Money For Nothing

‘It’s an incredibly simple idea: universal basic income – a monthly allowance of enough to pay for your basic needs: food, shelter, education.’

The rapid development of technology such as artificial intelligence and robotics may someday soon make large swaths of the human workforce obsolete. There may not be corresponding growth in job opportunities elsewhere in the economy to replace them. There may come a time before too long where having a job is no longer the way people support themselves. How then will they do it? Will Utopia be forced on us, ready or not?

A small community in Manitoba, Canada in the 1970s provides us with an interesting view of how it might actually play out and what the impact on the people might be.

Forget discovered that the people in Dauphin had not only become richer, but also smarter and healthier. The school performance of children improved substantially. The hospitalisation rate decreased by as much as 8.5%. Domestic violence was also down, as were mental health complaints. And people didn’t quit their jobs – the only ones who worked a little less were new mothers and students, who stayed in school longer.

Read about it here