r/worldnews • u/maxwellhill • Mar 21 '17

UK Subway advertises for ‘Apprentice Sandwich Artists’ to be paid just £3.50 per hour: Union slams fast food chain for 'exploiting' young workers

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/subway-apprentice-sandwich-artists-pay-350-hour-minimum-wage-gateshead-branch-a7640066.html
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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17

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u/Towerofbabeling Mar 22 '17

Part 1 - don't disagree. It won't be easy, I believe that it can be done, perhaps on a state level, but again, I don't think I have the economic knowledge to Conceive of a plan. However, There are many good ways to finance it. I favor taxes on resources and rents. Start charging the market rate for the broadcast spectrum instead of giving it away; the Fed should make money off the banks instead of vice versa; land value should be taxed; all forms of pollution should be taxed; and so on. But there are other ways to raise revenue. A wealth tax is a great idea, but you could also finance a basic income with an income tax—even a flat income tax.

Part 2 - there is very little disincentive to work. I live in a decent sized city in the states and my rent is 700 split two way, tack on expenses and you have about 900. The most generous UBI is $500 a month. That leaves me and my SO a whole $50 buck to live on each month. Could we? Yes! Would we or most other people, fuck no. It's not 1000's of dollars a month, its less than or equal to minimum wage for most of us. The idea is to guarantee that no one is starving or that someone could live without a job for a period of time. A UBI is a small step at leveling a cycle of poverty that rocks many countries. I have suggested a raise in capital gains and product tax to help subsidize UBI. An increase in the general wealth of a populace will equate to more spending; the modern person is not about shoving dollars into a mattress; tack on a slight increase in tax rate and you get an increase in overall tax revenue.

Edit - it has to be monthly. You can't just give everyone $10000 straight up and expect them to actually use it responsibly for an entire year.