Firstly, I agree 100% with what you wrote here:
The only way forward is for people to communicate. I would have loved to see a workshop where a prominent conservative and progressive are tasked with coming up mutually acceptable solution. Or even a workshop on how to disagree without getting triggered. Better yet, a workshop on how one side of the conversation should be actively seeking to understand someone else’s perspective. Progressives and conservatives don’t understand each other and indeed cannot even talk to each other without getting frustrated. It IS possible to do, but people don’t know how to communicate. Why would we? We learn from drama seeking talking heads and politicians and drama providing shows and movies. We rarely see authentic conversations where perspectives are explored and discovered. Also not at unrigged.
Any unifying solution should consider the major problems from all sides. The nature of the problem as seen by a union of progressives and conservatives is:
government is too corrupt and capitalism too greedy
I too believe that would have made a great addition to Unrig, and is something valuable in general, that is generally missing. Period.
Upon clicking your link to your solutions, I was fascinated to then discover this little gem:
This will force us into a universal basic income model where dependence on government or corporations gets amplified.
So here I was thinking that UBI would have been a perfect topic to cover at Unrig as something that both the left and the right can support, for the progressive reasons of social justice, peace, climate action, and installing a heart into the market, and for the conservative reasons of safety/security, preserving culture, freedom, and reducing the size of government, and yet you appear to disagree, which I find odd.
UBI does not increase dependence on government or corporations. It recognizes our interdependence, and reduces the power of those who now wield power us, which is both government and corporations.
First, look at Social Security. One could say that it increases their dependence on government, because they aren't in the labor market if retired, and need that income to live. But at the same time, do seniors have less power than other age demographics? No. They have the most power. They are more active politically. They vote in greater numbers. And government responds to them, sometimes only to them. They are the ones with greater power, not the other way around.
Next, the closest thing in the world to UBI is in Alaska. If their annual dividend were paid monthly, and if it were larger, it would be a UBI. Now, ask people in Alaska if their annual dividend increases their dependence on government or corporations. Ask them if they consider their dividend to be a benefit, or a right.
A big problem that exists on both the left and the right is the formation of opinions without proper research. People just think they "get" things, and without any actual research, or with very little, they conclude they've got something all figured out. And then when confronted with evidence that negates their uninformed view, they double down on their uninformed view.
I have researched the idea of UBI for years. It isn't what you think it is, and the evidence does not back up what you think of it. The question is, will you take my words into consideration, and spend more time looking into it? Or will you wave off what I have to say, despite all the time I've spent on it that you haven't?
If you're willing to spend some time looking deeper into it, I suggest starting with either or both of these two papers. I think both of them will shine a new light on UBI for you.
A Republican Right to Basic Income
Atlas Nods: A Libertarian Case for Basic Income
By the way, I live here in New Orleans, and thank you for visiting. I hope you enjoyed your time here and even got to see some parades!
Hi. Thanks for reading! I "partied" in New Orleans for a wedding a few years ago. This time, at best, I heard the horns & drums from my hotel room.
Have you studied MMT? My issue isn't giving wealth to the people... that's the goal! My problem is that that institutions who could do UBI now without anyone's permission (central banking) choose not to.
If they could make the world better but don't, why? 🤔