Durant wrote:
>
> In the "strongest" economy, even the cut-back
> benefit system creates enormous deficits for
> pubilic expenditure. So how do you envisage
> in our present economic structure a basic income?
I wonder if we've seen any *strong economies* lately
(except perhaps for Norway...).
In the United States, I think
the Vietnam War was the "straw that broke the camel's back",
and that Lyndon Johnson might indeed have been able to
implement his vision of a Great Society (with liberty and
justice *and welfare* for all), *without* massive deficits,
had not "Vietnam" defeated him.
Also, someone can correct me on this: I seem to remember that
*Richard Nixon* had some idea for implementing a guaranteed income....
>
> > One practical reason for a basic income. Maintain effective demand in the
> > economy. Maintain purchasing power. Going to be hard to buy all that
> > output without access to purchasing power.
> >
> > arthur cordell
This seems to me to be a serious issue, and the analogy that
comes to mind is (obviously): feeding an addiction. Surely a large
part of the reason why the work week has ceased to get shorter
except for those who don't have steady work is that we are
generating (I hesitate to say "producing", since it sounds
like progress instead of just motion...) all sorts of things
(like advertising, the automobile problematic, not to mention the
arms race, etc.) that doesn't really contribute to satisfying
human needs or autochthonous desires, but does provide a sink
for labor and machine "output" (AKA source). What we have,
in some ways, is a psycho-social "black hole".
If part of the problem is separating income for work (which,
as I said before, has long been solved for "the wealthy" --
all that is needed here is to treat welfare recipients like
the spoiled brat kids of the rich get treated...), another
part of the problem is separating production from
return on investment --> to somehow break the addiction.
When more profitable vices are discovered, the free market will
promote them.
\brad mccormick
--
Mankind is not the master of all the stuff that exists, but
Everyman (woman, child) is a judge of the world.
Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
(914)238-0788 / 27 Poillon Rd, Chappaqua, NY 10514-3403 USA
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