I think a universal income is a great idea in theory and I’d also welcome corporations being taxed properly and held accountable for previous tax dodging and full on fraud that they seem to have been allowed to perpetrate on the British public. It’s no great business of mine but it’s also a thread for unpopular opinions. I hold fairly liberal views towards most things but I also think that people need to contribute to society in some way, even if it’s not financially or for their own monetary gain. I’d love everyone to get universal basic income that would free many to create, help others and be free from the burden of living a typical capitalist life, but it’s hard to live outside of the established structures.
I’ve never once thought dole money is a luxury existence - my Ma was a case worker for the DWP for donkeys years and has told me straight how it is. I just think that in a system that doesn’t have universal income, it’s difficult to argue for a system of support to those who simply refuse to work. Those with any sort of ill health or issues that prevent them working, of course we should have a support network. Choose not to work if you want, that’s no issue, there should just be a limitation to how much support is available to those who choose to live a certain way.
I suppose the frame of context for my comment was that my Ma was assaulted last week (she’s alright thankfully, made of tough stuff) by a dirty horrible scrot bag who is fit and able to work but spends more time and effort avoiding it than getting one would take, who has been allowed on multiple occasions to go into the local job centres and threaten violence if he wasn’t given an advance on his benefits. A bloke who has literally told staff he refuses to work even though he could and he just thinks everything he wants should be paid for.
Ultimately crime and joblessness are symptoms of economic issues and where a country has clear and easy routes to training, career paths and clear independence, crime diminishes massively as a result. My statement was too sweeping - it should’ve been aimed squarely at a specific type of unemployed person, as opposed to demonising a whole category of people, which originally was never the intention. It’s an unpopular opinion thread though, it’s packed with generalisations.
