Those who are familiar with my fictional work know that I built a case for Universal Basic Income [UBI] [I called it Basic Pay] in my podcast fictional serial “The Jonker Memorandum” which I began writing in 1994.
As part of that, I have previously mentioned that I also built a case for financing Basic Pay. At that time [the ‘90s] the source for basic pay, was based on the regressive idea of using the Known Tax base, because that was how it panned out in the old system.
We [ordinary people] didn’t know then about DATA: and how much it could be worth. Plus I was also writing fiction; and as someone who taught applied economics at high school level, was constantly provoked by wonderfully questioning, clever children, about how this thing I called “Basic Pay” [implied from such glorious SciFi writers as Heinlein and Asimov who called it “credits”] could be paid for.
In 1973, the subsequently proved prophet of “Future Shock” change: Alvin Toffler, wrote, in an article penned for Encounter Magazine: “What I have to say about the relationship of laws to life in a period of social revolution is more in the nature of notes and ruminations than a set of fixed or finished ideas”
So, in the spirit of Toffler’s musings, below in 220 syllables using my Xrappzi© poetry model, I have set out my “musings” for a case for Universal Basic Income: and shown how payment is already implicit in our newly evolved reality. These consolidated musings develop on previous musings in three blogs last year.
My purpose now with my 220 syllables below is to present some opportunistic political grouping out there, on the left, right or centre [preferably centre] amongst all the popular frenzy of political activity, with this understanding.
My suspicion is that some hungry Political Party, that actually grasps this reality, that all the comfortably employed Kleva’s seem to be missing, that the Data Revolution has the potential to capture the swelling centre ground of the political spectrum. That is the part of society Professor Standing calls the “New Precariat”.
This space up to now seems crowded out by radicals at either end of an increasingly, obsolete political spectrum.
The Yellow Vest movement in Paris for instance could suddenly find a cause to riot about instead of simply venting rage. They could now march to demand that “#Data must share Rent”.
Economic Rent btw, being an idea formulated by the “Greats” of Economic history, such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo: and is completely absent in contemporary Economic textbooks… that in its quaint way completely ignore the reality that the financialised economy in which the west now lives is, as Professor Steve Keen calls it a “Rentier” economy.
Happiness is not good for radicals of any end. Happiness however should be the goal of all humans surely. In other words unlike all current futurists; and including the usually perceptive Professor Harari, who in his “21 Lessons for the 21st Century”, also sees UBI as some form of welfare payment.
Here it is then in 10 x 22 Xrappzi© syllables.
WelfareVersusUBI UBINotMoneyForNothing. DataMustShareRent
Welfare
IsToChari
TyWhatNeitherAreTo
DataWhichNowPresentsOurKnown
Future.
LeftOf
CentreRightOf
CentreFocusOnThe
MiddleWherePrekarianPow
ErStands.
WeWho
SavedTheWorldAnd
FailedToValueWhatWe
GaveAreNowCondemmedToPov
Erty?
InPlace
OfGlobalSta
BilityAsWeReach
ForTheStarsWeGoNowToRage
InBars.
Struggle
HardAgainstIr
RelevanceFollowing
DispossesionOfOurMind’s
QuaintPart.
It’sNot
AGrantNotA
Favour.ThereToReward
AllWhoSlaveUnpaidToSubmit
DATA.
Multi
PlyRawData’s
ValueDemandOurDes
TinyReachGrabTheMeanest
Centre.
DATA
MustShareRent
TodayPayForBytesAs
ForOurOilItshallNotSpoilTheChild
ForOnce.
DATA
ComesFromHuman
MindsMinedTodayForRent
HoorayColonisersOfMind
MustPay.
ForBytes
ByZettaTril
LionsAcquiredForFree
ThatIsMoneyForNothingNot
ForMe.
SinceWe
KnowItWorksSo
WellWeNowDemandOur
ShareOfRentYouGetFromWeWho
GiveIt
Cheers.
!NiK[‘17519]