Why are Tech Bros so obsessed with guaranteed income?

[Anonymous]

If the tech bros were ever going to run the country and have the pull to make something like this happen, it's now. Did you see the inauguration stage?

And yet, they haven't made a peep about pushing this through now.

Performative BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tech Bros? Could you be any more offensive.

Many tech companies pay in stock and in other ways and your income becomes based off the stock value at the time AND you have to pay taxes the day the stock vests. You cannot count on that given the market goes up and down. You cannot choose the day it vests. We had a heavy stock job for one spouse and it was stressful. We didn't live off the stock but the income greatly varied. So much better without it now.

I know a Tech Bro and he is one of the most arrogant and obnoxious people I have ever met. They definitely deserve to be called tech bros. If they act like tech bros, they deserve to be called tech bros.

[Anonymous]

Because the tech bros plan to fire everyone and without a guaranteed income most of us would starve to death.

[Anonymous]

Over-confidence in his own ability is a hallmark of a Tech-Bro.

[Anonymous]

Instead of UBI, why don't they talk about FDR-style public works programs to create jobs lost to AI AND make the world a better place?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Instead of UBI, why don't they talk about FDR-style public works programs to create jobs lost to AI AND make the world a better place?

That's not their goal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are Tech Bros so obsessed with guaranteed income? And why does the media give them so much space on just about any topic as if these guys are prophets?

I want to work. It gives me dignity. I don't want some random dude with flip flop wearing short and a wrinkly shirt, weird AF, can barely make a normal eye contact telling giving his opinion about my life

Just why?

You get “dignity” from … work?

Weird. So weird.

Work is highly overrated. You are probably the only one on the planet who thinks like this.

The vast majority of men with criminal records happen to be unemployed, chronically underemployed or completely out of the workforce

Just saying

Um, yes. They are likely criminals for the same reason they are unemployed - which is that they probably have mental health issues. They’re not criminals because they aren’t employed.

But a mass financial event/mass unemployment will of course create more crime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are Tech Bros so obsessed with guaranteed income? And why does the media give them so much space on just about any topic as if these guys are prophets?

I want to work. It gives me dignity. I don't want some random dude with flip flop wearing short and a wrinkly shirt, weird AF, can barely make a normal eye contact telling giving his opinion about my life

Just why?

Well, I would like the dignity of not working, because the idea that I need to work to live is ridiculous. I like the idea of AI doing everything, and I get guaranteed income to do whatever I want to do to enjoy myself and my time on earth.

In what world will the rich allow this to happen? That's like Insurance. Pay us a small amount each month and you get to see any doctor you want! Where are we now with that model? The people at the top will begin to drive wedges amongst the population - Immigration, skin color, religion, sub-religion, party affiliation.. whatever works. We'll beat each other up and cull the herd for them so they don't have to pay out much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are Tech Bros so obsessed with guaranteed income? And why does the media give them so much space on just about any topic as if these guys are prophets?

I want to work. It gives me dignity. I don't want some random dude with flip flop wearing short and a wrinkly shirt, weird AF, can barely make a normal eye contact telling giving his opinion about my life

Just why?

Well, I would like the dignity of not working, because the idea that I need to work to live is ridiculous. I like the idea of AI doing everything, and I get guaranteed income to do whatever I want to do to enjoy myself and my time on earth.

Being unemployed actually doesn't fare that well with trust fund babies. Most people need a purpose in life in order to feel fulfilled, and many people find that with work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of UBI, why don't they talk about FDR-style public works programs to create jobs lost to AI AND make the world a better place?

That's not their goal.

+1 million. There are non AI related work programs that could help conserve the environment, teach children, and staff underserved hospitals. But that’s not the tech bro goal. They want to keep people poor enough that they don’t riot and are dependent enough to stay quiet and out of the streets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you mean they’re obsessed with guaranteed income? Can you elaborate?

OP is talking about Universal Basic Income (UBI). It's the idea of guaranteeing all people some basic financial subsistence, paid out as a government benefit, regardless of whether they work or not.

A lot of tech bros like UBI because it's their proposed solution to automation and AI making so many jobs obsolete.

It was once a far left idea, a form of socialism, but due to AI it's become more embraced by libertarians or corporate tech bros, and people on the left are more likely to talk about using social democratic ideas to protect jobs.

UBI was at one point proposed by Milton Friedman. Hardly a champion of socialism. Andrew Yang isn't a far-left character either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the tech bros were ever going to run the country and have the pull to make something like this happen, it's now. Did you see the inauguration stage?

And yet, they haven't made a peep about pushing this through now.

Performative BS.

Strictly performative. Guaranteed income is the card they throw whenever asks about large scale unemployment. It's right up there with Trump's healthcare plan in the pantheon of vaporware.
They aren't working on a plan and it's not going to happen. I think everyone understands that truth.

[Anonymous]

bc they are all up in defense tech bc those delicious guaranteed taxpayer dollars

they need to work on things that truly help humanity but they would never

too much easy money involved

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are Tech Bros so obsessed with guaranteed income? And why does the media give them so much space on just about any topic as if these guys are prophets?

I want to work. It gives me dignity. I don't want some random dude with flip flop wearing short and a wrinkly shirt, weird AF, can barely make a normal eye contact telling giving his opinion about my life

Just why?

Well, I would like the dignity of not working, because the idea that I need to work to live is ridiculous. I like the idea of AI doing everything, and I get guaranteed income to do whatever I want to do to enjoy myself and my time on earth.

This. IDK why people are hung up on the idea that we must toil our entire lives just to survive and spend 40 hours a week minimum doing so with very little vacation time. Sure, if you love your job and get paid well or would do it for fun. But vast majority of jobs are not desirable and most people hate working, or at least working full time.

You should ask yourself a question why is 40 hour week still considered necessary to have a job in most places, why health insurance is tied to full time jobs, while at the same time employers don't seem to need so many full time employees, so they lay them off due to supposed productivity gains.. Sounds like we aren't allowed to benefit at all from these productivity gains by having shorter work weeks/days or meaningful inflation adjusted raises.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you mean they’re obsessed with guaranteed income? Can you elaborate?

OP is talking about Universal Basic Income (UBI). It's the idea of guaranteeing all people some basic financial subsistence, paid out as a government benefit, regardless of whether they work or not.

A lot of tech bros like UBI because it's their proposed solution to automation and AI making so many jobs obsolete.

It was once a far left idea, a form of socialism, but due to AI it's become more embraced by libertarians or corporate tech bros, and people on the left are more likely to talk about using social democratic ideas to protect jobs.

UBI was at one point proposed by Milton Friedman. Hardly a champion of socialism. Andrew Yang isn't a far-left character either.

We already have massive "welfare" class of people relying fully or partially on government sponsored benefits. first, it's seniors living off SS/Medicare, then growing portion of population on some sort of subsidy that realizes that working more hours actually takes things away and they cannot even afford to work full time because benefits they get cost so much more if you pay for them with your earned income. We have a "BI" component of UBI for a growing percent of pouplation already. Because it's poverty based, it discourages workforce participation and personal growth and results in bloated bureaucracy layer with a lot of fraud and corruption.

If we had a baseline everyone would get, we would not penalize poor people for working and they would keep the earnings to upgrade their lifestyle, start a business, etc.
Smart people realize that what we have is already largely socialized economy and a lot of people at the top and the bottom too do not work for a living.