Scott Santens
Universal basic income mitigates tunneling, meaning that people are more able to think beyond just one focus. The need to earn survival income tends to function like blinders that block out everything else but your focus on basic needs. Until they're obtained, we can't think beyond.
May 13, 2024 at 12:00pmWeb
Show threadForbearanceMay 13, 2024
@scottsantens
Big blue poster with little comic panels reads "desperate people make ideal workers and distracted citizens"
Show threaddyani 🫠May 13, 2024

@Forbearance @scottsantens

Better alt text here

Show threadLena ⏥May 14, 2024
Renote with added content warnings, see above or https://social.coop/@dyani/112434675101319499.
dyani 🫠 (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image @[email protected] @[email protected] Better alt text here

social.coop
Show threadJohn SchragMay 13, 2024
@scottsantens I think this poster explains more than anything why governments don’t want to support it.
Show threadKevin Karhan May 13, 2024
@scottsantens and that's why #UBI is bei.g resisted by those benefiting from the status quo...
Show threadNoel KellyMay 13, 2024

@scottsantens

Decoding Australian:

NewStart = Unemployment benefit, name changed to JobSeeker at start of Covid19 pandemic.
ATSI = Indigenous Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
40 Job Apps a month was one of several requirements to got NewStart (currently at 20/mth).

Show threadBobbyMay 13, 2024
@scottsantens You are honestly right. it especially sucks trying to work on disability and then losing it because the US says oh if you can work you don't need disability
Show threadPoligofskyMay 13, 2024

@scottsantens It will take a concerted effort of de-programming to free people of the false superstitious and moral beliefs that block their ability to recognize this. We are all victims of a multi-millenium psyops campaign.

We should be putting a lot more energy into understanding how to free ourselves of our misunderstandings about economics, work, and human nature. Let’s not underestimate the difficulty. We need a better story, and a strategy to publicize it.

Show threadKitty (I use alacritty btw)May 13, 2024
@scottsantens UBI is cool and all but where are you going to get the money from?
I did some math on Portugal as an example: there are around 9m people living in Portugal. If you give everyone $1000 every month, you need to pay $9b every month. $9b is approximately 3.5% of Portugal's GDP. It's 42% of GDP each year. Where would the government get this much money from?
Show threadHeinzensteinMay 13, 2024

@scottsantens
It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth: That you are a slave.

Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.

#TheMatrixHasYou

Show threadHouse Panther May 13, 2024
@scottsantens I am reminded that even the game of Monopoly has a Universal Basic Income.
Show threadAutisticTeacherGriffMay 13, 2024
@housepanther @scottsantens It’s the only way the game can keep going. This metaphor is lost on modern capitalists, of course.
Show threadwhitefish May 13, 2024
@scottsantens that’s the reason why the will never really care of us. Capitalism works this way!
Show threaddecapitaeMay 13, 2024
@scottsantens I'd be only slightly less worried if I thought that this was accidental through lack of awareness, and not so much a doctrine for the upper 20%.
Show threadFrost, wolf of winter 🐺🎄May 13, 2024

@scottsantens I mean yeah, it's basic survival.

...Do well-off people need that explained?

(...I guess the extension to "and that means people can think about politics and whatnot" in the image might not be obvious though.)

Show threadmkroehnertMay 13, 2024

@scottsantens

In my opinion, the following thoughts provided by @yosh need to be taken into account when talking about #ubi as otherwise it might not work on a large scale.
https://toot.yosh.is/@yosh/112305364285197615

@mauve

yosh (@[email protected])

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, but the idea of UBI seems like a red herring to me. UBI is not going to work if basic human necessities aren’t already subject to strong regulations already. All things equal, say every individual person gets a flat sum each month. Capital will always try and find a way to capture that extra income. Unless, of course, they are legally prohibited to. What we really need is shelter, healthcare, food, water, etc. guaranteed for everyone.

Mastodon
Show threadMauve 👁💜May 13, 2024
@mkroehnert @scottsantens @yosh Yeah I agree UBI isn't enough on it's own but I think it will help people even in the short term just by looking at the studies. One thing is that even some extra money could help reduce stress for folks to have energy to fight for all the other things.
Show threadTesmaiaMay 13, 2024
@scottsantens I'd oppose the notion that desperate people make ideal workers.
They make obedient workers.
Show threadRoxanneMay 13, 2024
@tesmaia @scottsantens ideal from the perspective of the bourgeoise*
Show threadThe DJ Mr PMay 13, 2024
@scottsantens of course, the facist politicians know this and use this. If you're desperate enough, you'll vote for a strongman who promises to alleviate all your problems in return for your acquiesce.
Show threadAviva GaryMay 13, 2024
@scottsantens And that's why many powerful interests fight to make sure it never happens... 🤑
Show threadCassandraVertMay 14, 2024
@scottsantens
And they want to keep us at the bottom of that pyramid.
Show threadBakersRelayMay 14, 2024
@scottsantens Maslow’s hierarchy strikes again…