Is This Sustainable Or Even Fair To Those Who Work For A Living?

[dave50]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/labour/article-6015105/Labour-set-endorse-universal-basic-income-John-McDonnell-says.html

[jackthehat]

Cheer up, dave....
It'll never happen; Labour would have to be elected first.

[dannyk13]

The magic money tree will no doubt fund this.

[ToraToraTora]

ah the old quartermaster blesses us with his wisdom once more. Must have planted another acre of magic money trees. How can anyone seriously support Labour?

[vetuste_ennemi]

He didn't think it up all by himself, you know:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/04/23/finland-ends-universal-basic-income-experiment/

[andy-hughes]

Only a party which knows it has marginally less than a snowball-in-hell's chance of being elected, would float this as an idea.


Next - legalise all drugs, drop the voting age to fourteen, and give everyone a gun.

[naomi24]

//Mr McDonnell told the Independent he had recently discussed the idea with former Labour leader Ed Miliband, who was 'really keen' //

What a comedy double act! I'm surprised they're not on the stage.

[Canary42]

Interesting article from the newspaper whose billionaire owner pays absolutely no UK tax.

[fiction-factory]

Not even VAT?

[andy-hughes]

I wouldn't trust any of the current, or indeed past, senior members of the Labour Party to walk my dog round the block.


And I don't even own a dog!!!!!

[fiction-factory]

I'm not sure why that's relevant to the concept- it's McDonnell's idea not the Daily Mail's idea

[fiction-factory]

^ mine was for Canary not andy

[Spicerack]

Labour could win the next election, imo.
No conservative will vote for May or her ilk, will they?

[-Talbot-]

If Labour got rid of Corbyn they would win an election.
The Corbyn phenomenon is over imo.

[Togo]

Just McDonnel trailing a skirt for the gormless "students". Then deliberately failing to tell the youngsters who decide to start work and make something of their lives that they will be paying for it.

[Baldric]

'Economics of the madhouse' about sums it up.

[Kromovaracun]

The fact is that automation is fundamentally changing the economy and is going to make vast swathes of the population not only unemployed - but unemployable. Bots have already taken up huge amounts of stockbroking (which overwhelmingly happens between computers now), legal work, retail, data entry, warehouse work and manufacturing. It is by no means unusual now for a factory to operate with about 15 people supervising the work of machines. They're going to come for plenty more areas of the jobs market in the near future. This isn't speculation - it is already happening right now. The only question is how quickly.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/27/jobs-risk-automation-according-oxford-university-one/

Fundamentally, the next generation are not likely to live in an economy where it is possible for everyone to work. With very very few exceptions - even people who are highly educated, highly talented, or highly driven are going to be confronted with the fact that (by no fault of their own) there is no space for them in the jobs market.

Unless you want massive, unprecedented social deprivation and serious unrest, the economy is going to need to move away from a model where everyone is expected to work and produce wealth.

[Old_Geezer]

One size never fits all. Welfare needs to match genuine need.