Critical Thinker

"Universal Basic Income: Machine Slavery Or Ultimate Freedom?" by Kate Levchuk

Numbered Subheadings Mine

One. Have we been brainwashed to work in order to gain social validation and the salvation of our souls?

Individual initiative and struggle determined the progress of our civilization for centuries on end.

Thus, is it fair to say that once the singularity is achieved individual struggle will find its place next to the theories of a flat Earth and the belief in an all mighty God?

While curiosity and self-improvement are inherent human features, it is hard to deny the artificial and peer imposed nature of material achievement and market economy. Indeed , the only reason that market economy has triumphed in the recent past has been an ample opportunity for self-fulfillment and a desperate need for workers.

The whole XX century might as well have been named “the century of holy movement”

Everything in our modern reality obeys the laws of action, achievement and progress. The works of Greek and Classic German philosophers have been epitomized by the ascension of an Americanized Planet; the teachings of finding one’s calling have been brought to the throne by the Calvinistic idea of achievement and material well-being.

The success of the Second World War has enabled the United States to put capitalism at the center of our Planet’s development. Individualism, hustling and the achievement of the "American dream" became the carrot for millions of wheel running yuppies.

After the dissolution of a bipolar world, socialism was labeled a disaster and a no go. Nevertheless, socialism failed miserably not because it is flawed per se, but because of the wrong timing of its adoption and the wrong motivation behind applying its teachings in the Soviet State.

But the main reason for failure was the abundance of opportunities to be filled by tenacity and hard work. The time had not come when people could lay back and collectively enjoy the fruits of their labor, definitely not in such a poor country as Russia.

The opportunity for invention and natural competition were all too strong to put up with the idea of “equal compensation”.

Two. Has AI made individual workers on a mass scale not only unnecessary but an impediment to profit and progress?

The situation, however, would be drastically different if all you could do would be now performed by robotics and AI, for a fraction of the cost.

How are we planning to compete with Artificial General Intelligence?

The million-dollar question is: Should we?

The teaching and philosophy of modern times has been focused on the need for self-fulfillment as a way of discovering a sacred “meaning of life" and becoming a valued member of a society. While there have been numerous streaks in spirituality and hedonism, there used to be a peripheral and even eccentric addition to the mainstream philosophy of labor.

Gregory Skovoroda, an esteemed Ukrainian philosopher of XVIII century, could be considered the first self-help coach, trying to discover the natural inclinations and talents of his disciples and direct them to the path of self-improvement.

Millennials are obsessed with self-improvement and self-realization as no generation before.

As more and more functions will be performed by machines, the importance of traditional hard work and perseverance will become outdated. Our striving to find exciting hobbies is a first hint at the impending economy of personal entertainment and the era of meaning engineers.

2 Major Views on UBI

Currently, we are faced with 2 major views of looking at the possibility of universal basic income:

1. People have nothing to do, lose “meaning of life,” degradation follows, drug abuse and porn consumption increases, we start losing the connection with reality and everyone goes mad

2. As people are no longer forced to perform menial and repetitive tasks to ensure their existence, we will see a boost of creativity, entrepreneurship and true self-care

While I am a strong adherent of the 2nd approach the discussion on UBI deserves more attention and thought.

Arguments against UBI:

Psychological

Three. Is $10,000 or $12,000 a year really "easy money"?

It is hardly possible to imagine someone protesting that has a small passive income. In fact, the main difference between rich and poor people is the availability of passive income and the opportunity to afford to do nothing.

A possible con to be given a UBI is then a purely psychological one. Just as some modern billionaires choose to leave their children without heritage, so UBI critics argue “easy money” will lead to the degradation and loss of motivation. If we look at the stats on modern billionaires it is mainly self-made people that earned most of the world’s money and are able to multiply their wealth. Thus, the psychological argument is not in thin air.

Nevertheless, if we assume humanity advances so much as to offer everyone minimum passive income, we might as well acknowledge there will be no need for cut throat competition that fueled capitalism up till now.

Practical

Millennials now come to realize the only thing we can rely on after retirement is our personal savings. And as a recent rock star article from HuffPostindicates, getting those in the current economy is harder than ever. Being given pension for doing nothing seems rather like a fairy tale so far.

8 billion people currently inhabit our Planet. In several decades the number will jump to 9 and it can get to 15 before we notice. How do we imagine providing everyone with a decent level of existence? How powerful should the robotics be to ensure 15 billion people are fed and happy without an intensive contribution to the workforce? While psychological arguments can be put aside for the period of “social experiments” the pure realization of a UBI idea is far from easy.

Ethical

As they say, free cheese is found in the mousetrap. What conditions should a person fulfill in order to qualify for an effortless and bright existence? When and why did we get anything for free?

Chances are people will be offered UBI as an incentive to perform a certain action rather than an end goal in itself.

In a Brazilian dystopian TV series “ 3 %” of people were asked to undergo sterilization as a prerequisite to life among the “chosen ones.”

While childlessness might not be the most desired feature of a happy living, such a solution can clearly alleviate the problem of an overpopulation.

It is all about choice, you can say. Back to basics and market economy. People paid 20K dollars for a virtual currency last December. Why can’t they opt for sterilization in exchange for a happy and problem-free life?

Well, we had a choice and we were free to decide on our crypto gamble. The choice with UBI can be non-existent. Thus, it is either decent life for yourself or dooming you and your family to abject poverty and starvation. Not too ethical, is it?

Arguments in favor of UBI:

No More Peer Pressure

Is professional achievement a prerequisite for happiness? Are people striving for richness to be happy and satisfied with their life?

We struggle for material possession and societal status in order to prove to others we can do it hoping Epicurean happiness comes along. Look at the Joneses! Look at ( insert anyone you admire or are jealous of)! You want to be like them? You want to be better? You’d better work, b*tch!

It's not explained what's in it for us, but we accept competition and struggle as a given. Being social animals, we immediately react to stimulus and adapt to the requirements of the social order around us.

The only way to pull ourselves from the rat race is to change the rules of the game. Robotics and AGI will be the ultimate game-changers.

Whom will you prove you can write a program or perform an operation when anything you could do is outdone by precise and powerful artificial intellect?

In the absence of competition, our anxiety and the need to prove oneself will disappear like an Arctic ice cap.

Personal Initiative

How often do we catch ourselves on the thought: “I am doing my 9 to 5 to earn enough money to be able to realize my passion one day?" How often do we distinguish our “for fun” and “for work” activities? How many people are able to combine what they love and what they can get paid for? What is the percentage of the workforce that managed to find their “sweet spot?”

We can argue that the things we are passionate about are very rarely well paid. This is a perfect argument for people unwilling to take the risk. In reality, however, we are simply clinging to our safe havens of a working wage.

Risk tolerance of an average human is quite low. This makes him spend all his life aiming to realize the dream of a person who simply just chose to take the risk and build something new.

What if we were given a safe haven by default? Would we be more inclined to entrepreneurship if we had a basic income that would give us a decent level of life with no effort from our side?

Unlikely. No matter if you got zero or several thousand as a start. You would want more!

Not if there is no chance to earn more money by working for someone else, however. Not if a machine substitutes you in all practical fields of activity.

Art, philosophy and entertainment of one another might be the only things left to a human. We will have no more excuse to put aside our music classes, yoga or "War and Peace."

Very possible, we will finally find the time to do all the great things considered a “luxury” in the modern day social order.

The Future is Now

How long will we keep living in the reality of individualism and capitalism? How long do we have to keep up with exhaustive work schedule and lack of personal time? Until a new way emerges that can prove its competitiveness to the reckless individualism and self-enrichment.

Looks like Scandinavian countries are paving the way for this new social order. Shorter work week, perfect healthcare, high pensions and a great welfare system is not science fiction anymore. It is a Scandinavian reality.

In fact, Nordic countries and Switzerland are leading the ranks as the happiest countries in the world. Four of the top five happiest countries follow the Nordic model of capitalism.

It looks like being burnt out is not a necessary precondition to building a successful career or a successful state. America inflicted capitalism is not the universal answer to our pursuit after all.

Why are we forced to believe people need a goal in life, motivation, self-fulfillment and taking pride in their work? Because this is what we are taught to believe; this is what keeps our social order stable.

People are constantly fed the idea of a doomed society in case UBI gets implemented. What can happen instead is the “Scandinavization” of the society, achievement of greater equality and higher standards of living.

America fought its way to the values dominance by an exhaustive war and a smartly implemented Marshall Plan. Scandinavia is pushing its model purely by the power of example.

All that’s left for the world is to evaluate and make a choice.

The discussion on UBI pros and cons can go on as long as we please. The beauty of the concept is the possibility of it happening without our involvement or consent.

Still, the important task here is to evaluate the most probable scenarios and prepare for them as best we can.

We may like the idea of UBI or not, but what is likely to happen and who can actually benefit from UBI?

Not so Smooth

Jewish people had to escape Egyptian slavery by overcoming deserts and seas. French had to plunge into a bloody 10 years’ revolution to achieve the rights and liberties for the majority of its people. The USA had to fight Britain to become an independent country. Colored people and the female population spent decades of humiliation and fight to gain basic human rights. And this struggle continues to this day.

When were we given things just because we want or deserve them? Humanity had to fight their way to all the privileges we enjoy today. Moreover, such privileges tend to be historically-rooted. This means that each nation had to fight for its own rights. If they had not done so yet they would be left with the same conditions as centuries ago. Saudi Arabia's ongoing fight for women rights is a powerful example.

Movement to UBI will not happen overnight. It will be a long and hectic struggle with revolutions, labor movements and political parties fighting to grant people a decent level of life in the machine-controlled reality.

The whole political framework will have to shift. New economic models will have to be proposed and adopted by governments. States will have to adopt a more socialist stance to fulfill the UBI policies. Social experiments will take place in some regions to see its applicability and figure out the most cost-efficient ways to ensure a peaceful and satisfied population.

Not so Universal

AI and robotics require a quite solid capital investment from the government and private sector. Very few countries will be able to realize such an investment fast, if at all. Thus, there will be just a handful of developed countries able to introduce such a feature to their citizens.

We have already heard some initiatives in Switzerland. No mention of it in Uganda or Yemen though. Sad truth is, there will be no mention of it for several more centuries if at all.

Big developed countries like the USA, France or UK will also have significant problems with providing UBI to the majority of their populations. Since economy sectors tend to be concentrated around certain geographical regions, the divide in automation will be drastically different throughout the regions.

Modern separatists’ movements will find a new boost with the increased automation of production. Being a part of big state or coping on your own might mean the difference between enjoying free money and having to struggle to compete with robotics.

The world will be divided into developed states on UBI and the rest. This will create two-ways immigration flows: economic migration to UBI Countries and " adrenaline migration" to the developing countries of Wild Capitalism.

Very Basic

The amount one needs to feel comfortable varies greatly from individual to individual. Doubts aside, UBI will work only for those whose needs are very, very modest.

If we think that UBI will be close to what we can earn today with hard work, we should reconsider. We might want to have good accommodations, healthy food, great travel and quality time with our loved ones. My guess is UBI will allow us to have modest living conditions and decent food choices.

Want to be fancy? Live in a big mansion? Party with friends? Figure out how to do what AI cannot!

Being a success story in the era of robotics will be seriously different from what it is today. You might not be able to make a fortune by asset trading, plastic surgery operations or solving legal puzzles.

Nowadays working people might not have time to follow the Kardashians, play VR games and watch reality shows, yet they might find themselves way too free in the times of UBI.

Truly successful people in the times of UBI will be the ones who will figure out how to occupy the minds and time of our compatriots.

Robotics possession aside, entertainment, art and philosophy will be the main avenues for becoming super rich in the age of UBI.

Why so serious? UBI will give us the age of unforced creativity, true freedom of choice and new avenues for personal development.

The question is - are we ready for this freedom?

McMahon's Claim

Like genetic re-engineering, which is rife with moral problems and health catastrophes, UBI will be a messy but ultimately inevitable part of human evolution because there are too many forces that will compel UBI into existence regardless or not of our approval.

One. Other countries will use UBI as a form of crime control and we will eventually be desperate to control crime as those countries are doing.

Two. The "zombie effect" of not working will happen to a lot of people, but there are others who will use their non-working existence to find happiness and meaning in other ways. At first this percentage of the population will be small, but the percentage will grow over time.

Or put it this way: We will slowly evolve to define our identity and life purpose without a job title, especially when we see others providing this type of model for us, which will help us adapt to the new no-work world.

Three. A.I. and technology will create permanent mass unemployment whether we want it to or not; therefore, we will need a safety net to prevent society from going into a collapse. Research shows that 47% of all jobs will be permanently gone by 2030. "Driverless technologies" will take away millions of truck driver jobs, for example, not to mention Uber and other similar services.

Four. Since 2008 Recession, American society has already failed the social contract: Go to college (unaffordable) and get a good job (low outcome); we are watching the American Dream decline into a state of death. UBI is the inevitable outcome of a failed social contract as we know it.

Five. I am not saying UBI is a cure for social inequality. It is at best an imperfect band-aid that won't prove at all satisfactory; however, an imperfect band-aid is better than no band-aid at all.

A lot of these points are elaborated on in Brad Stollery's "Universal Basic Income is an inevitable part of our automated future."

See viral essay "On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs" by David Graeber is a compelling case for UBI.

Framing UBI as part of a larger trend toward dehumanization in the age of technology.

Sample Essay Approach for UBI

McMahon has assigned an argumentative essay on UBI, which is in many ways impossible to write because we don't have any definitive knowledge on how bad mass unemployment will be. Nor do we have comprehensive data on how UBI is succeeding as other countries experiment with it on a relatively small basis. However, one thing is certain: UBI is another sign that we are allowing technology to flourish at the expense of human dignity and self-worth.

3-21 Essay #2 due on turnitin. Homework #7: Read Give People Money, Chapters 1-3 and write a 3-paragraph essay that explains how the job market will change in ways that make a compelling case for Universal Basic Income. We will go over essay 3 options. Read Oren Cass’ “Why a Universal Basic Income Is a Terrible Idea” and write a 3-paragraph essay that explains the author’s position. You can also consult Nathan Heller's New Yorker essay "Who Really Stands to Win from Universal Basic Income?" See YouTube video explained; Wall Street Journal on YouTube; Yuval Noah Harari argues life without work will result in meaning of life crisis. Other sources:

3-26 Homework #8: Read Give People Money, chapters 4 and 5, and write a 3-paragraph essay that explains how the kludgeocracy makes a compelling case for Universal Basic Income.

3-28 Homework #9: Read Give People Money, chapters 6 and 7, and write a 3-paragraph essay that explains how America’s racial injustice makes a compelling case for Universal Basic Income.

4-2 Homework #10: Read Give People Money, chapters 8 to end of the book, and in a 3-paragraph essay explain the practical, economic, and philosophical problems raised by trying to give everyone a Universal Basic Income.

4-4: Give People Money, chapter 8 to end of the book;

4-16 Develop an argumentative thesis that addresses the claim that community college should be free.

4-18 Peer Edit for Essay 3 and Portfolio Grading Part 1

4-23 Essay #3 Due.

UBI Sources & Ideas

UBI LifeHacker

New Yorker, 2018

UBI, Bloomberg

UBI, Dissent

UBI, New Republic

Videos

UBI Explained (10 minute video)

UBI Jordan Peterson (11 minutes)

Andrew Yang (18)

Sam Harris (8)

What countries have tried UBI? (8)

Jordan Peterson, Part 2 (16)

Next Homework #15: Read Garrett Hardin's "Lifeboat Ethics" and write a 3-paragraph essay that identifies 3 possible objections to his argument.

Study Questions

What is Universal Basic Income?

You get a check, perhaps $1,000, every month with no questions asked and no questions. The money can help you barely survive and essentially protect you from destitution. You could live in a shared apartment, buy food, and have money for public transportation. That’s it. Everything above that would require some kind of job or side hustle.

Not all the details are ironed out. Countries haven’t agreed upon an age or a policy for recently settled immigrants.

UBI is response to shrinking middle class, shrinking real wages, unaffordable housing, overpriced education, technological-fueled unemployment, and an over complicated welfare system. Countries all over the world are seriously considering UBI. Some are already implementing it.

UBI will give workers more leverage with their employers. They won’t feel as desperate to work for a horrible boss and/or a horrible job.

UBI will give an escape route to abused spouse who needs to get out of a hellish marriage or relationship.

UBI may give protection to over 3 million jobs lost due to self-driving cars in the next 10-20 years.

Concerns

Some are concerned that UBI would motivate people to permanently drop out of job market and reduce productivity.

Lowry estimates the cost of UBI to be $3.9 trillion to US government every year.

Two. What is appealing to Annie Lowrey about UBI?

Lowrey writes that she is less interested in policy and more interested in the ethical foundation. She writes:

“What I came to believe is this: A UBI is an ethos as much as it is a technocratic policy proposal.” It contains within it the principles of universality, unconditionality, inclusion, and simplicity, and it insists that every person is deserving of participation in the economy, freedom of choice, and a life without deprivation.”

In other words, there is an ethical message: Deprivation and starvation are morally unacceptable. A fundamental safety net, no questions asked, must be made available to the citizenry. This is the least decent thing a society can and must do.

The above is Lowrey’s central argument.

Three. How is shifting employment affecting the UBI debate?

Lowrey shows evidence that more and more jobs are being permanently lost even during recoveries as AI is becoming more and more self-regulating and less dependent on human engineers.

At the same time, what job growth there is exists in the “crummy jobs” department with fast food and temporary work being the new boom. Over 40% of fast food workers are over 25; in other words, adults are supporting their families with “crummy jobs.”

American workers are becoming more and more part of the odious, dreadful gig economy, a life of hustle without good pay, stability, or benefits.

We have a “good jobs crisis.” That crummy jobs are on the rise gives employers leverage to punk people with those jobs. But UBI will take some of that leverage away.

On page 49, we read of growing economic disparity between 1979 and 2014 in a major study.

Bottom half of earners in 1979 had 20% of income; in 2014, they had gone down to 13%.

In contrast, the 1% top earners jumped from 11% to 20% in that same time period.

Hysteresis

We have a new class of unemployed who suffer from long-term unemployment, about 2-3 years or more. They suffer from hysteresis: They lag behind in every category and has permanent lower earnings even after a recession.

Temporary Jobs on Vice News Video

Four. Why is not working so hard for Americans?

Let us set aside the economic need for work for a second and imagine being economically independent of work. Americans have a psychological dependence on work that does not exist in other countries.

Believe it or not, America has a relationship with work that is unique in the world. In other countries, people work for money, but the job does not define them.

Not so in America. We have cultivated a work ethic that makes one’s personal identity and spiritual virtue synonymous with the kind of work one does.

We see work, or industriousness, as a “social obligation and a foundation of the good life” (70).

This mindset makes us vulnerable for a variety of reasons.

One, should we make any job define who we are? Why is industriousness a “national religion”? Why do we have this mentality but other countries do not?

Two, is this a healthy mindset when crummy jobs are on the rise and desirable jobs are on the decline?

Three, is this a wise mindset in a world where technology could lead to massive permanent unemployment?

Four, have we been brainwashed to our detriment?

Consider the ancient Greeks and Romans argued that the highest quality of life was based on leisure and philosophical contemplation, not industriousness.

But Americans are under the spell of the Puritan work ethic which says idleness leads to the work of the devil.

Therefore, always be busy. Always strive for more. Always incorporate a side hustle.

While European countries see our social and economic class as a matter of fate and circumstance, Americans subscribe to the myth of the self-made man who lifts himself out of his bootstraps.

Unlike Europeans who see poverty as a trap from an unfair system, Americans see poverty as a matter of self-blame, the result of one’s character defects.

Social Validation

Unlike others, Americans are dependent on social validation that results from their job. Identity, self-reliance, moral and social obligation, and social validation connected with job status.

Social Stigma from Joblessness

Being jobless in America leads to shame, social stigma, ignominy, and chronic depression. It becomes a sort of death.

Americans recover from death of loved one, divorce, catastrophe. But they do not recovery from joblessness.

This mental state presents a challenge to UBI and future world of mass unemployment.

Freeloaders?

There is a work mindset in America that would resist UBI: Why should people get money for free? What kind of sick morally bankrupt system would allow such a thing?

However, Lowrey points to program in Iran that is similar to UBI, and it did not result in increased unemployment as a result of making people too lazy to work (82).

Going to School, Caring for Ailing Parent, Parenthood

Another argument for UBI is that rather than make people lazy, people will have more freedom to attend college, care for a sick parent, or do the duties of parenting.

Perhaps it is too extreme to argue that UBI would destroy the labor force.

Four. Why is the question about how UBI will affect our relationship with work “scary”?

Lowrey writes that this question is “scary” because employers won’t have as much leverage over their employees.

People wouldn’t have to do work they don’t want to do and they could gravitate to work they do want to perform.

Recognizing Logical Fallacies

Begging the Question

Begging the question assumes that a statement is self-evident when it actually requires proof.

Major Premise: Fulfilling all my major desires is the only way I can be happy.

Minor Premise: I can’t afford when of my greatest desires in life, a Lexus GS350.

Conclusion: Therefore, I can never be happy.

Circular Reasoning

Circular reasoning occurs when we support a statement by restating it in different terms.

Stealing is wrong because it is illegal.

Admitting women into the men’s club is wrong because it’s an invalid policy.

Your essay is woeful because of its egregious construction.

Your boyfriend is hideous because of his heinous characteristics.

I have to sell my car because I’m ready to sell it.

I can’t spend time with my kids because it’s too time-consuming.

I need to spend more money on my presents than my family’s presents because I need bigger and better presents.

I’m a great father because I’m the best father my children have ever had.

Weak Analogy or Faulty Comparison

Analogies are never perfect but they can be powerful. The question is do they have a degree of validity to make them worth the effort.

A toxic relationship is like cancer that gets worse and worse (fine).

Sugar is high-octane fuel to use before your workout (weak because there is nothing high-octane about a substance that causes you to crash and converts into fat and creates other problems)

Free education is a great flame and the masses are moths flying into the flames of destruction. (horribly false analogy)

Ad Hominem Fallacy (Personal Attack)

“Who are you to be a marriage counselor? You’ve been divorced six times?”

A lot of people give great advice and present sound arguments even if they don’t apply their principles to their lives, so we should focus on the argument, not a personal attack.

“So you believe in universal health care, do you? I suppose you’re a communist and you hate America as well.”

Making someone you disagree with an American-hating communist is invalid and doesn’t address the actual argument.

“What do you mean you don’t believe in marriage? What are you, a crazed nihilist, an unrepentant anarchist, an immoral misanthrope, a craven miscreant?”

Straw Man Fallacy

You twist and misconstrue your opponent’s argument to make it look weaker than it is when you refute it. Instead of attacking the real issue, you aim for a weaker issue based on your deliberate misinterpretation of your opponent’s argument.

“Those who are against universal health care are heartless. They obviously don’t care if innocent children die.”

Hasty Generalization (Jumping to a Conclusion)

“I’ve had three English instructors who are middle-aged bald men. Therefore, all English instructors are middle-aged bald men.”

“I’ve met three Americans with false British accents and they were all annoying. Therefore, all Americans, such as Madonna, who contrive British accents are annoying.” Perhaps some Americans do so ironically and as a result are more funny than annoying.

Either/Or Fallacy

There are only two choices to an issue is an over simplification and an either/or fallacy.

“Either you be my girlfriend or you don’t like real men.”

“Either you be my boyfriend or you’re not a real American.”

“Either you play football for me or you’re not a real man.”

“Either you’re for us or against us.” (The enemy of our enemy is our friend is everyday foreign policy.)

“Either you agree with me about increasing the minimum wage, or you’re okay with letting children starve to death.”

“Either you get a 4.0 and get admitted into USC, or you’re only half a man.”

Equivocation

Equivocation occurs when you deliberately twist the meaning of something in order to justify your position.

“You told me the used car you just sold me was in ‘good working condition.’”

“I said ‘good,’ not perfect.”

The seller is equivocating.

“I told you to be in bed by ten.”

“I thought you meant to be home by ten.”

“You told me you were going to pay me the money you owe me on Friday.”

“I didn’t know you meant the whole sum.”

“You told me you were going to take me out on my birthday.”

“Technically speaking, the picnic I made for us in the backyard was a form of ‘going out.’”

Red Herring Fallacy

This fallacy is to throw a distraction in your opponent’s face because you know a distraction may help you win the argument.

“Barack Obama wants us to support him but his father was a Muslim. How can we trust the President on the war against terrorism when he has terrorist ties?”

“You said you were going to pay me my thousand dollars today. Where is it?”

“Dear friend, I’ve been diagnosed with a very serious medical condition. Can we talk about our money issue some other time?”

Slippery Slope Fallacy

We go down a rabbit hole of exaggerated consequences to make our point sound convincing.

“If we allow gay marriage, we’ll have to allow people to marry gorillas.”

“If we allow gay marriage, my marriage to my wife will be disrespected and dishonored.”

Appeal to Authority

Using a celebrity to promote an energy drink doesn’t make this drink effective in increasing performance.

Listening to an actor play a doctor on TV doesn’t make the pharmaceutical he’s promoting safe or effective.

Tradition Fallacy

“We’ve never allowed women into our country club. Why should we start now?”

“Women have always served men. That’s the way it’s been and that’s the way it always should be.”

Misuse of Statistics

Using stats to show causality when it’s a condition of correlation or omitting other facts.

“Ninety-nine percent of people who take this remedy see their cold go away in ten days.” (Colds go away on their own).

“Violent crime from home intruders goes down twenty percent in a home equipped with guns.” (more people in those homes die of accidental shootings or suicides)

Post Hoc, Confusing Causality with Correlation

Taking cold medicine makes your cold go away. Really?

The rooster crows and makes the sun go up. Really?

You drink on a Thursday night and on Friday morning you get an A on your calculus exam. Really?

You stop drinking milk and you feel stronger. Really? (or is it a placebo effect?)

Non Sequitur (It Does Not Follow)

The conclusion in an argument is not relevant to the premises.

Megan drives a BMW, so she must be rich.

McMahon understands the difference between a phrase and a dependent clause; therefore, he must be a genius.

Whenever I eat chocolate cake, I feel good. Therefore, chocolate cake must be good for me.

Bandwagon Fallacy

Because everyone believes something, it must be right.

“You can steal a little at work. Everyone else does.”

“In Paris, ninety-nine percent of all husbands have a secret mistress. Therefore adultery is not immoral.”

Posted at 03:41 PM in UBI Lessons | Permalink | Comments (0)

03/27/2019

1C Agenda Updated for 3-28-19: "Sucks Less" and Dark Thesis Statements About UBI

Essay #3 Due 4-23-19

In the context of Annie Lowry’s Give People Money, support, refute, or complicate the argument that Universal Basic Income is a necessary implementation for human rights, social order, and permanent unemployment.

For other sources:

Robert Reich review

Option B (New Addition): Should Community College be Free?

Develop an argumentative thesis that addresses the claim that community college should be free.

The Reason Why Your Favorite Pop Songs Are Getting Shorter

Recent Atlantic article argues for free community college.

Option C: Read "In admissions scandal, the students should be expelled" by Michael Hiltzik and support or defend the author's assertion. Should rich students whose parents paid their way illegally into top-tier colleges be expelled? Are all these students equal? Some are not even taking classes seriously evidenced by their YouTube videos. Others may be performing well. Should their performance make a difference?

Also see Atlantic essay about "Real Scandal" and how there is no way to prevent the next college scandal.

See Clint Smith essay "Elite Colleges Constantly Tell Low-Income Students That They Don't Belong."

3-28 Homework #9: Read Give People Money, chapters 6 and 7, and write a 3-paragraph essay that explains how America’s racial injustice makes a compelling case for Universal Basic Income.

4-4: Give People Money, chapter 8 to end of the book;

4-16 Option B (New Addition): Should Community College be Free?

Develop an argumentative thesis that addresses the claim that community college should be free.

4-18 Peer Edit for Essay 3 and Portfolio Grading Part 1

4-23 Essay #3 Due.

UBI: Optimistic Vs. Pessimistic Framework

Annie Lowrey and I both agree that UBI is a likely result of mass unemployment. However, whereas Lowrey is hopeful about UBI helping the people, I see UBI in a more pessimistic framework: UBI is about the inevitable decline of human free will, economic equality, and human dignity.

Or put my pessimism in a thesis:

Pessimistic Thesis

Contrary to Annie Lowrey’s hopeful embrace of UBI, I see UBI as an inevitability that spells the death of economic equality, human dignity, and free will.

Supporting My Thesis

UBI is part of a broader picture that is about humans becoming adapted to everything in a smaller, diminished form: self-worth, money, music, friendship. In other words, UBI is part of a not-so distant future dystopia.

UBI is not about championing humans; it's about diminishing them. We do this by tricking humans into believing they are being helped when they are being diminished.

Humans for example spend a lot of time on screens (smartphones) because they associate screen time with power and privilege, but the opposite is true. Americans will live a paltry life with their little UBI money, spending all day on their screens, petting their robot avatar friends, and listening to 2-minute songs on Spotify.

“Human Contact Is Now a Luxury Good”

We Accept Less of Everything: Even Music

UBI Challenges the American Work Ethic (Cult?)

There is a notion in America, from the beginning of its European history, that being a hard worker means being noble, virtuous, and successful.

The contrary is also assumed: If you're poor and unemployed, your life is evidence that you are a member of the damned. You are morally depraved and bankrupt.

This notion comes from a form of Protestantism called Calvinism. John Calvin said evidence of being a member of God's elect was being a hard worker. German philosopher Max Weber said this became the "Protestant Work Ethic," the fuel of American capitalism.

Read "The Protestant Work Ethic Is Real"

Study Questions

What is Universal Basic Income?

Not all the details are ironed out. Countries haven’t agreed upon an age or a policy for recently settled immigrants.

UBI will give workers more leverage with their employers. They won’t feel as desperate to work for a horrible boss and/or a horrible job.

UBI will give an escape route to abused spouse who needs to get out of a hellish marriage or relationship.

UBI may give protection to over 3 million jobs lost due to self-driving cars in the next 10-20 years.

Concerns

Some are concerned that UBI would motivate people to permanently drop out of job market and reduce productivity.

Lowry estimates the cost of UBI to be $3.9 trillion to US government every year.

Two. What is appealing to Annie Lowrey about UBI?

Lowrey writes that she is less interested in policy and more interested in the ethical foundation. She writes:

The above is Lowrey’s central argument.

Three. How is shifting employment affecting the UBI debate?

Lowrey shows evidence that more and more jobs are being permanently lost even during recoveries as AI is becoming more and more self-regulating and less dependent on human engineers.

American workers are becoming more and more part of the odious, dreadful gig economy, a life of hustle without good pay, stability, or benefits.

We have a “good jobs crisis.” That crummy jobs are on the rise gives employers leverage to punk people with those jobs. But UBI will take some of that leverage away.

On page 49, we read of growing economic disparity between 1979 and 2014 in a major study.

Bottom half of earners in 1979 had 20% of income; in 2014, they had gone down to 13%.

In contrast, the 1% top earners jumped from 11% to 20% in that same time period.

Hysteresis

Temporary Jobs on Vice News Video

Four. Why is not working so hard for Americans?

Let us set aside the economic need for work for a second and imagine being economically independent of work. Americans have a psychological dependence on work that does not exist in other countries.

Believe it or not, America has a relationship with work that is unique in the world. In other countries, people work for money, but the job does not define them.

Not so in America. We have cultivated a work ethic that makes one’s personal identity and spiritual virtue synonymous with the kind of work one does.

We see work, or industriousness, as a “social obligation and a foundation of the good life” (70).

This mindset makes us vulnerable for a variety of reasons.

One, should we make any job define who we are? Why is industriousness a “national religion”? Why do we have this mentality but other countries do not?

Two, is this a healthy mindset when crummy jobs are on the rise and desirable jobs are on the decline?

Three, is this a wise mindset in a world where technology could lead to massive permanent unemployment?

Four, have we been brainwashed to our detriment?

Consider the ancient Greeks and Romans argued that the highest quality of life was based on leisure and philosophical contemplation, not industriousness.

But Americans are under the spell of the Puritan work ethic which says idleness leads to the work of the devil.

Therefore, always be busy. Always strive for more. Always incorporate a side hustle.

While European countries see our social and economic class as a matter of fate and circumstance, Americans subscribe to the myth of the self-made man who lifts himself out of his bootstraps.

Unlike Europeans who see poverty as a trap from an unfair system, Americans see poverty as a matter of self-blame, the result of one’s character defects.

Social Validation

Unlike others, Americans are dependent on social validation that results from their job. Identity, self-reliance, moral and social obligation, and social validation connected with job status.

Social Stigma from Joblessness

Being jobless in America leads to shame, social stigma, ignominy, and chronic depression. It becomes a sort of death.

Americans recover from death of loved one, divorce, catastrophe. But they do not recovery from joblessness.

This mental state presents a challenge to UBI and future world of mass unemployment.

Freeloaders?

There is a work mindset in America that would resist UBI: Why should people get money for free? What kind of sick morally bankrupt system would allow such a thing?

However, Lowrey points to program in Iran that is similar to UBI, and it did not result in increased unemployment as a result of making people too lazy to work (82).

Going to School, Caring for Ailing Parent, Parenthood

Another argument for UBI is that rather than make people lazy, people will have more freedom to attend college, care for a sick parent, or do the duties of parenting.

Perhaps it is too extreme to argue that UBI would destroy the labor force.

Four. Why is the question about how UBI will affect our relationship with work “scary”?

Lowrey writes that this question is “scary” because employers won’t have as much leverage over their employees.

People wouldn’t have to do work they don’t want to do and they could gravitate to work they do want to perform.

Sample Thesis Statements

Universal Basic Income is doomed to fail because it is a concession of a failed economic system, a surrender to the oligarchy, and a miserable fake solution to poverty and human dignity.

Failed or not, Universal Basic Income is the palliative dog treat that will be stuffed down our throats in order to pacify the masses from revolt in a new economy that will surely leave more and more people behind.

While sure to go through its growing pains, UBI must be embraced because we have no choice but to hinge our hopes for human dignity and humanitarian aid to the masses through UBI and be diligent as we perfect it over time.

UBI is the stinky monster we must go to bed with because without that stinky monster we will have to go to bed cold, wet, and hungry.

Conservatives and liberals alike rightly embrace UBI because it is the reasonable response to permanent mass unemployment and the need for a streamlined welfare program for the have-nots.

Far-left pundits are correct to reject UBI as a crappy drug designed to shut up the masses who will be getting punk-fed while the 1% laugh their way to the bank.

Even if UBI works on an economic level, human beings are not psychologically and spiritually hard-wired to live a life without structure, responsibility, and accountability, and as a result, UBI will spell the death to millions of the unemployed masses whose crap existence will be at its essence a condition of moral and intellectual dissolution.

My 1C Thesis:

Contrary to Annie Lowrey’s hopeful embrace of UBI, I see UBI as an inevitability that spells the death of economic equality, human dignity, and free will.

Equally Dark Variation of Above Thesis

Take What Sucks Less

Sure, UBI sucks. It’s hardly enough money to create economic justice. It’s surely a pacifier for the masses who are getting punk fed the bare minimum to live a half-decent existence. I’m also certain that UBI will relegate most of us to some sweaty, dank room where we’ll intoxicate ourselves with a myriad of unsavory substances while looking on with bloodshot eyes at some entertainment or other on YouTube or Netflix.

We will grow fat, complacent, brain-dead. We’ll become less than human. We’ll become more like zombies, slogging through life without an ounce of pride or dignity as we live a sedentary life without individual goals, responsibility, or life purpose. We will be soulless pods hooked up to our private entertainment centers while the 1%, the real people, pull the strings, create technology that advances civilization and enjoy the spoils of their efforts as full human beings flourishing in some opulent environment while the rest of us poor UBI-receiving bots live like crammed sardines in shared housing with our equally depressed, brain-dead zombie roommates.

So am I arguing against UBI? Hell no. Even if our lives are as crappy as the one I described above, the life without UBI as we head for the Great Unemployment Age presents an even greater hellish existence, one with starvation, a lack of basic medical supplies and treatment, and abject homelessness.

Yeah, UBI sucks, but not getting UBI sucks even more. Don’t count on the government to share the 1%’s wealth with the rest of us. The 1% will only share as much as they have to, and they have calculated that giving us just enough UBI so that we don’t become a raging, lawless mob is worth the 4-trillion UBI annual price tag. We should just admit we lost the class war.

We are now in the unenviable position where we can either take our UBI pittance, which sucks, or not take our UBI table scraps, which sucks even more. That is our dilemma. We must take this painful truth on the chin and move on with our crappy lives. The alternative is certain death.

The Sucks Less Approach Is Hideous

The above argument, which essentially paints us as starving dogs that should be grateful for the table scraps of UBI is so full of grotesque logical fallacies that the person who wrote this specious argument should be thrown into Logical Fallacy Prison.

For one, the writer gives us a false dilemma of only two choices: A crappy life with UBI or an even crappier life without UBI. There are other possibilities that the writer does not address because those possibilities present an inconvenience to his argument. For example, some people will continue to work and use UBI to supplement their income. Others will use UBI to fund their higher education, but the above writer is too busy enjoying his despair to consider these possibilities. Secondly, the writer presents a pessimism that is unfounded on evidence. He seems to think dehumanization from UBI is inevitable, yet he presents no facts to back up his claim. Rather, he indulges in his personal crapulent attitude and wishes to impose it on the rest of us, as if he’s doing us a favor by lavishing us with some universal truth, yet he is not. He is merely a Minister of Darkness contaminating us with his gospel of despair.

Finally, he assumes the worst case scenario of UBI and paints a broad brush over the human reaction to receiving guaranteed income to fulfill our basic life needs without addressing the complexities and unknowable, tentative outcomes. In short, the above writer is a grotesque nihilist who is hell-bent on infecting us with his anguish and despair. For the truth about UBI, I suggest we look elsewhere.

Posted at 02:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

03/22/2019

1C Agenda 3-26-19 UBI Lesson #2: Will UBI Cause Inflation?

Essay #3 Due 4-23-19

For other sources:

Robert Reich review

Option B (New Addition): Should Community College be Free?

Develop an argumentative thesis that addresses the claim that community college should be free.

"Free Cheese in the Mousetrap?"

Recent Atlantic article argues for free community college.

Also see Atlantic essay about "Real Scandal" and how there is no way to prevent the next college scandal.

See Clint Smith essay "Elite Colleges Constantly Tell Low-Income Students That They Don't Belong."

Default Setting Essay Template

7 Paragraphs, 135 words per paragraph, approx. 1,000 words

Paragraph 1: Attention-getting introduction transitioning to argumentative claim (thesis)

Paragraphs 2-4: Body paragraphs that give reasons for supporting your claim.

Paragraphs 5 & 6: Counterarguments in which you anticipate how your opponents will disagree with you, and you then provide rebuttals to those counterarguments.

Paragraph 7: Conclusion, an emotionally powerful re-statement of your thesis.

Make sure to include a Works Cited page.

Universal Basic Income: Side Effect of the Tech Revolution?

3-26 Homework #8: Read Give People Money, chapters 4 and 5, and write a 3-paragraph essay that explains how the kludgeocracy makes a compelling case for Universal Basic Income.

3-28 Homework #9: Read Give People Money, chapters 6 and 7, and write a 3-paragraph essay that explains how America’s racial injustice makes a compelling case for Universal Basic Income.

4-4: Give People Money, chapter 8 to end of the book;

4-16 Option B (New Addition): Should Community College be Free?

Develop an argumentative thesis that addresses the claim that community college should be free.

4-18 Peer Edit for Essay 3 and Portfolio Grading Part 1

4-23 Essay #3 Due.

UBI Sources & Ideas

UBI LifeHacker

New Yorker, 2018

UBI, Bloomberg

UBI, Dissent

UBI, New Republic

Videos

UBI Explained (10 minute video)

UBI Jordan Peterson (11 minutes)

Andrew Yang (18)

Sam Harris (8)

What countries have tried UBI? (8)

Jordan Peterson, Part 2 (16)

Next Homework #15: Read Garrett Hardin's "Lifeboat Ethics" and write a 3-paragraph essay that identifies 3 possible objections to his argument.

Arguments in Support of Universal Basic Income (UBI)

One. 47% of the jobs will be lost in the next 10-20 years. We have a new paradigm that requires a new way of providing a livelihood to our citizens.

Two. UBI, which is a monthly stipend to everyone regardless of income, would be nearly a trillion dollars cheaper a year than current welfare system.

Three. UBI would eliminate need for minimum wage. Lower minimum wage would encourage more hiring.

Four. Because UBI doesn't give more money for children, UBI doesn't reward one lifestyle over another.

Five. Citizens would have more time and resources to train and get educated for more career options presuming they used their time and money wisely.

Six. Most stay-at-home parents are women who have not been justly paid for their domestic work over the centuries. UBI would help remedy that injustice.

Seven. UBI gives citizens an escape valve from an abusive job or relationship. Having guaranteed money makes it easier to bail when you have to. "This is jacked up, man. I've got to bail."

Eight. 13K a year isn't so much that you would be content to retire in your house. Most people would want at the very least to supplement their meager income with part-time or full-time work. More enterprising citizens would use their free time and money for education and job retraining.

Nine. UBI would eliminate welfare abuses and welfare fraud because UBI spells the death of welfare as we know it.

Ten. Providing for the citizens with UBI would lessen the risk of the kind of discontent that leads to nationalist nativism, a racist political movement that makes one ethnic tribe hate on immigrants as scapegoats for the country's woes.

Eleven. Addressing the counterargument that not having to work would make us lazy depressed slobs, some would argue that technology is forcing us to change and adapt. Just as coal workers are inevitably going to become extinct in the next century, we must adapt to a new employment landscape. We must either adapt or die. We must not be chained to our "Calvinism hangover," the deeply American notion that work is salvation and unemployment is a sign of sin and depravity.

Twelve. The rich know they have to share their wealth because the throng with torches and pitchforks will be knocking on their doors. In other words, UBI is much needed pacifier, a form of social control that augments the safety of the rich.

Thirteen. The open debate about UBI--the biggest debate--is the philosophical question about the nature of work. Some say UBI will kill work and that without work people will descend into depression and pathology. Others say we will adapt to this new economic landscape. One argument in favor of UBI is that even if we don't know the answer to this question definitively, we HAVE NO CHOICE but to adapt to a world where close to 50% of jobs will be lost.

Fourteen. Technology will change the human animal on a chemical level and we will be able to adapt to the new work environment as evidenced by Elon Musk's exploration into his new neural lace company. Such technologies will make us smarter and more adaptive as human beings.

Fifteen. Even if we concede that not working will turn us into lazy bums, that is the lesser evil of the economic injustice social chaos resulting from not having UBI.

Arguments Against Universal Basic Income (UBI)

One. A dependent society is a dysfunctional society. Dependence, in other words, leads to laziness. People are their best when they have purpose and self-reliance. To embrace UBI is to embrace the nihilism of a post-work society. In other words, we are admitting that we have given up on the social contract: to provide decent work for our citizens. "We lost."

Two. A lack of self-reliance diseases the soul and corrupts society. The dependent will drag down the producers.

Three. Acute dependence leads to totalitarianism and dehumanization. Once you take a government handout, you become vulnerable to the government's control over every part of your life. See The Giver.

Four. Acute dependence breaks down the family unit. Parents aren't responsible for their children; the government is. Why stick to your family, when you don't rely on them?

Five. Being "off the grid" makes one chronically depressed, non-productive, and unemployable. Our identity and sense of well-being is tied to having a job.

Six. There is no increment for children. Why not? Because you're not encouraged to have children to get more. Some find this a form of lifestyle control. Others like it.

Seven. The estimated 13K a year isn't enough though some say that still puts people in the top 12% of all global earners.

Eight. Unless all countries had equal UBI, the more desirable UBI countries would be a magnet for people of other countries who'd swarm into "healthy UBI" countries to bilk their system.

Nine. UBI is giving 15% of average national income. This would require tax revenue of 15% of national income. That is too much tax, some say, for such a small income.

Ten. People with UBI income and nothing else will be forced to move to country. Big money makers will live in the city. The polarization of city and country people will worsen the country's divide.

Eleven. We only have inflation studies from small populations, and these studies do not quell doubts that UBI-driven inflation will negate UBI's supposed benefits.

Inflation Studies?

Stanford has a skeptical critique of UBI.

Skeptical look at inflation and UBI in The Hill.

Consult the following:

The Progressive Case for Replacing the Welfare State with Basic Income

We can afford UBI, but is it a good idea?

Why Universal Basic Income Is a Terrible Idea

A Primer or Introduction to Universal Basic Income

Economist gives us an introduction to UBI.

Psychology Change Needed for Universal Basic Income

Arguments for Universal Basic Income

3 Reasons for Universal Basic Income from Brookings Institute

Pro-Work Argument for UBI

Washington Post article that argues UBI won't make America great again.

Challenging the American Work Ethic

There is a notion in America, from the beginning of its European history, that being a hard worker means being noble, virtuous, and successful.

The contrary is also assumed: If you're poor and unemployed, your life is evidence that you are a member of the damned. You are morally depraved and bankrupt.

Read "The Protestant Work Ethic Is Real"

Sample Thesis Statements

Universal Basic Income is doomed to fail because it is a concession of a failed economic system, a surrender to the oligarchy, and a miserable fake solution to poverty and human dignity.

UBI is the stinky monster we must go to bed with because without that stinky monster we will have to go to bed cold, wet, and hungry.

Conservatives and liberals alike rightly embrace UBI because it is the reasonable response to permanent mass unemployment and the need for a streamlined welfare program for the have-nots.

Far-left pundits are correct to reject UBI as a crappy drug designed to shut up the masses who will be getting punk-fed while the 1% laugh their way to the bank.

Take What Sucks Less

The Sucks Less Approach Is Hideous

Study Questions

What is Universal Basic Income?

Not all the details are ironed out. Countries haven’t agreed upon an age or a policy for recently settled immigrants.

UBI will give workers more leverage with their employers. They won’t feel as desperate to work for a horrible boss and/or a horrible job.

UBI will give an escape route to abused spouse who needs to get out of a hellish marriage or relationship.

UBI may give protection to over 3 million jobs lost due to self-driving cars in the next 10-20 years.

Concerns

Some are concerned that UBI would motivate people to permanently drop out of job market and reduce productivity.

Lowry estimates the cost of UBI to be $3.9 trillion to US government every year.

Two. What is appealing to Annie Lowrey about UBI?

Lowrey writes that she is less interested in policy and more interested in the ethical foundation. She writes:

The above is Lowrey’s central argument.

Three. How is shifting employment affecting the UBI debate?

Lowrey shows evidence that more and more jobs are being permanently lost even during recoveries as AI is becoming more and more self-regulating and less dependent on human engineers.

American workers are becoming more and more part of the odious, dreadful gig economy, a life of hustle without good pay, stability, or benefits.

We have a “good jobs crisis.” That crummy jobs are on the rise gives employers leverage to punk people with those jobs. But UBI will take some of that leverage away.

On page 49, we read of growing economic disparity between 1979 and 2014 in a major study.

Bottom half of earners in 1979 had 20% of income; in 2014, they had gone down to 13%.

In contrast, the 1% top earners jumped from 11% to 20% in that same time period.

Hysteresis

Temporary Jobs on Vice News Video

Four. Why is not working so hard for Americans?

Let us set aside the economic need for work for a second and imagine being economically independent of work. Americans have a psychological dependence on work that does not exist in other countries.

Believe it or not, America has a relationship with work that is unique in the world. In other countries, people work for money, but the job does not define them.

Not so in America. We have cultivated a work ethic that makes one’s personal identity and spiritual virtue synonymous with the kind of work one does.

We see work, or industriousness, as a “social obligation and a foundation of the good life” (70).

This mindset makes us vulnerable for a variety of reasons.

One, should we make any job define who we are? Why is industriousness a “national religion”? Why do we have this mentality but other countries do not?

Two, is this a healthy mindset when crummy jobs are on the rise and desirable jobs are on the decline?

Three, is this a wise mindset in a world where technology could lead to massive permanent unemployment?

Four, have we been brainwashed to our detriment?

Consider the ancient Greeks and Romans argued that the highest quality of life was based on leisure and philosophical contemplation, not industriousness.

But Americans are under the spell of the Puritan work ethic which says idleness leads to the work of the devil.

Therefore, always be busy. Always strive for more. Always incorporate a side hustle.

While European countries see our social and economic class as a matter of fate and circumstance, Americans subscribe to the myth of the self-made man who lifts himself out of his bootstraps.

Unlike Europeans who see poverty as a trap from an unfair system, Americans see poverty as a matter of self-blame, the result of one’s character defects.

Social Validation

Unlike others, Americans are dependent on social validation that results from their job. Identity, self-reliance, moral and social obligation, and social validation connected with job status.

Social Stigma from Joblessness

Being jobless in America leads to shame, social stigma, ignominy, and chronic depression. It becomes a sort of death.

Americans recover from death of loved one, divorce, catastrophe. But they do not recovery from joblessness.

This mental state presents a challenge to UBI and future world of mass unemployment.

Freeloaders?

There is a work mindset in America that would resist UBI: Why should people get money for free? What kind of sick morally bankrupt system would allow such a thing?

However, Lowrey points to program in Iran that is similar to UBI, and it did not result in increased unemployment as a result of making people too lazy to work (82).

Going to School, Caring for Ailing Parent, Parenthood

Another argument for UBI is that rather than make people lazy, people will have more freedom to attend college, care for a sick parent, or do the duties of parenting.

Perhaps it is too extreme to argue that UBI would destroy the labor force.

Four. Why is the question about how UBI will affect our relationship with work “scary”?

Lowrey writes that this question is “scary” because employers won’t have as much leverage over their employees.

People wouldn’t have to do work they don’t want to do and they could gravitate to work they do want to perform.

Posted at 07:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

03/17/2019

1C Agenda Updated for 3-21-19: Universal Basic Income Lesson #1: Introduction; Sample Lesser of Two Evils Approach

Panic Default Setting Essay Template

7 Paragraphs, 135 words per paragraph, approx. 1,000 words

Paragraph 1: Attention-getting introduction transitioning to argumentative claim (thesis)

Paragraphs 2-4: Body paragraphs that give reasons for supporting your claim.

Paragraphs 5 &6: Counterarguments in which you anticipate how your opponents will disagree with you, and you then provide rebuttals to those counterarguments.

Paragraph 7: Conclusion, an emotionally powerful re-statement of your thesis.

Make sure to include a Works Cited page.

Essay #3 Due 4-23-19

For other sources:

Robert Reich review

Option B (New Addition): Should Community College be Free?

Develop an argumentative thesis that addresses the claim that community college should be free.

"Free Cheese in the Mousetrap?"

Recent Atlantic article argues for free community college.

Option C: Should rich students whose parents paid their way illegally into top-tier colleges be expelled? Are all these students equal? Some are not even taking classes seriously evidenced by their YouTube videos. Others may be performing well. Should their performance make a difference? The most direct essay for this argument is in the Los Angeles Times: "In admissions scandal, the students should be expelled" by Michael Hiltzik.

Also see Atlantic essay about "Real Scandal" and how there is no way to prevent the next college scandal.

3-26 Homework #8: Read Give People Money, chapters 4 and 5, and write a 3-paragraph essay that explains how the kludgeocracy makes a compelling case for Universal Basic Income.

3-28 Homework #9: Read Give People Money, chapters 6 and 7, and write a 3-paragraph essay that explains how America’s racial injustice makes a compelling case for Universal Basic Income.

4-4: Give People Money, chapter 8 to end of the book;

4-16 Option B (New Addition): Should Community College be Free?

Develop an argumentative thesis that addresses the claim that community college should be free.

4-18 Peer Edit for Essay 3 and Portfolio Grading Part 1

4-23 Essay #3 Due.

UBI Sources & Ideas

UBI LifeHacker

New Yorker, 2018

UBI, Bloomberg

UBI, Dissent

UBI, New Republic

Videos

UBI Explained (10 minute video)

UBI Jordan Peterson (11 minutes)

Andrew Yang (18)

Sam Harris (8)

What countries have tried UBI? (8)

Jordan Peterson, Part 2 (16)

Next Homework #15: Read Garrett Hardin's "Lifeboat Ethics" and write a 3-paragraph essay that identifies 3 possible objections to his argument.