Day 257: Living Income Practicality

Q: Will LIG result in the replacement of jobs by machines?

A: The foundation of LIG is to provide the necessary access to the living necessities as a human right, therefore if jobs are replaced by machines as an on-going trend, people will receive the LIG as a means to have their living needs covered. Therefore we don't directly endorse the idea of replacing human labor with machines as that is at this stage decided by each corporation's capacity to implement it in their business. However, also to consider that with LIG, due to financial security, many will feel more confident to start new business ventures, which will again create more jobs.


Q: How do we prevent those receiving LIG from being exploited by greed? For instance: Everyone working is receiving at least double the Living Income. What is to stop the price of goods from moving up so that it's not feasible for people on LIG to afford goods?

A: There will still be short-term fluctuations in the prices of various goods. However, when the prices of the commodities that represent living necessities follow an upward trend to such an extent the Living Income becomes inadequate – the Living Income amount will be increased. If the Living Income goes up, it means the minimum wage – which is defined as double the Living Income – will proportionally increase as well – thus increasing costs for firms. In the long-run it is therefore in firms’ best interest to expand operations in order to meet the increased demand rather than increasing prices. The period where inflation due to an increase in demand is most likely to occur is after the implementation of LIG. It is key, therefore, to ensure that the implementation is done in a transparent way, so that any increase in demand is not unexpected, but firms are prepared for the change and have defined strategies to expand their output.


Q: How will people be motivated to work and perform well under LIG?

A: The classical notion that money is what motivates people to perform well – where the more one earns, the better one performs, has been disproven – for perspective, watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc.
By setting the minimum wage at double the Living Income, every worker is recognized as a vital part of the company, which creates loyalty and a commitment to the goals of the company. It has been shown that when employees receive more than a subsistence income, a firm incurs less turnover costs as well as less costs relating to monitoring the employees. That being said, the relationship between employer and employee is likely to change as LIG increases the bargaining power of employees significantly; no-one will ‘need’ to work anymore. Currently – the threat to lose one’s job is often enough to compromise oneself within one’s job by accepting inferior labor conditions – because one knows that there are always others who will do any job just in order to survive – and thus one is replaceable. With LIG – working is no longer a matter of survival and employers will require to put in the effort to make jobs attractive by creating optimal labor conditions and treating every employee as an individual and not merely as a cog in a machine. The above-referenced video includes several examples of how appealing to employees’ sense of purpose creates far more effective motivation than the threat to lose one’s job.


Q: One point that came up for me is that with the Erasmus program in Europe many students travel to other countries for one year. The student is integrated into the local university system and learns about the culture and the language. In general students' mobility is highly supported by the EU. If there is a country that offers LIG at lower age than most other countries, then that country might see an influx of immigrating youth - would this play a role?

A: Being a student in a country doesn’t make one a citizen, and so, one is not entitled to a Living Income. Countries can specify whether permanent residents would receive LIG, as well as citizens – this could also go in stages, where initially only citizens can claim a Living Income and later, as more countries implement LIG, permanent and perhaps even temporary residents can receive LIG as the inflow of immigrants will not be as intense at that stage.




For context and more information:

Living Income Guaranteed - the Proposal: http://livingincomeguaranteed.wordpress.com/the-proposal/
Living Income Guaranteed YouTube Channel - watch the hangouts: https://www.youtube.com/user/BIGuaranteed?feature=watch
Living Income Guaranteed Website: http://livingincome.me

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Day 215: What about the things no-one wants to do? Civic Duty and EMC

A question that gets asked a lot, concerns the jobs like garbage processing -- and other tasks that nobody really wants to do. 

People often tell us that Equal Money Capitalism and the Equal Money System are very utopian -- then when it turns out that we still have to do things like taking care of our garbage and that we don't really have a choice in this -- then Equal Money and Equal Money Capitalism suddenly turn into tyrannies.

The problem is that we will always have consequences in our world. There is no way around it. People react to Equal Money because we are in fact proposing a system of responsibility. And to take responsibility and treat one another and the Earth in a manner that is Best for All, takes some consideration and puts us in a position where we have to do things -- things we may not want to do -- but things that simply have to be done, in order for there to be some form of harmony and equilibrium in our world. 

I mean, you can look even at your own household situation. Taking out the trash bag and tying it close is not a fun job. But you do it because if you don't you're going to end up with a mountain of trash in your house and make your place of living hazardous to breathe in. The same goes for our global household keeping, as our management of the Earth as a whole. Someone is going to have to pick up the trash, someone is going to have to process the trash -- for everyone to continue being able to live in a healthy and harmonious way on Earth. 

So what we do in our own household in terms of those jobs that are 'not so nice'-- we have a rotational system where everyone once in a while has to tend to those 'not so nice jobs'. Yes, it's not fun, but it needs to be done so it gets done from a starting point of principle, and from a starting point of understanding that if it doesn't get done, it's going to create consequence, and no-one likes to do it, so let's all share the task -- then it's spread out more and doesn't become a 'big thing' that only 'one person' has to do.

So in terms of those jobs that need to be done but no-one really wants to do -- we'll have a rotational system, where once in a while it will be your turn to contribute to maintaining the equilibrium in society and the Earth -- where for a moment, you will be participating in a task which is 'not so nice' -- but needs to be done to keep everything else nice. This will be part of one's Civic Duties -- just as in the current system where you can be called up for jury duty, something you may not particularly want to do -- but have to do within being part of society.

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