I don't agree with your premise that no one wants to pick potatoes. Just because you can survive without a job, it doesn't mean people won't want more money and use the skills they have available to earn it (even if that's just physical labor).

Again that's temporary though as automation will happen, which you seem to not believe? It doesn't seem like rocket science to pick a potato. Self-driving cars seem like a much more difficult challenge.

//Just because you can survive without a job, it doesn't mean people won't want more money and use the skills they have available to earn it

Oh I see.

I can get $X without working and that should suffice to buy potatoes.

You are willing to pick potatoes but you need to get paid more than $X now (cuz you can get that free.) You'll pick potatoes for $2X.

Now potatoes cost $2X. I can't afford them with my $X UBI. Now what?

If I want extra money I’ll do it for 1X not 2X. Not sure why you think it would be twice as much. When automation took that job, I’d find something else.

Providing potatoes to people is some real low hanging fruit. In fact it seems like a great thing to pair with UBI.

I can't tell if this is a masterful troll or not. Let's not get hung up on the 2X factor, it's just shorthand for "More than X" (though to be honest I'd expect you to hang with that by the time you're proposing new economic theory)

So let's go back.

Today:

We both pick potatoes. A day's worth of potatoes costs $X UBI pays $X I decide, fuck work - I'll eat free potatoes.

Tomorrow: You say - I can get $X for free, so I need "more than $X" to keep picking potatoes. Now potatoes cost "more than $X" because of labor cost. You can't buy potatoes with your $X UBI.

>> "potatoes .. is some real low hanging fruit."

At least that much we can agree on.

If you go back to my original comment you'll see that I don't propose paying for food with UBI, it should also be supplied.

> I can get $X for free, so I need "more than $X" to keep picking potatoes. Now potatoes cost "more than $X" because of labor cost. You can't buy potatoes with your $X UBI.

Why do you need more than $X to do the same job? Anything you get paid with be on top of UBI. People picking potatoes today are hardly living the life of luxury, pay their basic needs and they'll most likely just keep doing their same job and spending that extra money on stuff one level above survival.

>... I don't propose paying for food with UBI, it should also be supplied.

This is the frustrating circular logic here...someone HAS to pick the potatoes! They don’t just show up magically, and you can’t just extrapolate and say that robots will handle all production of basic resources for an entire massive populace.

Normally, socialist economies get around this problem by some combination of slavery, extremely high taxation, forced labor (I.e. not enough farmers - so I’m going to force you to farm regardless of your desired occupation) and/or starvation. Clearly none of those are ideal.

> Normally, socialist economies get around this problem by some combination of slavery, extremely high taxation,forced labor (I.e. not enough farmers - so I’m going to force you to farm regardless of your desired occupation) and/or starvation.

What happens to you today if you don't farm? Starvation and/or homelessness.

I'm not suggesting socialism (as a first step). Like I said, people who are currently doing these jobs, will most likely continue to do them. It's just an upgraded base level of living for all and no one has to starve.