“If stuff was just handed to me I’d have no motivation to do anything! That’s human nature!”
No, babe, that’s depression. Psychologically healthy people are still motivated to do things even when their survival isn’t being actively threatened.
[Image description: tweet by Roxi Horror @roxiqt on March 30, 2022 at 11:13 AM: “’Oh, so you think everyone should just be handed enough money to live?’ lol. lmao. yeah.”]
okay so like, we all know that housekeeping in a hotel is a Shit Job, right?
I worked with a woman who was independently wealthy. But she liked working housekeeping. So she did. And if the manager got bitchy with her, she’d just shrug and be like “Okay, I can quit.”
Like the manager treated her like a human being because she knew she had to because otherwise she’d lose one of her best workers.
Yes, everyone should be just handed the money to live.
I worked with a lady who’s husband made more than enough to support them both. She just did the retail to have something to do with herself part-time.
There’s a lot of people who’d happily do the same sort of thing. Honestly? A lot of the jobs we consider “shitty” jobs? Are shitty because the employees are treated like garbage.
If employees weren’t being screwed over by people higher up the chain constantly or being forced to kiss the asses of customers currently shitting all over them, those jobs would by and large be a whole lot more bearable, and appealing to more people!!
Plus rich people are just handed a lot of money, whether they earn it or not, and no one questions that. Only poor people getting money gets interrogated over and over and over again.
I’d like to add a footnote to this thread that the US gives more money (by way of the income tax reduction) to homeowners than it does to poor people who need subsidized housing.
My best teacher in high school was the guy who had previously made a ton of money that he could’ve retired at like 30. Man just wanted to teach teenagers.
If people as a whole were handed enough money to live on, maybe more people like him wouldn’t be put off by the poor salary teachers make. (also teachers should be paid a lot more)
There’s also this assumption that if people were just handed enough money to live that they’d do absolutely nothing, as if they’d be satisfied being completely bored all the time.
They’d still buy food. They’d still buy video games. They’d still go out and get coffee and put money into the economy even if they didn’t want to work because they still want to LIVE. They’d buy movies. They’d go DO stuff.
I review comic books on the internet and I love doing it, but I often have to compromise on some things because I just can’t afford to do otherwise and I stress out about stuff because I need to earn money.
“Psychologically healthy people are still motivated to do things even when their survival isn’t being actively threatened.”
Speaking for myself, I would be even MORE motivated to do things if my basic needs were guaranteed met. IJS
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What I think some people miss about stuff like UBI (universal basic income, the idea that everyone gets a staple amount of money that could cover basic housing and food needs) is that… It doesn’t really need to be a lot of money. The idea isn’t “give everyone so much money they’re now rich and can do whatever they want forever.” The idea is to provide enough for their most basic needs (food water shelter). It’s enough that if your job mistreats you, you are safe enough to leave it without the threat of becoming unhoused or starving. This, in turn, forces employers to treat their workers better because if they don’t, then they don’t get workers.
But the other side of this coin is that ONLY a person’s basic needs are covered. As someone above said, people still want to do fun stuff! Fancy coffee and vacations and doing leisure activities like movies or bowling or whatever. Keeping pets. Having get togethers. If someone wants the extras in life, THAT’S the stuff they “should” be working for. That’s the “well if they don’t want to work then they don’t get [whatever]!” that is the consequence of not working. Are some people gonna be fine not doing any extra stuff and just living basically? Sure! And that’s okay. But most people DO want extra stuff and will work for it if they can (and if they can’t they should still get extra basic income! Humans deserve enrichment!)
But “You don’t get the vacation” is not the same consequence as “you don’t get to live in a home or eat food today.” The consequence of not working should NEVER be no longer having your basic needs met. And it’s absolutely ridiculous that so many people have normalized that you work or you perish. We live in a society! We invented civilization to make it easier to care for one another and ensure everyone’s basic needs get met! Human civilization began when we decided it’s not “survival of the fittest” on our watch, but “survival of everyone we care about.” We have lost our way if we cannot protect each other.
