a bailout (and will thus surrender sooner than otherwise). Even if there is no crash in 2016, the long-term trends are clear enough as evident in even the most cursory look at the statistics. We can all see the writing on the wall. Women are rising, while men are falling. In fact, women have already crossed the Rubicon in terms of education and are well on their way to becoming the richer gender, meanwhile us fellas are falling away and falling apart. We are being gradually replaced by both women (for higher-skilled jobs) as well as robots/machines/AI (for less-skilled jobs), our wages have been falling, our once-great labor unions have been torpedoed by the powerful men at the top who threw the bottom 80-90% of us under the bus, and we are thus are becoming increasingly redundant.
So what should be done with all of the redundant drone males after Women finally take over? Ultimately, it will be up to the Women of the future, of course, but now is the time to start discussing the best course of action to take in both the near- and long-term. Currently, we are witnessing the death of an obsolete system, one that has been kept on life support for many years now, and sooner or later we will have to pull the plug on it. Continuing to prop up that woefully moribund system in the hopes of propping up men is clearly not a sustainable long-term solution. And while men are slowly going extinct due to deterioration of the Y-chromosome, that will take thousands of years to occur. So what to do from now until then?
While I can immediately think of several unethical solutions to the drone problem (which I will not repeat here), the challenge is to come up with an ethical-yet-effective solution. My theory is still a work in progress, but what I have so far is as follows. We should adopt as much of the progressive libertarian TSAP platform as possible, or at least the following measures. First, a Universal Basic Income Guarantee for all is an idea that is LONG overdue. We also need to pass the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act, as well as raise the minimum wage. And as for those drones who would theoretically get priced out of the job market, well they can go join the circus. Free the animals and replace them with men--and I am only half-joking about that one. (We will need to have plenty of "bread and circuses" in the future to keep the drones occupied while they party their way into extinction.) Additionally, we need to invest more in both infrastructure and education, and that would create many jobs. But ultimately, there will be a lot fewer jobs in the future, and we need to be prepared for that. As the late, great Buckminster Fuller famously said in 1970:
And keep in mind that he was also a huge advocate of Women taking over the world as well. He also noted that there are enough resources in the world for everyone to live like a millionaire, but that those resources are being hoarded and wasted by the oligarchs. And when Women do take over, they will likely reject the outdated notion of scarcity and create a new paradigm of abundance for all. Which is especially good for the drone problem since there are two scenarios in which men become especially dangerous creatures: 1) when they have too much power relative to Women, and 2) when they are desperate for money--ever see the movie Fargo, for example? Both scenarios occur all too often under patriarchy, and and both issues would be effectively solved by Matriarchy, that we may all be free to enjoy mutual benefit and protection. What better time than now?
I recently posted an article about the coming crash of 2016, and how men would likely be hit so hard by it that they will never fully recover, and will be begging Women for a bailout (and will thus surrender sooner than otherwise). Even if there is no crash in 2016, the long-term trends are clear enough as evident in even the most cursory look at the statistics. We can all see the writing on the wall. Women are rising, while men are falling. In fact, women have already crossed the Rubicon in terms of education and are well on their way to becoming the richer gender, meanwhile us fellas are falling away and falling apart. We are being gradually replaced by both women (for higher-skilled jobs) as well as robots/machines/AI (for less-skilled jobs), our wages have been falling, our once-great labor unions have been torpedoed by the powerful men at the top who threw the bottom 80-90% of us under the bus, and we are thus are becoming increasingly redundant.
So what should be done with all of the redundant drone males after Women finally take over? Ultimately, it will be up to the Women of the future, of course, but now is the time to start discussing the best course of action to take in both the near- and long-term. Currently, we are witnessing the death of an obsolete system, one that has been kept on life support for many years now, and sooner or later we will have to pull the plug on it. Continuing to prop up that woefully moribund system in the hopes of propping up men is clearly not a sustainable long-term solution. And while men are slowly going extinct due to deterioration of the Y-chromosome, that will take thousands of years to occur. So what to do from now until then?
While I can immediately think of several unethical solutions to the drone problem (which I will not repeat here), the challenge is to come up with an ethical-yet-effective solution. My theory is still a work in progress, but what I have so far is as follows. We should adopt as much of the progressive libertarian TSAP platform as possible, or at least the following measures. First, a Universal Basic Income Guarantee for all is an idea that is LONG overdue. We also need to pass the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act, as well as raise the minimum wage. And as for those drones who would theoretically get priced out of the job market, well they can go join the circus. Free the animals and replace them with men--and I am only half-joking about that one. (We will need to have plenty of "bread and circuses" in the future to keep the drones occupied while they party their way into extinction.) Additionally, we need to invest more in both infrastructure and education, and that would create many jobs. But ultimately, there will be a lot fewer jobs in the future, and we need to be prepared for that. As the late, great Buckminster Fuller famously said in 1970:
We should do away with the absolutely specious notion that everybody has to earn a living. It is a fact today that one in ten thousand of us can make a technological breakthrough capable of supporting all the rest. The youth of today are absolutely right in recognizing this nonsense of earning a living. We keep inventing jobs because of this false idea that everybody has to be employed at some kind of drudgery because, according to Malthusian Darwinian theory he must justify his right to exist. So we have inspectors of inspectors and people making instruments for inspectors to inspect inspectors. The true business of people should be to go back to school and think about whatever it was they were thinking about before somebody came along and told them they had to earn a living.
And keep in mind that he was also a huge advocate of Women taking over the world as well. He also noted that there are enough resources in the world for everyone to live like a millionaire, but that those resources are being hoarded and wasted by the oligarchs. And when Women do take over, they will likely reject the outdated notion of scarcity and create a new paradigm of abundance for all. Which is especially good for the drone problem since there are two scenarios in which men become especially dangerous creatures: 1) when they have too much power relative to Women, and 2) when they are desperate for money--ever see the movie Fargo, for example? Both scenarios occur all too often under patriarchy, and and both issues would be effectively solved by Matriarchy, that we may all be free to enjoy mutual benefit and protection. What better time than now?
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