A Dynamite Meatloaf Recipe
Please enjoy the thoughts and musings of our friend, supporter, and long-time contributor Art van Bodegraven Jr., who passed away on June 18, 2017. Art was a prolific writer and had amassed a collection of unpublished blog posts he had planned to run well into the future. To honor his memory, we will continue to post these remaining blogs as he had intended. If you’ve been a fan of The Art of Art blog, check out our tribute.
Highly under-rated singer Meatloaf was the soul of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a surprise cult classic. Speaking of cults, momentum seems to be gathering behind the push for a universal minimum wage
These cluster around, generally, low-wage low-skill functions such as in retail, quick service food, warehousing, and quasi-taxi service. The target seems to be about $15/hour, with a preponderance of high-weight/low capability performers. Government workers are active - and activist - proponents of living wages for sub-par tasks.
These meatloaf - on a good day - meals are known in the collective as Universal Basic Income, or UBI. However en vogue these aspirations are, they are made up of three core elements. One, they are universal; two, they are basic; and three, they do make up an income.
But, to paraphrase Paradise By The Dashboard Light, not much about UBI is attractive. Two of the three elements are not useful, and one is downright bad. So, two failures and one winner.
One out of three is not good; two out of three is bad.
The downside is that the basic income is impossibly low, or the cost of it is insanely high. Implemented, wealthier people would leave the country in droves, to avoid the associated punitive taxes.
Many think that nearly half the population cannot find paid employment. The exceptions, including government support, are proposed to be UBI.
But, the vaunted universality could be taken as a sign of failure. The massive cost could be a mortal wound, and Bill Gates and Rupert Murdoch coming through with big bucks is unlikely.
Basicality is a lack of fredom to live modestly, and is a catalyst for social unrest.
Income is an avoidance of starving, and it prevents people from enjoying the the better - not free - things in life. Now, the trick is to figure out how to pay for it.
Maybe we can suss out how to pay for it all. But, the odds are slim.
Meanwhile, well-intentioned folks think UBI is an answer. Not so much, dude. UBI is for dreamers and schemers. But, the tough love we've been missing, it needs to return to the basics.