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I'd still work probably. But my hours would be cut down to 30 and it'd be a low stress job. I'd occupy the rest of my time with low-cost hobbies like bike riding and reading.
I almost feel sorry for people who have settled for jobs that actually feel like work to them, and who have settled for jobs they don't enjoy.
Most of us don't have a choice. For me, there isn't any one activity that I would enjoy doing for even 40 hours a week, yet alone the hours that most employers expect. Also, I am not a morning person at all (I honestly feel I have a sleep disorder), and nearly all white collar jobs start in the morning, so I would never enjoy any job that requires me to get up early, no matter how much I loved the work. All I can think about all week is catching up on sleep over the weekend. I hate getting up early even for recreational activities. The other issue is that the reason most jobs pay money is because most people don't love them enough to do them for free.
People would still work, especially since we're talking about the United States. Our jobs and competition are integral parts of the American identity. Just accepting the government check would mean that you're not competing, and you'd therefore be looked down upon by mainstream society.
I just want to throw out a hypothetical situation, which means it's *not* grounded in reality, but just something I've been thinking about as a mental exercise.
What if, in a county like the United States, there was the capability of giving every man, woman and child a stipend of $2500 a month, without restriction (and no taxes of course...lol), and everything else being the same, prices, infrastructure, etc. Now, with everyone getting enough funds to live a middle-class lifestyle without the need for working, what would the world of work be like? There would still be the need for jobs to be done, and employers would have to find a way to get people to work for them. Would wages go sky-high? Or if that's not possible, how about the idea of making work a fun place to be, with few rules, no hassling about being late or leaving early, taking off as often as one pleases, and so on and so forth?
It'd sure be funny to see the power stripped from greedy business owners and bosses all across the land, as anyone who is working a job can, at any time, flip the middle finger and be gone....LOL. I can imagine that'd be the end of micro-managing, rude co-workers or domination by way of fear of being fired. What a wonderful world that would be! Of course, there would probably be a whole lot less restaurants, retail stores, and factories would have to be more or less totally automated, same as for other undesirable jobs, such as mining, or collecting garbage. I could see an abundance of artists, teachers, or anything to do with creativity, as money wouldn't be an objective, just the icing on the cake, so to speak. In the end, I think it would be a whole lot better world for everyone involved, as everyone would be free to do what they WANT to do, rather than what they HAVE to do just to earn a living.
Feel free to discuss.
This is often known as Basic Income or Citizen's Income and I think there was a movement a few years ago to actually try to get this through Congress. It didn't succeed but even a mere $400 - $500 per month would probably release a lot of financial stress. I don't think jobs would disappear entirely and I don't think we would see more of the 'soft' jobs but I think employers might be less likely to jerk around their people. I certainly don't believe in taxing this income nor do I think any government should take it away either! Of course I'm sure some 'economist' will come along with some Hokey Pokey analysis saying that it can't be done or such.
I just want to throw out a hypothetical situation, which means it's *not* grounded in reality, but just something I've been thinking about as a mental exercise.
What if, in a county like the United States, there was the capability of giving every man, woman and child a stipend of $2500 a month, without restriction (and no taxes of course...lol), and everything else being the same, prices, infrastructure, etc. Now, with everyone getting enough funds to live a middle-class lifestyle without the need for working, what would the world of work be like? There would still be the need for jobs to be done, and employers would have to find a way to get people to work for them. Would wages go sky-high? Or if that's not possible, how about the idea of making work a fun place to be, with few rules, no hassling about being late or leaving early, taking off as often as one pleases, and so on and so forth?
It'd sure be funny to see the power stripped from greedy business owners and bosses all across the land, as anyone who is working a job can, at any time, flip the middle finger and be gone....LOL. I can imagine that'd be the end of micro-managing, rude co-workers or domination by way of fear of being fired. What a wonderful world that would be! Of course, there would probably be a whole lot less restaurants, retail stores, and factories would have to be more or less totally automated, same as for other undesirable jobs, such as mining, or collecting garbage. I could see an abundance of artists, teachers, or anything to do with creativity, as money wouldn't be an objective, just the icing on the cake, so to speak. In the end, I think it would be a whole lot better world for everyone involved, as everyone would be free to do what they WANT to do, rather than what they HAVE to do just to earn a living.
Feel free to discuss.
No country has the power to do that. if people don't need to works, the country will either cease to exist(people will die/leave the country). or the country has to go to war to get the resource and a lot slaveries to do the work. Think the Mongol Empire in the 13th and 14th centuries who rule over 25% of the world population at one point and killed between 20 to 50 millions people.
basically, US needs to be like the Mongol if we don't want to work.
Last edited by spotlesseden; 09-11-2013 at 06:37 PM..
It's the year 2013. Compared to when I was a kid, we're already living in a sci-fi novel....lol.
But I don't see why a society with no low-wage, grunt workers would be going down the tubes? Sure, all the McFastFood places would go away most likely, for the lack of willing employees to work at them, but think of the Joe's and Sally's Burger shacks that would spring up in their place. And WallyWorld, their big-box model would likely collapse, but who wouldn't enjoy a return to mom-and-pop shops on Main Street? The things that rely on low-wage, undesirable work would go away, to be replaced by something different, run by people who actually enjoy what they're doing. So, in the end, I think we'd have a much happier and prosperous society than we do now.
Oh, to solve the problem of frauds - you get busted scamming the system, no more bennies for you. For life...lol. And as for the kids, I would do something like setting aside for the parents just enough to pay for the actual cost of child-rearing, and putting the rest in a savings account that the child can use for higher education, buying a house, etc when they grow up. Hopefully that would discourage people from being baby machines...lol.
Food, whether it's from McDonald's or Joe's Burger Shack, comes from somewhere. I'm pretty sure that harvesting food relies on "low-wage undesirable" work. In our hypothetical scenario, are we talking about just this country, so that we still have millions of illegals and other migrant workers doing that dirty work?
Also, in many responses people act as though the world as they know it - most products, services, and institutions - would continue to exist, and only their behavior would change. Who is going to be building these houses, and teaching higher education and providing support staff for higher education, keeping the buildings clean and functioning, etc.? The fact of the matter is that there are many less-than-ideal or downright undesirable jobs which need to be done for society to function.
I just want to throw out a hypothetical situation, which means it's *not* grounded in reality, but just something I've been thinking about as a mental exercise.
What if, in a county like the United States, there was the capability of giving every man, woman and child a stipend of $2500 a month, without restriction (and no taxes of course...lol), and everything else being the same, prices, infrastructure, etc. Now, with everyone getting enough funds to live a middle-class lifestyle without the need for working, what would the world of work be like? There would still be the need for jobs to be done, and employers would have to find a way to get people to work for them. Would wages go sky-high? Or if that's not possible, how about the idea of making work a fun place to be, with few rules, no hassling about being late or leaving early, taking off as often as one pleases, and so on and so forth?
It'd sure be funny to see the power stripped from greedy business owners and bosses all across the land, as anyone who is working a job can, at any time, flip the middle finger and be gone....LOL. I can imagine that'd be the end of micro-managing, rude co-workers or domination by way of fear of being fired. What a wonderful world that would be! Of course, there would probably be a whole lot less restaurants, retail stores, and factories would have to be more or less totally automated, same as for other undesirable jobs, such as mining, or collecting garbage. I could see an abundance of artists, teachers, or anything to do with creativity, as money wouldn't be an objective, just the icing on the cake, so to speak. In the end, I think it would be a whole lot better world for everyone involved, as everyone would be free to do what they WANT to do, rather than what they HAVE to do just to earn a living.
Feel free to discuss.
No one has to work now.
There's no life in prison sentence if you don't work.
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Of course, there would probably be a whole lot less restaurants, retail stores, and factories would have to be more or less totally automated, same as for other undesirable jobs, such as mining, or collecting garbage. I could see an abundance of artists, teachers, or anything to do with creativity, as money wouldn't be an objective, just the icing on the cake, so to speak. In the end, I think it would be a whole lot better world for everyone involved, as everyone would be free to do what they WANT to do, rather than what they HAVE to do just to earn a living.
And WallyWorld, their big-box model would likely collapse, but who wouldn't enjoy a return to mom-and-pop shops on Main Street? The things that rely on low-wage, undesirable work would go away, to be replaced by something different, run by people who actually enjoy what they're doing. So, in the end, I think we'd have a much happier and prosperous society than we do now. 
