Max Keiser and Stacey Herbert have just done a great episode of the Keiser Report with Dr Guy Standing of the international Basic Income Earth Network.
They cover:
– How a globalised plutocracy has constantly shifted income share to capital and away from labour.
– How a rump ‘Solaria’ of people with good jobs, good pay and good benefits remain (for now).
– How most people are left trying to cope with insecure employment, loss of social protections, and increasing reliance on poorly paid precarious jobs below their level of education, training and experience.
– How technologies like Uber are becoming the new labour brokers and rentiers of labour.
– How one in three jobs will soon be allocated by technological ‘Dutch Auction’ where only the lowest bidder gets the job.
– How well meaning politicians (like Jeremy Corbyn) and long standing organisations like unions, have not updated their toolbox to combat these changes.
The phenomenon of technological job destruction (which dates back to the 1800s) also increases inequality, breaking down society’s ‘income distribution system.’
Critically, Standing describes the difference between ‘work’ and ‘paid jobs’. There is a lot of useful work in families and communities which could be done, but which is not being structured into the form of a ‘paid job.’ A UBI would allow people to focus on getting that kind of work done, not on chasing scarce, poorly paid, badly led, disorganised, ‘paid jobs.’
As he talks we can see how a UBI can completely change the picture to greatly reduce peoples’ reliance on poorly paid precarious jobs. A UBI gives a far greater sense (and reality) of control to ordinary people over their own lives and their relations with others bringing with it many health and social benefits.
In other words, as a principle of justice, a UBI provides security and provides dignity to ordinary people who would otherwise be trapped in a precarious day to day, week to week existence.
edit: Guy Standing was interviewed on RNZ in February (hat tip Katipo) talking about the modern precariat.
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