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because people don't have the mindset of making a living for themselves, for giving it their all to make ends meet, to get the right amount of education, or job training to attain a reasonably paying job
Thank you for this post!
originally posted by: theantediluvian
Oh look. Another person who thinks the problems of society start with the lazy poor. There are a limited number of jobs, that is a fact. Among those jobs are a limited number of "good" jobs, that is to say, jobs that put one in the middle class. Everyone knows that the middle class is shrinking, do you believe that it is shrinking because nobody is filling the middle class jobs? Let me answer that for you, NO. The middle class is shrinking because there are less "good" jobs than there were previously.
Where did these jobs go and are they coming back? Well, I can tell you that they weren't taken by the illegal Mexican immigrants and pretty much anything that could be outsourced has already been outsourced. Here's an infographic that I posted in another thread a week or so ago, my apologies to those who have seen it:
Source was an 2013 article from the MIT Technology Review. Here's a link to the larger image.
The more jobs we automate, the less jobs there are for people to fill. These days, we're not just replacing people in factories with machines, we're also computerizing and the computerization is getting more sophisticated as we develop increasingly complex AI's. The more sophisticated the AI's get, the more better paying jobs we'll lose. Eventually we're going to face staggering unemployment that will make what we see today look pretty f'ing awesome in comparison.
Then what? Will you come back here and tell the 45-50%+ of unemployed people to just try a little harder?
Switzerland has a very direct style of democracy. For example, changes to the constitution, or "popular initiatives," can be proposed by members of the public and are voted on if more than 100,000 people sign them. If a majority of voters and cantons (Swiss states) agree, the change can be come law.
This system not only allows individual citizens a high degree of control of their laws, but also means that more unorthodox ideas become referendum issues.
Recently, there has been a spate of popular initiatives designed to curb inequality in the country. Earlier this year Swiss voters agreed to an idea proposed by entrepreneur Thomas Minder that limited executive (in his words, "fat cat") salaries of companies listed on the Swiss stock market. Next month voters will decide on the 1:12 Initiative, which aims to limit the salaries of CEOs to 12 times the salary of their company's lowest paid employee.
There's a crazier proposal than this, however. Earlier this month an initiative aimed at giving every Swiss adult a "basic income" that would "ensure a dignified existence and participation in the public life of the whole population" gained enough support to qualify for a referendum. The amount suggested is 2,500 francs ($2,800) a month.
While most observers think that the vote is a longshot, it has certainly sparked debate — and not just in Switzerland. Writing for USA Today, Duncan Black said that a "minimum income" should be considered for the U.S.
"It's pretty clear that the most efficient way to improve the lives of people is to guarantee a minimum income," Black concludes.
However, Black understates just how radical the proposal is. We spoke to Daniel Straub, one of the people behind the initiative, to get a better understanding of what the proposal really means, why it is so radical, and what the world could learn from it.
Read more: www.businessinsider.com...
Voters in Swiss referendum back curbs on executives' pay and bonuses
Exit polls suggest 68% support for 'Minder initiative' which would also ban golden handshakes and golden parachutes