XPost: uk.legal, 24hoursupport.helpdesk, alt.politics.scorched-earth   
   XPost: uk.politics.misc, alt.politics.uk   
   From: burfordTjustice@tues.uk   
      
   On Wed, 1 Feb 2017 09:50:31 -0800 (PST)   
   "R. Mark Clayton"  wrote:   
      
   > On Wednesday, 1 February 2017 17:30:28 UTC, burfordTjustice  wrote:   
   > > Paris (AFP) - It is a utopian idea, literally, but is enjoying a   
   > > renaissance as politicians and policy wonks grapple with   
   > > technology-driven changes that could redefine our very   
   > > understanding of work.   
   > >   
   > > If robots and machine intelligence threaten to render many   
   > > white-collar jobs obsolete, then what will people do for money?   
   > >   
   > > Enter the concept of a "universal basic income", a flat sum paid to   
   > > all regardless of your existing wealth or ability to work. It is   
   > > one of the rare ideas that has support from both the libertarian   
   > > right -- which favours tearing up the welfare state -- and the left   
   > > wing.   
   > >   
   > > In France, Benoit Hamon has emerged as the surprise Socialist   
   > > candidate for April's presidential election first round, on a   
   > > radical programme that includes such an income -- to be funded in   
   > > part by a new tax on industrial robots.   
   > >   
   > > National or local governments in other countries such as Finland,   
   > > the Netherlands, Canada, Scotland and Brazil are already evaluating   
   > > how such a revenue might work in practice.   
   > >   
   > > Finland is furthest down the road. On January 1 it started a   
   > > two-year trial to give 2,000 unemployed Finns a monthly   
   > > unconditional payment of 560 euros ($590).   
   > >   
   > > At the least, advocates argue, a basic income could replace the   
   > > thicket of unemployment benefits currently on offer in many   
   > > advanced economies. Those can, perversely, discourage people from   
   > > retraining in new fields or taking on lower paid work that society   
   > > needs, such as care for the elderly.   
   > >   
   > > - Less is More -   
   > >   
   > > https://www.yahoo.com/news/one-income-far-fetched-future-fac   
   -041641247.html   
   >   
   > It was tried in a small number of jurisdictions in the USA - did not   
   > work very well.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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