Dearest readers, here in North America, as was the case elsewhere in the world, a major part of the Covid response by the governments was a collection of universal basic handouts. Some may say they were necessary due to lockdowns; others might say it was the perfect time to test out modern monetary theory; others however simply said it was an attempt of our governments to test out universal basic income in a limited fashion. Any way you look at it, money was created, to be paid for by future generations, for the needs of the here and now. Normally that is fine, as long as money is created because there are more and more customers and more and more products and services being offered and consumed in a competitive environment, so you need the extra liquidity. However, when you create it for no such reason, then we have a problem. Still, despite how bad it can turn out in reality when not done right, the idea of everyone getting a bigger share of the economic pie sounds really amazing. Can we, as a society, create it though without the government having to do it for us (ostensibly disastrously)? Maybe. Let us explore a few angles because it really is and important part in shaping a better society and a better economy in the future. One thing to note, however, is that the angles I explore assume you still have to do something, even if it is easy, in order to get the universal basic income; I do not believe in getting it for nothing- that is called welfare and we already have that, however inadequate it may or may not be.
One angle I always go to first in my mind is ecommerce. You see, when North America shipped tons of its manufacturing to China and other (at the time) developing countries, the goal was to produce cheaper goods and free people up from manufacturing jobs so they could pursue loftier goals and calls in life. Their words, not mine. No massive retraining budget for the workers who lost their jobs, nothing like that. Nevertheless, as the dot com era took shape and we started to see ecommerce platforms like eBay and Amazon, it all became clear. China will produce our goods and we will utilize ecommerce to sell stuff to each other! it is cleaner, cooler work than factories and would give rise to many businesses surrounding ecommerce, many new jobs and new types of jobs, and all of us will have a second salary coming in that will take way less work than our first one. Heck, some of us will choose to do ecommerce full-time. Overall, all of us will be better off for it. Ecommerce, or so it seemed, could have become the universal basic income platform for many, many people in this country as well as a major employer for plenty of part-time, gig and occasional jobs. This, dearest readers, did not happen in any planned or smooth way, nor was it envisioned in the way I laid it out. The outsourcing of manufacturing was done too early as it relates to the rise of ecommerce, ecommerce itself rose before high speed Internet connections that made it so much better, and finally all of it rose before the advent of smartphones that really boosted ecommerce sales numbers across all categories. Bottom line, it was a mess. Still, I would like to believe that ecommerce as a general platform can come to offer some sort of universal basic income that people can generate alongside their day jobs.
Another angle I like to look at is the stock market. Currently, most stock markets are illiquid (research who holds the most shares of which tech stocks and you will see), manipulated by the big players whose moves we have to divine if we want to trade successfully, and finally they rely on people investing a portion of their earnings into heavily diversified portfolios and ETF's which is pretty safe but it also results in annualized returns that are paltry in comparison to what successful stock traders make. And this is what my stock market angle is about- trading. Say what you will about banks and investment firms, but they leave the door open to those willing to learn and maybe join their ranks. It is not easier and cheaper than ever before to trade stocks, yet people often think this is only because the big investors want to take our money. Sure, here and there they will do that- this is how markets work unless you are God; you cannot win every time. However, for those willing to learn slowly and carefully, even over a span of a few years while working their job and on other life projects, the reward may truly be there. The stock market is the one place where you will not be turned away regardless of what your resume looks like. I am still learning but I know enough to confidently say that stocks are not casino games, and that the entire system that makes and unmakes wealth is good enough to provide many of us and even more people in the future a platform for, again, an almost universal basic income.
Finally, a big angle I have been thinking about lately is microtransactions. Whether you like it or not, two of the most polarizing platforms- Onlyfans and mobile games- have actually demonstrated the power of microtransactions to become almost a universal basic income. Let us talk about what is polarizing about this entire concept. In case of both Onlyfans and many mobile games, people dislike the concept of pay to win and the fact that content is often cut up into small pieces and each piece has a separate cost, no matter how small, with the result of you often paying more than you wanted for the whole thing. On the other hand, people love the idea that it is becoming more and more normal to get something tangible in return for many things you- things for which you would get only a thank you or a compliment or some good will in the past. After all, you cannot pay your rent with a pocket full of thank you's. So, you decide to basically get a tip for many, many of the things you do for others in a day. When you take this approach to the Internet, you can get tips from people who are not even physically close to you, which means you can have a sometimes sizeable side income no matter where you live in the country. Now, let us look at some less polarizing examples of this. There are platforms like Fiverr where people get paid to do all sorts of creative and technical projects for others. There is Canva, a digital marketing content platform where people can sell their digital content designs and get paid a little bit every time a Canva subscriber uses their design. There are similar platforms as well for photographers and videographers. There are crowdfunding websites as well. Bottom line, I really believe this is another good angle that reach a universal basic income status for most of us.
Now, before I finish this off, you may ask if Miss Z is heartless in considering angles for market-created universal basic incomes that would not help people who are disabled, destitute or in any other kind of trouble that prevents them from participating in any or all of these. Well, I am not heartless because I have actually thought of them as well. For all its faults, the societal push for dual-income families has created a rise in living standards for many families. Now, imagine a single person household becoming a dual income household, and a dual income household becoming a quadruple income household. I believe in human goodness and altruism, and I believe that people would give more to charity and non-profit organizations that would then be able to help more people- simple as that.
Overall, dearest readers, we have a few angles and we have options. Systems are rising and developing for us, as modern societies, to achieve a new level of financial stability and well-being in the decades to come. I hope we do not collectively screw it up. Also, if I am too optimistic, I am sorry but I cannot help it, at least not today haha.
Have a great weekend everyone! :)
One angle I always go to first in my mind is ecommerce. You see, when North America shipped tons of its manufacturing to China and other (at the time) developing countries, the goal was to produce cheaper goods and free people up from manufacturing jobs so they could pursue loftier goals and calls in life. Their words, not mine. No massive retraining budget for the workers who lost their jobs, nothing like that. Nevertheless, as the dot com era took shape and we started to see ecommerce platforms like eBay and Amazon, it all became clear. China will produce our goods and we will utilize ecommerce to sell stuff to each other! it is cleaner, cooler work than factories and would give rise to many businesses surrounding ecommerce, many new jobs and new types of jobs, and all of us will have a second salary coming in that will take way less work than our first one. Heck, some of us will choose to do ecommerce full-time. Overall, all of us will be better off for it. Ecommerce, or so it seemed, could have become the universal basic income platform for many, many people in this country as well as a major employer for plenty of part-time, gig and occasional jobs. This, dearest readers, did not happen in any planned or smooth way, nor was it envisioned in the way I laid it out. The outsourcing of manufacturing was done too early as it relates to the rise of ecommerce, ecommerce itself rose before high speed Internet connections that made it so much better, and finally all of it rose before the advent of smartphones that really boosted ecommerce sales numbers across all categories. Bottom line, it was a mess. Still, I would like to believe that ecommerce as a general platform can come to offer some sort of universal basic income that people can generate alongside their day jobs.
Another angle I like to look at is the stock market. Currently, most stock markets are illiquid (research who holds the most shares of which tech stocks and you will see), manipulated by the big players whose moves we have to divine if we want to trade successfully, and finally they rely on people investing a portion of their earnings into heavily diversified portfolios and ETF's which is pretty safe but it also results in annualized returns that are paltry in comparison to what successful stock traders make. And this is what my stock market angle is about- trading. Say what you will about banks and investment firms, but they leave the door open to those willing to learn and maybe join their ranks. It is not easier and cheaper than ever before to trade stocks, yet people often think this is only because the big investors want to take our money. Sure, here and there they will do that- this is how markets work unless you are God; you cannot win every time. However, for those willing to learn slowly and carefully, even over a span of a few years while working their job and on other life projects, the reward may truly be there. The stock market is the one place where you will not be turned away regardless of what your resume looks like. I am still learning but I know enough to confidently say that stocks are not casino games, and that the entire system that makes and unmakes wealth is good enough to provide many of us and even more people in the future a platform for, again, an almost universal basic income.
Finally, a big angle I have been thinking about lately is microtransactions. Whether you like it or not, two of the most polarizing platforms- Onlyfans and mobile games- have actually demonstrated the power of microtransactions to become almost a universal basic income. Let us talk about what is polarizing about this entire concept. In case of both Onlyfans and many mobile games, people dislike the concept of pay to win and the fact that content is often cut up into small pieces and each piece has a separate cost, no matter how small, with the result of you often paying more than you wanted for the whole thing. On the other hand, people love the idea that it is becoming more and more normal to get something tangible in return for many things you- things for which you would get only a thank you or a compliment or some good will in the past. After all, you cannot pay your rent with a pocket full of thank you's. So, you decide to basically get a tip for many, many of the things you do for others in a day. When you take this approach to the Internet, you can get tips from people who are not even physically close to you, which means you can have a sometimes sizeable side income no matter where you live in the country. Now, let us look at some less polarizing examples of this. There are platforms like Fiverr where people get paid to do all sorts of creative and technical projects for others. There is Canva, a digital marketing content platform where people can sell their digital content designs and get paid a little bit every time a Canva subscriber uses their design. There are similar platforms as well for photographers and videographers. There are crowdfunding websites as well. Bottom line, I really believe this is another good angle that reach a universal basic income status for most of us.
Now, before I finish this off, you may ask if Miss Z is heartless in considering angles for market-created universal basic incomes that would not help people who are disabled, destitute or in any other kind of trouble that prevents them from participating in any or all of these. Well, I am not heartless because I have actually thought of them as well. For all its faults, the societal push for dual-income families has created a rise in living standards for many families. Now, imagine a single person household becoming a dual income household, and a dual income household becoming a quadruple income household. I believe in human goodness and altruism, and I believe that people would give more to charity and non-profit organizations that would then be able to help more people- simple as that.
Overall, dearest readers, we have a few angles and we have options. Systems are rising and developing for us, as modern societies, to achieve a new level of financial stability and well-being in the decades to come. I hope we do not collectively screw it up. Also, if I am too optimistic, I am sorry but I cannot help it, at least not today haha.
Have a great weekend everyone! :)