In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, President Obama was asked directly about his feelings on basic income, a system of wealth distribution in which people receive a monthly check on top of their existing income to help cover expenses, thereby strengthening the social safety net. Obama’s response: Job automation is getting too sophisticated not to at least consider it.
“The way I describe it is that, because of automation, because of globalization, we’re going to have to examine the social compact, the same way we did early in the 19th century and then again during and after the Great Depression,” he told Bloomberg. “The notion of a 40-hour workweek, a minimum wage, child labour laws, etc. — those will have to be updated for these new realities.”
In his February economic report to Congress, the president offered data that showed a high probability of automation replacing the lowest-paid workers: those manning the deep fryers, call centres, and supermarket cash registers.
Other evidence is just as damning for the low-wage American worker. A 2013 Oxford report, for example, found automation could replace 50% of all jobs within the next 20 to 30 years. A McKinsey report released last year even suggested today’s technology could feasibly replace 45% of jobs right now.
Economists and entrepreneurs alike have started turning toward basic income as a way to avoid that looming unemployment crisis. Now Obama seems to be leaning in the same direction.
“If we’re smart right now, then we build ourselves a runway to make that transition less abrupt, because we’re still growing, and we’re beating the competition around the world,” he told Bloomberg.
He pointed to the advent of driverless cars as one sign that disruption is knocking on the auto industry’s door. People who work for companies like Lyft and Uber will soon have to face a reality where may no longer have jobs. Multiplied out across many industries, basic income advocates argue, the simpler solution might just be to give people money regardless if they work or not.
Nolan Robinson
>Obama’s response: Job automation is getting too sophisticated not to at least consider it.
There's nothing controversial about this. Anyone that knows anything about the reality of AI and future job automation and human unemployment knows this already.
Logan Brown
That nigger is just going to give it to the dindus.
Evan Turner
Nah everybody would get it
Xavier Morgan
>unconditional
It won't be unconditional. You'll only be able to buy what they allow you to buy. Economic freedom will be non-existent.
Tyler Gomez
This would just inflate the prices of everything to where the income would moot. Do you even Econ 101 Mr. Nigger?
Zachary Myers
Once automation starts to take over all low skilled jobs, I would support a basic income. Maybe about 1500 a month. That is all though. Just enough to live a humble life.
Then once Automation takes upper level jobs, a greater basic income, maybe of as much as 100k a year.
I am a communist in an automated utopia, a capitalist in our current reality.
Oliver Davis
>just be to give people money regardless if they work or not That's what a basic income has to be, otherwise it is unfair. If I make 500 dollars every paycheck, and someone who isn't working makes 600 dollars every paycheck, I'd just quit my job. There has to be some incentive to get a real job.
Ryan Sullivan
>tfw Neets were right all along >the entire world gets UBE >America is the last hold out, BBUBBUBUBUT OUR RIGHTS SMALL GOVERNMENT JHGUAARAHHH >meanwhile i am literally shitposting from the chinese lunar base.
Say it together with me; WRONG, SIDE, OF, HISTORY.
Aaron Cooper
Part of basic income is the money supply does not increase, which is the cause of inflation. Do YOU even econ 101?
Gabriel Howard
I already see the future at my current job. I work at an auto parts manufacturer if you look at our prototyping area all the parts are hand made by skilled techs Mostly older guys. They told me that the whole plant used to be all hand done and it took skilled workers to make good parts. Now most of the plant is fully automated almost all of the jobs are placing unfinished castings into milling machines and waiting until done. I can easily see were a robot arm can replace 90% of the employees.
It doesnt take a genius to figure out that allot of the everyday jobs can be replaced with technology we already have. I dont know why gas stations arnt just pay at the pump and a huge vending machine.
The future unemployment crisis is going to be rough unless something is figured out.
Jace Hall
I am actually not opposed to this. There is going to be so much turn over in the near future, humans will not be able to train fast enough for new employment once made obsolete in their current employment.
The question is what to do in the long term.
Birth rates are near nothing, but with free cash A) demand for cash will sort of plummet, where entrepreneurs don't give a shit about automating because the money they would get would be garbage before long and B) simply keeping most of today's generations alive sufficiently works only in so far as they don't reproduce.
So in the former we basically need an entirely new economic/incentive structure, or else 1500 a month won't cut it in the next year.
In the latter, the question is what means do we have to limit pregnancies that doesn't revolve around abortion, or sterilization? Why those? Because I said so, basically, but mostly because if we're going that far might as well just cull the herds instead of bothering to fuck with the economic system.
Third options exist. I just don't know if we can see far enough to really predict just how ridiculous the coming technological revolution is going to be, or whether or not it is even going to happen in the next year or two, and not 5-10 years out.
David Bennett
What's the alternative?
An almost completely automated distant future isn't that impossible. AI / smart machines manage, create, innovate. "Dumb machines" mine, transport, serve, repair, etc. What is left for humans to do when machines can do literally anything that people typically do for income?
Evan Jackson
This will never happen.
Ethan Torres
>because of automation, because of globalization, we’re going to have to examine the social compact
aka we're working at building a world in which independence is impossible and you are always beholden to the government and multinational corporations who hand you the paycheck for which you're not allowed to work
its impossible to have a discussion about this topic on Sup Forums
Carson Nguyen
The automation meme genuinely needs to die, it's the single most frequent subject that comes up on here where idiots with no understanding of technology, economics, and or infrastructure tries explaining why they deserve free money without working at all
Carter Nelson
Then where does the money come from? Taxation of the producers disincetivizes them to ramp up automation. See socialism. Weeaakk
Asher Jackson
>What is left for humans to do when machines can do literally anything that people typically do for income?
I will never ever trust a car to drive me on a fucking highway
That's said, this, ALONG WITH IMMIGRATION REFORM, is ONLY open for discussion when we have a lockdown on all entries into our system.
We can have both but strictly and irrevocably only for American citizens. Basic income will feed OUR homeless, not the world's. His use of "unconditional" is going to fucking ruin the concept like he ruined healthcare
>Free for everybody! >Not so fast, flatfoot! >Free when you open up a bank account so we can subsidize the bankers with trillions of dollars they can use as credit and only make monthly payments!
Which allows states to have banks that don't require IDs and you see how we fuck it all up forever
Carson Green
Isn't he just the greatest?
Hunter Hill
>worries robots will replace low skill jobs >proceeds to raise minimum wage to $15/hour
are these niggers for real
Jose Butler
>supports a basic income of $1500/mo once AI takes over low-skilled jobs >supports a basic income of $100k/year once AI takes over upper-level jobs
IMO..this will never work. The government would have to be bringing in a shit ton of money to give to every living adult. There's no governments in this world with trillions of dollars to give away each month.
Lincoln Price
>50% of profits are being lost to poor people
Step up your game burgers.
Bentley Phillips
The government would also take over the economy, so they'd have a lot of money, hence me saying I'm a communist in an automated utopia.
Charles Miller
liberal pipe dream
Charles Price
except its the answer capitalists are subscribing to to this issue
Mason Hughes
He's already experimenting with it using a contract company so basically poor people will get basic income while the rest of us will have to work to support them. they'll cite this "experiment" as being a success because you're literally giving people $2000/month, how can it possibly not help them. then they'll use a sample size as argument for nationwide basic income.
we need to secede and cut ourselves off from California
Thomas Jones
It's not taxpayer funded, what are you whining about?
Samuel Walker
We would just print more money and enter hyperHYPERinflation
We better be in a post Trump manufacturing Renaissance then because our dollar will sag and make imports that much more expensive
Evan Ortiz
All the money in the world amongst everyone is estimated to be about $75 trillion.
There is 7.5 billion people.
If that 75 trillion was given equally to everyone. We'd all have $10,000 dollars.
Robert Powell
Are there more of this? I need it... for research purposes.
Colton Bailey
automation is a complete and utter meme the future us in frreelance micro-programming and whatnot
Sebastian Scott
if it lowers crime rates, gets them off of welfare, medicaid, etc, it will probably be a profit
We will be so much better off as a species if we let robots do 95% of the work and live off the fat of the land.
Ryder James
Lol, fuck progress, let's just stick our fingers in our ears and keep trying to make our old flawed system work.
Brandon Parker
of course that's what will happen
these people in this thread are so dumb to think that socialism/communism would ever work in a non-homogenous society.
they literally ruined South Africa this same way. that is our future if we don't balkanize.
Jaxon Russell
>one on the right is a tranny >one on the left is a fat cumdumpster coalburner And?
Jordan Cox
>holding back progress
This is retarded man, and you know it.
If I have to give some niggers some gimmiedats for an AI utopia, I'll do that.
Oliver Rivera
>Say it together with me; WRONG, SIDE, OF, HISTORY.
WRONG SIDE OF PLANET
Colton Bailey
But how many would everyone have if we gassed all the Muslims and Jews and let nigs go back to the jungle?
Christian Rodriguez
I'm wrong again.
There is $1.2 quadrillion invested in derivatives alone. Theres over $70 trillion invested in the stock market. There's over $80 trillion in bank accounts.
There's most likely $2 quadrillion dollars in all which means if it was given equally to every living person worldwide. We'd all have $260,000+ dollars each.
Jose Peterson
you can say goodbye to civilization if this happens. all the countries that support it will become more flooded by brown people than they already are. since people don't have to do shit, they can just lie around and fuck all day. the shittiest members of society will out breed everyone else since there are no selective pressures in force and the country will turn into a clusterfuck of human shit. automation and free income has the potential to completely ruin humanity.
Jace Gonzalez
i don't want the robots to call me a token fleshbag
.05 cents of your money has been placed in everyone's account
Ayden Taylor
This is like the last 3 months when George bush was president. Did a bunch of crazy shit.
>except it's going to lead to terminal niggeritis.
You still have to work three hours a day, three days a week if you expect to get paid. Problem solved.
>that button isn't going to press itself >I mean, it could, but fuck you
Joseph Wright
More like "It's impossible for everyone to agree with me like they should >:(((((."
Michael Rivera
>is in the midst of an energy crisis >wants to power a shit ton of robots
Gavin Walker
Job guarantee gives an income to everyone willing to work and stabilises the economy.
Basic income goes counter-cyclical on the way down but pro-cyclical on the way up - in other words, you get inflation. Plus it removes an incentive to contribute to society, and doesn't deal with the social costs of unemployment.
Anthony King
Said the delusional retard
Chase Parker
‽ test
Lincoln Murphy
>mfw basic income is the mark of the beast
Daniel Morris
I don't care anything about Brock O'Berrypicker but...
Assuming we're not going to murder the darkies, this is unfortunately a future reality. Obama dindu nuffin by simply stating the truth.
Cameron Johnson
He is right. Automation will wipe out moat jobs. If a robot can do a job, I would get a robot 100% of the time. Some people say there will always new jobs that replaces extincted jobs, but I don't think it'll happen this time.
Justin Cook
Are you a dumb nigger? Milton Friedman was for the samething.
Leo Price
jobs =\= wealth creation
i don't want tax dollars paying guys to dig holes and then another crew to fill them back up. look at japan and china
UBI would improve small businesses. you could abolish minimum wage. the only people who worked would be ones that wanted to. it would also take out most of the sting of an attempted business failing
Adam Wright
Eventually we will just have what are essentially "everything" trees. Like trees, they will get all their energy and resources autonomously. You can help them by collecting resources for them. Or make bots for that. And you'll be able to access your everything tree or a community everything tree as easy as you would an apple tree. And at this point, the only thing that can hold us back is rich people adhering to traditional systems of ownership who just own all the resources. If it's bad enough, it will be obvious to anyone alive that we should just expropriate that shit from them. They will still be very wealthy and privileged. But their "sacrifice" will provide immeasurable freedom for the rest of humanity.
Alexander Adams
Elderly people have a hard time figuring out how to operate things like that currently, you would need someone there to help customers if they have a problem or if anything needs to be cleaned. But yes robots could handle the bulk of the work.
Ian Fisher
If Robots run the whole economy, why have humans? Why not just get rid of the useless parasites?
Nathaniel King
What will happen is that people will get basic income ONLY if they go to a training until they find a job.
That means higher education for all, one step at a time
Dominic Myers
>Progress theology And where does progress lead exactly?
Ryan Hughes
As of January 2016, Google's self-driving cars have been involved in a total of 17 accidents, all caused by human error. In fact, most of the accidents occurred when Google's cars were rear-ended at red lights.
Furthermore... >a computer program does not get tired >a computer program does not get distracted >a computer program does not get road rage >a computer program has a faster reaction speed than you ever will
You trust computer programs with your money, with your communications, and with your privacy. They've done pretty well so far, no? So why not a car? Humans did not evolve to travel at 65 mph on highways; they are built to give the illusion that we are traveling slower than reality so that our brains don't freak out.
How long do you think the lane dividers on highways are? Don't be a faggot by googling it.
Austin Campbell
so indoctrination for all. same result, civilization is fucked. this really is the end.
Landon Hill
Have fun trying to tax that shit. Seriously good luck.
Brayden Diaz
oyy veyyy
Jayden Allen
as early as when i was in high school, all you needed was that diploma.
my little brother is going into 7th grade and he's being told he needs to declare a major for high school.
another unrelated topic, but exactly how much schooling is actually necessary? 8 years wasn't enough? 12 isn't now? what happens when you need a masters degree for entry level work?
Jayden James
>liberals whine about guns 24/7 >liberals give out free money >i use money to buy more guns Can't say I'm opposed to this idea, familamadingdongs.
Noah Murphy
>"jobs =\= wealth creation" >but giving everyone money for nothing IS wealth creation Do you see the problem here?
OK so you think the government sucks at making worthwhile jobs. But even an only slightly worthwhile job is better than none.
By the way, giving everyone some extra money is arguably fine short-term policy when the economy is below full employment (which, granted, it is now) but if government gets smart and starts running full employment budgets, it would need to cut off or reduce the basic income amount or raise taxes pretty quickly to prevent inflation.
We have basic income for the poor - welfare - and it works well as a stabiliser. This function is completely absent for basic income.
Oliver Foster
This has always been my thought process. Soon half the people simply won't be able to find work. Animal farmers will be even more secure seeing as how animals need lots of people shit done. Drivers will be gone. Most art can easily be produced by computers already. Wood can be CNC'd well enough to give off a hand-carven feel. Computers are becoming better and better on Wall Street.
It seems like there's only a safe few for those that enjoy their work. Then what, though? After all is said and done, trying to find small jobs will be fruitless and people will be stuck with their monthly income, fat and docile. It's a little grim.
Liam Wilson
>huehuehue those simpletons have no idea what they're talking about >let me just rehash anti-luddite arguments thought up in the 1950's >there's no way a machine could do anything better and cheaper than a human being, that'd be, like, far out stuff man
Julian Mitchell
I think the money system needs to go.
I believe everyone should be provided for free with:
1. Healthy Food (all food should be free) 2. Clean Water (should be free for all) 3. House/Condo/Apartment (a decent living place should be free for all) 4. Vehicle (if you want to travel the world it should be free to do so) 5. Clothing (good well-made clothing should be free for all) 6. Education (anything you want to learn about should be free) 7. Entertainment (art/music/festivals/movies/amusement parks should be free) 8. Starting A Business/Store to sell free things should be free...
What more does anyone need if everything is free. Money isn't needed.
WE ALL SHOULD BE ABLE TO FOCUS ON WHAT WE LOVE TO DO...If you love to make delicious dishes. Become a CHEF for free and share your food creations in your own shop for free with others.
That's the type of world I want to live in. FREE FREE FREE FREEEEDOM
Tyler Turner
why don't you try refuting their points you fucking faggot
Luis Reyes
you have an infantile mind and want to live like a pampered baby. we get it.
Jaxon Thomas
you're right, gibs doesn't create wealth. but those who do want to create wealth, for whatever reason ie social status, passion or just so they can get a playstation, will be freed from having to worry about the basics
so basically what i'm saying here is:
i'm tired of poor white kids who want to make a difference being stuck washing dishes or digging holes or joining the military and shitting it up
Daniel Baker
Here in the real world we aren't post-scarcity. Sorry mate.
David Cruz
>only the most skilled humans will be able to make a difference >even these people will soon lose their jobs to AI >humanity will spend its days partaking in VR porn
I want off this ride.
Jacob Bell
We've been in the sketchy, post-industrial transition zone since the 80's though.
Gabriel Hernandez
>A 2013 Oxford report, for example, found automation could replace 50% of all jobs within the next 20 to 30 years. This is way too optimistic, machines are nowhere near reliable enough to replace humans yet. Constant BSoD on computers, parts breaking down all the time in machinery, everything requiring constant maintenance and replacement, will likely outstrip any benefits automation/robotics can bring in the foreseeable future.
But yeah, maybe in 100-ish years, I can see a new generation of electronic slaves doing all the work and human society moving naturally towards a more Marxist society.
Sebastian Brooks
t socialist 125 years ago
Kevin Flores
See here's the thing. This could work. Milton Friedman has advocated this for years and it hasn't been tried with the caveat of welfare being eliminated. This could work....however it could work in a majority white country. Spics and niggers can and will ruin this. No one will work, nothing will get generated the system will collapse. The reason these Nordic countries work with specialism is they have a big tax payer base. We do not have that. Plus if this worked it would only attract more shit skins.
Eli Gonzalez
Yeah, maybe in a couple thousand years when we invent free energy you fucking drooling retard
Julian James
>human shit >no selective measures
Well then we must implement our own
A purely white nation where all meanial tasks are automated and only those with the greatest minds for thinking or bodies for soldiering are allowed to breed. Where we all work not for profit but towards the goal of conquering the stars
Only if
Luke Rodriguez
Not to mention such an act would be q one time thing and utterly shut down the entire world economy
Jacob Perry
>i'm tired of poor white kids who want to make a difference being stuck washing dishes or digging holes or joining the military and shitting it up Or... having nothing constructive to do and sitting on welfare forever. That's the real tragedy and we could solve it very easily.
Basic income won't solve the problem in my opinion because, as I said, it removes an incentive to work at all, it doesn't address the social costs of unemployment (people lack structure in their lives, they turn to antisocial behaviours, they're more prone to mental illness, etc).
Mass unemployment since the 80s is not because of technology. It's because of an ideological shift and deliberate employment policy failure. One of the planks of the labour movement was the right to work (see Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). We've just forgotten about it.
Tyler Cook
I wish to denounce my humanity and become a robot. I expect to maintain the same rights.
Fuck you transgenders, my intellect outweighs your biology.
James Flores
Hey now, he'd also give it to single "moms" and spics.