A global basic income (GBI) is a concept where every person in the entire world would get a certain amount of money for the entire life. By helping people to provide for their basic needs, GBI would help to solve such global problems as inequality and poverty. It is surely a costly idea, yet, it’s not entirely utopian. The biggest problem, though, is that majority of businesses argue strongly against it. Here, we will see why.
Waste Of Workforce And Money
The most popular arguments against GBI include that people would stop working and the money wouldn’t be spent wisely. People who have jobs that are paid very little, or are generally unsatisfying, wouldn’t have to work anymore, thus leaving businesses without employees. Poor people, on the other hand, would spend their money foolishly on little, short-term pleasures, and would stay in poverty. Well, that’s not entirely true. Research based on experiments in places where a prototype of GBI was introduced shows that work rates drop very little, or don’t drop at all. Examples from the developing countries, where poor people are handed out cash, show that, in such circumstances, the receivers know the value of money and never waste it.
The Powerful Greed
The question that arises after seeing that two most popular arguments are invalid is: why businesses look at those facts and still deny the pros of GBI? The answer is simple, yet, unfortunate: greed. If people were to get a basic income, they would be able to quit unpleasant jobs easier. Employees’ bargaining power would become much stronger. Thus, businesses would have to increase wages and improve working conditions. Both can be costly for companies, meaning their executives wouldn’t be able to treat themselves to unlimited luxury. Naturally, it’s not something people in power want, and they are doing everything they can to avoid such situation.
Creativity Is The Answer
The fear of losing employees also stems from a lack of creativity. However, GBI would act as a strong motivator to introduce some innovation in any industry. Jobs that aren’t satisfying or paid well are usually those that are monotonous, physical or do not require a lot of brain work. Therefore, they can be easily automated. All that’s needed is little investment and creativity. However, it is often not the strongest feature of business people, and thus is raising unnecessary concerns.
The Fear Of Change
What is most scary about the global basic income, however, is the unknown. There had never been such incentive in the entire world, which means it would be something brand new for us. And change is always hard because it cannot be planned clearly — something unexpected inevitably happens. Successful businesses have their ways of being profitable, and it’s only logical they don’t want to implement drastic changes because they see change as a threat, not as an opportunity. Luckily, there are companies out there responsible enough to take the initiative for a change. While it sounds risky to some, businesses are willing to step up and contribute to increasing the quality of life globally. By introducing a business model that allows earning a passive income, it will help everyone owning a phone to secure a basic income.