Folks, we are facing an age of automation and with the age of automation comes the end of capitalism as we know it. One by one, low paying jobs that have supported the working poor for the last century or so are going to be eliminated as we are gradually replaced by machines. For example, waiting tables, the job that put me through college and subsidized my less than adequate income after I got a college degree, is not going to be an option in a decade or so as these workers are replaced by computers. All a server will have to do is bring the food. What used to require five servers will now only require one.
That's just one example. I can think of thousands more. Uber, Lyft, and UPS drivers a like can forget it once the driverless vehicle has arrived. Grocery clerks? No more. Fast food workers? It may still be cheaper to hire a human to flip a burger, but to place an order? Who needs 'em. Gone! Nurses? Nope.
So where will these freshly minted poor people go? We'll probably have no choice but to turn to crime. Worse, how will the rich handle it when such a large percentage of their consumer base can no longer afford to buy a box fan or a grill or a blow dryer or a pair of shoes? Never mind that the 3d printer will probably be the PC of the future. Even the rich won't buy these things, they'll just print them out in their living rooms.
Anyway, however you slice it the adoption of automation is the the death of capitalism. A computer can take an order for a lemonade but it really doesn't need to buy one.
To me it is apparent that this spells disaster. So, if you rich people want to stay rich and safe listen up! This is ultimately for you. What we need is a basic minimum income (BMI): a citizen's dividend, if you will. Just give people money to make up for the fact that you've taken away their jobs. That's right. The lazy poor can now be lazy in style and you'll get the money back anyway since you will still be the ones offering the goods (like the 3d printers) that these lazy poor people need to buy.
On board so far? Okay let's take it to the next level. How much would this BMI have to be?
I'm thinking of a number between not enough and too much. This number has to be enough to cover reasonable expenses for one relatively frugal non working adult and one child living in american society, but not so much that it removes at least the incentive to find a job. The average BMI recipient would have to say, "Gee, I can afford a pair of shoes, but I can't afford a pair of designer shoes. I can afford an apartment but I can't really afford a house. I can afford my utilities but I can't afford a hot tub. I can afford my groceries but I can't go out to dinner." There is a perfect number but I'm just going to throw one out for a starting point. I'm going to say, in current dollars, about $25,000 a year.
So that number is negotiable but we are fantasizing, not making policy, so let's move on to the second question: who gets it? I originally thought it would be most efficient to just give it to everyone, rich and poor alike, but the math didn't back up my argument, so I'm going to say, instead, every adult citizen in the bottom 50% income level. Once again, negotiable, but math says this is achievable and I'm always on the side of math.
This brings us to the third burning question: how to we pay for it? I say we take the chunk of the federal budget that currently covers most "social programs" (about 2.5 trillion dollars according to my calculations) and shift it all to a BMI. This is the most appealing part of all, for the capitalists and the libertarians among us. As a poor person all I get is my check every two weeks. I can spend it anyway I'd like. All publicly subsidized services would now be private and if this shift were to occur, there would be no increase in current taxes.
And, this brings us to the fourth question: isn't this going to just create a generation of moochers? Wouldn't the rich just be enabling some lazy poor person's bad habits? The answer is, in a nut shell, who cares? There will always be moochers in society and, by the way, there are moochers at the top and moochers at the bottom. There is no system that is going to get rid of the moochers. Just let them be. Let them mooch and live out their boring mooching to the fullest while the rest of us strive to build a better society.
For example, rich people, what would I do with my BMI? I'd forgo work, be perfectly happy with my frugal existence, and spend my extra time creating art: nurturing my talents and still contributing to society, by the way, but on my own terms, not yours.
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