Short diary.
The mainstream press is talking more and more about “The Robots are Coming”, thus we need a Universal Basic Income (UBI). The competing (or, for some, the complimentary) Jobs Guarantee (JG) is getting less mainstream press.
First, people need to be very careful in embracing a guaranteed basic income, because not all proposals are actually a UBI, and fall far short of a real UBI.
But this diary isn’t about that.
It is about why various UBI (for short, and to include basic income proposals of all sorts) is more in the mainstream that a JG. I think this is the case for the following reasons:
1) A stand alone UBI (one without also having a JG) merely subsidizes the owners. Thus, you see a lot of tech folks talking up a stand alone UBI.
2) When government funds the owners, the owners get to decide how to allocate real resources. Democracy isn’t needed.
3) When government funds broad public purpose, citizens have a say in how publicly owned assets are handled.
A JG creates contributes to democracy rather than corporate dictate.