Itβs almost likeβ¦giving people enough to money to live instead of surviveβ¦is good
Imagine how much better those numbers would be if people had faith that basic income would continue and was available to everyone, everywhere.
The reason all of these things happen is, simply, because people are no longer held over a barrel by the threat of starvation and homelessness. They can afford to choose a job that they like and find fulfilling, or focus on developing their skills or educating themselves so that they can go into the fields they find genuinely interesting, instead of scrabbling to get whatever job - and whatever income - they can find and cling to it, white-knuckled, for fear of losing it all and becoming destitute at the drop of some rich fuckerβs hat.
These people are living for themselves, rather than pissing their lives away to line the pockets of their bosses.
He missed one:
Road accidents go down.
Seriously, in one experiment, basic income reduced the number of car accidents. Thereβs no indication as to exactly why, but my personal assumption is people who are less stressed by money drive better.
Also, the same experiment showed no decrease in employment except for high school students (who concentrated on their studies) and those in the third trimester of pregnancy or within six months of giving birth (who were able to concentrate on their offspring).
Donβt let the right wing hijack this concept. Theyβre trying.
I donβt think the reduced car accidents are specifically because of less money stress. Instead, Iβd guess that itβs just a result of people taking less risks on their commute to work, because being late canβt ruin them anymore. If youβre late for work, you might lose your job, and for people living paycheck to paycheckβ¦ sudden unemployment will probably kill them. So if theyβre late, and driving safely wonβt get them to work in time, driving like a lunatic is genuinely the safer option for them.
But with universal basic income, losing a job isnβt devastating, so people arenβt forced to gamble their lives to try and get to work on time. So theyβre not crashing, and theyβre not being a hazard to other people on the road, which means everyoneβs commute is a lot safer and less accidents are happening.
also people arenβt sleep-deprived from working multiple jobs. we all know sleeplessness kills.
Thereβs some other reasons university basic income might reduce car accidents from a mechanicβs point of view. People with better financial security can afford to better maintain their vehicles avoiding say brake or tyre issues becoming critical whilst driving.
Recipients may also be able to own or finance newer vehicles less likely to have an accident causing failure in the first place.
Also people on UBI may not need to drive to work at all. Fewer cars on the road = fewer accidents.
IIRC, another segment of of people who stop working under GBI are people over 60 - old people are able to retire without suffering hardship.
