Universal Basic Income

UBI

Yet another 3 letter acronym that seems to have found renewed relevance within the context of this "new normal" world. It stands for the idea of giving money to people without any exchange of labour or any other condition aside from being alive. 

It is not a new idea, it dates as far as the 18th century with proponents such as Condorcet as a measure to fight inequality. The proponents of today are people like Elon Musk or David Yang and their core motivator for UBI is automation and it will force many industries to adapt from the use of human labour into a robotic framework.

Whether it is for inequality or automation that is not the focus of this article. There are also political ideologies that can be tied to this idea but that too will be left out. Instead, it is better to explore the feasibility of UBI.

Among the reasons that have been put forward against it is the loss of purpose since most people who go to their jobs every day would be left without a reason to wake up in the morning. However, the great majority of people who would benefit from UBI are stuck in jobs with no career prospect and their sole purpose is to be able to pay bills and feed themselves, so the argument doesn't stand.

Others argue that people would just spend it all at once and would go broke right after the first check.  That may be true, although most bills would still be there and one still needs to eat. There isn't any mention that with the UBI suddenly everything else is free of charge so people would have to consider that before going out on a binge and spend crazy.

The real feasibility factor is the volatility of the standard of living. It is a concept that changes from culture to culture and in the case of western culture, it is deeply rooted in archetypes that are not aligned with the UBI. In essence, people are prone to want more. There is a debate to be made as to why and how, whether it is a consequence of capitalism and advertising or post-war society models, the fact is that there and it needs to be taken into account.

People want more and better and different and they want to feel better with the new and bright as a source of joy, accomplishment, status, superiority, and or recognition. As much as we can discuss as to how our human condition levels the natural Plainfield, the social/financial conditions and geographies change all that.

As such either the incomes would have to reflect the particularities of a country, since the value of goods and services aren't the same everywhere, or it risks being a naive approach to solving inequality and automation.

Put simply, the UBI can only work if it is an integral part of a system that allows it to exist. A system that knows where to get the money without risking further debt and can calculate just how much is enough. This last part is tricky. and what does it even mean is yet another conundrum. On the one hand, people are not inclined to care enough for others and either decrease their expectations as to the meaning of success and abundance, and on the other whenever they have been forced to the result is usually a disaster and bears closeness to negative ill efficient models. 

For the universal basic income to have a real chance to work, the overall purpose of life has to be repurposed, the standard of living needs a refresh and the model of society needs to change. Therefore, for the time being, it is a nice idea, one that could even benefit the people in the poverty line but ultimately on a massive scale, it won't work. The world isn't ready for it.

 

Unforeseen Circumstances

As this pandemic/quarantine drags on several habits have changed which have led to many dynamics that used to be everyday routine, suddenly need to adapt. Adaptation is a hard thing to do especially when rooted habits such, as leaving the house in the morning and coming back late, are taken away and time seems to in excess. Our lives were so programmed as if there an OCD mastermind had been tasked to guide us into filling our days with rules and regulations that informed us of what to do from the moment we wake up until we go to bed. That is all suspended now.

As part of these unforeseen circumstances that this entropy has caused there is a familiar/unfamiliar life at home. Our habits of leaving our homes every day to be able to pay them at the end of the month, have been replaced by staying at home and be unsure we will be able to afford it in the near future. In turn, these anxieties create other types of possible chaos, such as communication around couples and or families. In the old world, we had a sort of a schedule for these things that had almost a perfect fit, since they were all inter dependable. We had x amount of time to sit on the couch until it was time to make dinner or send the kids to bed and be able to talk about our day with our partners. Having little time for anything had become a safe environment to keep the structures of everything the way they were without rocking the boat too much. In essence, it made us keep going without thinking too much and questioning more existential issues that might surface when we have more time.

Consequently, we gain time to either reevaluate our lives and relationships and either keep and embrace them or realize we don't want them anymore. One only needs to browse the word divorce and coronavirus and voilà, surprise surprise! The divorce rate has soared and is making headlines everywhere. The reasons behind it aren't hard to grasp and stem from tensions and fears that this whole pandemic has brought up to the forefront of our lives. We are less in control of showing our untamed sides that routine had kept at bay. Our mental health is more prone to make us more defensive in the face of the limitations of confinement and the possibility of contamination by a loved one that may become someone we have to distance ourselves. Disagreements on the measures to be put in place may go overboard and our little fragile egos can get in the way of stability and order in the household.

The same applies to domestic violence. More cases might arise and old cases may continue as victims are forced to live with their predators. Our governments are indeed aware of this and some initiatives have been put in place. However, shame and fear of sharing are still prevalent within the patterns of victimology and many cases will still fly under the radar.

Without going too much into the world of empty idiomatic expressions and cultural sayings that have lost its meaning and seem to be used when arguments fail to their jobs, we have an opportunity here. We can choose to reconnect with our relationships, try to create new rituals with our partners that bring them closer again. Have new conversations, try new intimacies, and for the ones that are lucky enough to have children, perhaps use this time to be more childish as well and play without self-censorship and expectations. Your children will appreciate it and may fuel back some good spirits into our otherwise anxieties. 

Stay safe, but don't be stupid

Uncertainty

Uncertainty is the word of these days. In its name and through its meaning we all seem to be dancing to its tune. Every day "new" pseudo-information, based on projections or conspiracies, comes to light. This is by far the most important backdrop of this pandemic. How, due to the fragility of the system, we all feel this nagging sense of despair and a not so secret fear that we try not talk about because we need hope. Hope brings us the prospect of freedom to finally go out and be mundane and not care about caring too much. Hope makes us think a cure is imminent and the technological advances will help speed up the process. We go to sleep in a groundhog day fashion, hoping the next day our news outlets feed us with an article, a study or even just a headline that supplies the light at the end of the tunnel. That is how desperate we all are.

It would seem that staying at home with our households, our castles, our headquarters, our loved ones, pets and everything that we don't get to enjoy in our rat race daily lives, would be something to look forward to. Maybe even use our phones to Face Time someone. And we do, but it only scratches the itch so far.

Restrictions are everywhere and depending where you are in the world right now they can go from a hefty fine to a straight beat down in countries like India. Shop hoarding and stockpiling are among the current lexicon as well. In Trump country gun stores are considered essential goods. Among the many conspiracies that this article will not digress on are, a book written in 1981, Nostradamus writings, depopulation, america trying to weaken china, coronavirus hoax, and the gradual loss of privacy with apps that track our every move in order to inform us that we may be near an infected person. This last one isn't actually a conspiracy.

There are also the economic consequences behind the power of uncertainty, from company lay offs to government bailouts and even to new business opportunities such as the rise of home food deliveries or virtual PT sessions. Just how long will these bailouts and lay offs are sustainable is anyone's guess, and there lies another problem which the economic projections and words like recession looming about.

It is impossible to write this article without mentioning the gallantry of the doctors, nurses firemen and police who stand fast and risk their own lives even more than usual in order to help us and in some cases force us to go and stay home for our own safety, as if we were irresponsible children neglecting the real danger of this pandemic. Surprise, we are.

For the moment, times are indeed changing and it remains to be seen that what is currently temporary may become permanent. To cough is now a bodily function that might  equate to social scare, hugging will be an act of courage, and kissing will be revolutionary. The generalised fear will make sure masks and rubber gloves will probably become norm and probably there will be a whole fashion industry telling us what colour will look better.

Let's stay home and safe