We Can Do This!

Way too many people are absolutely appalled when I say I don’t care if some of my taxes go to keeping lazy people alive, inside, fed, and warm. I don’t care if someone is not working because they’re disabled, being educated, looking for a job, or just lazy, no one should live without basic human dignity.

I mean at this point scarcity is artificial
- For a few more years, at least, til they reinvent the real thing with climate apocalypse. Even if we turn around right now; incomprehensible numbers of people are going to die to this. Every day adds more.
  
  We have built most of the machinery necessary to create a kind of heaven, and the fuckers we allow to have control of it are using everything we give them to create hell. Every breath they draw is a shame we all must carry.
What else is labor good for if not making things better? I want to chase improvement, not profit.
FR FR, defrauding the system should be punished, not prevented, because right now preventative measures are very obviously doing jack shit in actual service to the public
- I’m not even talking about fraud. I think someone should still be entitled to a basic existence even if they don’t want to work. Like sure, don’t give them an Xbox Series X, but, give them food and heat. Maybe even an Xbox 360. What are those, like $30?
Laziness is NOT an existential threat.
I will gladly accept if my taxes go to someone lazy if it means people that need it are getting the assistance they need. It'll happen anyways may as well help people who need it. That said I don't condone people scamming the system but it's either very high administration costs or people that need it don't get it usually. I went on assistance once, needed it short term, recall some dude talking about how it was his weekend spending money. Annoying to hear but I got the assistance I needed for that short time till I got a job. Always felt my attitude would fit better in some European or Scandinavian countries but I'm older now and don't speak anything other than English.
I agree so much. The vast majority of people wants to work to some degree anyway because they tend to feel useless and bored and go nuts. I see this in the huge number of refugees every day, they are going insane waiting for their documents to be approved so they can finally look for a job, be it just McDonald's. And those who don't - well so be it. I'd rather have someone unemployed and "lazy" than half assing some job they hate.

I'd love to have a system where everything mentioned in the meme is provided and everyone pays like 90% taxes. You get an apartment in an appropriate size not more than 15 minutes from your workplace. You get basic groceries provided and if you want truffles or crazy imported fruit you still have your 10% for that. Those 10% can go to whatever you like. You have housing. You have food. You have clothing. You have infrastructure and all your basic and medium needs are met. Save up for a trip somewhere, buy weird groceries, jewelry, go to a restaurant.

And there are just natural leaders and politicians and whatnot. I am sure that people will still want to have a "career" for money unrelated reasons. Imagine a manager who actually rocks at managing a team instead of an asshole who only does this job because it pays better. Likewise, and this hurts me so much when I see this on the playground, "low end jobs" would still be done because a lot of people love the idea of doing construction, waiting, cooking, cleaning. Garbage men are being looked up to by kids. Kids naturally love these kinds of jobs but somewhere along the way to adulthood the social stigma kicks in and the realisation that these jobs pay shit keeps them from going down these roads.

Minor nitpick: if it's snowing outside (and you can do so), then wear a fucking sweater inside! Heating a whole room by a few degrees when you could just not run around with a T-shirt is just so wasteful.

If you can't wear one, because you're disabled, then ignore my rant, please.

Electricity companies hate this trick!

For real I dont understand why people forget that they can just wear thicker clothes even at home. And they complain the electricity is expensive
- But let's not forget the fact that a heart pump would be great, if ran minimally and a small fireplace is not going break the bank. So don't think heating is a complete burden, enjoy the fruits of labor we all work hard on.
- Because electricity is used for more than just heating: running computer, charging phone, lighting living space, keeping food eadible and making food.
  
  Ok, last one is heating too, but for another purpose.
Significantly lowering indoors temperatures can have detrimental effects on health, particularly for elderly people. Also, electricity should be sufficiently accessible and cheap that I don't need to freeze my butt off in my home in order to pay the bills.
- You're reading waay too much into my comment. I specifically said that there were exceptions and only said that you shouldn't heat up to t-shirt temperatures.
Ah, to be young again and not have your hands and feed start freezing indoors when it starts getting chilly outside...
Yes dress for winter even indoors, but once my nose and extremities and phalanges get cold, I'm turning on the heater.
- Fine. So long you don't heat it up to 28°C
Fair comment, just wanted to add that it depends on the humidity and shelter condition. Dry cold is perfectly comfortable with extra layers - I've heard many stories of relatives sleeping outside in snow caves or under layers of snow over animal skins - but depending on how badly insulated your house is and how close to the ground (the answers for which, for most people in the situation of the comic, are: badly and low) you may not have much of a choice.
And honestly it’s so cozy to be in a chilly room in a toasty wool wrap.
We seem to love building thin-walled wooden boxes entirely above-ground and living in them.

Is "fat" a suitable disability for sweater forgiveness? Asking for a friend ... whom I accidentally ate.
I do that, but I also have fish tanks without a heater which can't go below a certain temperature, so there is a fine balance that must be maintained.

If everyone has a home how can I look down on the homeless and drug addicted while I drink cheap bourbon?

Humanity runs on
- Gesundheit.

If only we could codify these 'rights' into some kind of a 'bill'...

Everyone is talking about the politics, but there's that symbol in the bottom right that drew my attention. Is it some encoded data?

Honestly if we just tax the rich and start distributing government surplus we probably wouldn't even need to mandate most of this list.

I think you could mandate the things you mentioned and the list.
- Yeah both is good but I just wanted to really illustrate that the thing standing in our way is inequality.

UBI, single payer, and free college for all. Yes we can, and absolutely should!

I dont think UBI is needed. The super rich/elites would still find ways around it. What is needed is for Politicians to stop being such cunts and start to protect their people from greedy arseholes, bring in higher rates of tax, bring in employment laws.. etc etc
Is the verdict really in on UBI? Hasn't the concern been it would be equivalent to the school voucher coupons and justified to gut a wide variety of social services in the end resulting in less net-benefit to the working class?
- Only when Republicans are in power. At least historically.
- I honestly don't know, but that kinda/sorta makes sense on the face of it. UBI would throw everyone at the mercy of the "free market" for social services, and yes, could have the unintended consequence of obsolescing the state funded ones. Without adequate controls for services (regulations) it could get ugly. Especially if you consider that for-profit "healthcare", as we enjoy it in the US today, covers most of these services we're talking about.
- Issue with UBI that it can be distorted so much it could mean almost anything at this point. AI corpos think UBI is when you buy their stocks early on, before the big AI boom (FOMO).
My only thing on UBI is who will disperse it? Our own government can't because it would be used as a tool of leverage against us and they would always threaten to take it away.
- Yes, exactly as they constantly threaten to take away our Social Security, roads and military protection! /s

I'm a simple man. I see Eddie Izzard, I upvote
- What happens when you see a monkey in a tree, while you're wearing a beret?

Heck, if we could have all that for free, what's the point of working?

I'd continue working if it meant I could afford more luxury in life.
- I go to work and still can't afford the bare minimum of what's listed up there.
video game
- That might fall under the categories of "free internet" and "living a fulfilled life." So I'm pretty sure your video games would be provided complementary by the government too!
These are the basic needs. You'll need a job if you want internet, or a cell phone
- free internet was on their list. look at the meme again.

civlized countries are starting to realize it's cheaper to help people than keep them in poverty

You are promising a lot from an institution that is corrupt to its core and has a vested interest in denying you these things in order to extract the most out of you and hoping you die before society has to support you

No! We can't do this! That's communism!

So what if now hear me out we do none of that, and do number go up instead - you know - for the shareholders?

What does owning adequate clothing even mean?

Here in California, I can go to a local shelter right now and get all of these things. Except adequate clothing because I don't know what that even means.

I'd assume adequate clothing means clothing that fits properly, and is appropriate for the climate and weather.

Sometimes I see homeless people wearing shoes that look way to big for them and I'm guessing it's because that was the closest they could find that fit on their feet so they just had to go with that. It's really not adequate though because it could be a tripping hazard.
- Additionally, facilities to wash clothing. This was one of the biggest struggles when I was homeless.
- Homeless people pick their own clothing. They are often too zonked to even care

The fact that this is political is maddening.

We COULD do this, if every lobbyist were disposed of and we similarly handled the billionaires. Otherwise there’s no hope here.

The EFF and ACLU employ lobbyists.
- The fact that a terrible system is being used by both good and bad actors does not mean the system should be protected.
- Corruption isn't only on one side.
Killing the people using the system and not the system itself just treats the symptoms, but not the disease.
- I'm not advocating violence, but don't the symptoms need handled to treat the disease at some point?

Cooling? Is this some US thing?

In 2022, over 1600 Americans died from heat related illnesses.
In many places in the US, if you do not have a system to remove humidity from the air in a space, you will fail to regulate your body temperature via sweating, leading to heat stroke and more.
The post literally links to US government sites, so I am hopeful you’ll be able to sort out this mystery
Yes. I assume you're in Europe, it's way hotter here and an apartment without AC is essentially useless much of the year.

Same reason we guzzle ice water (or soft drinks) like crazy people in restaurants.
Last summer we had a streak of 45 consecutive days over 100°F where I'm at.

I've never turned on my heater. I don't even know if it works. If it gets cold I grab an extra blanket or wear pajamas. When my AC quit working I moved in with a friend for a few days while it got fixed, because the inside of my trailer house can hit 125 in the summer.

In February I used less than 200kWh of electricity . In July I used nearly 1800.
It never occurred to me that it wouldn't get above 100F/37C in other countries

but to fully achieve this goal we must overcome the Capitalism

lol, you'll never get this in capitalism. and for that matter you won't get it in socialism either.

"From each according to ability, to each according to need." No useless eaters! You won't be allowed to do nothing and get everything (unless you're like SERIOUSLY disabled not Tumblr/Mastodon disabled) and if you can't figure out what you should do, don't worry, the community will provide you with a job because having a job is a right under socialism.

But what about the shareholders??!1!!?

Getting the government to do literally anything that's not evil takes a level of effort organization and resources that dwarf the effort to just do it your fucking self, and for all that you get some half passed means tested bullshit.

Direct action, fancy political theory for "just do some shit" is the only thing that has ever worked.

You want clean water? Secure water resources from corporate interests, ask the local water treatment technicians what they need, set out a rain barrel, figure out a desalination strategy, figure out where There's waste or pollution in the system and see if you can crack down on it.

You want hones with heating cooling and electricity? Grab a wrench. Maybe break into some empty units abd get people housed. Whatever.

You want free healthcare? Talk to the union reps at your local hospitals, get your local med school to hold more classes.

Clothing! So this ones climate dependent, but tl;Dr: grow some shit, sew some shit. Or pester people who already do.

Transportation and internet? Work out the best control system abd standards with some rail nerds, then start tearing up pavement.

Education? Find some people who know shit. Have them be at the park at specific times. Make it known. Maybe bring chairs.

Maybe break into some empty units abd get people housed. Whatever.

How many times have you done this yourself?
- Never, that would be a crime and crimes are illegal, and illegal things are crimes so you can't do them.
- Look at his list. None of it is feasible in a non-fiction environment.
Getting the state to help is easy if you have a worker-run state. Unions are just microcosms of said construct within a Capitalist framework.
- Arguable, but it certainly isnt harder, and there are other reasons that's preferable.

What is the incentive to work if all these things are provided? Btw I want these things so I can quit my job and just wander around

Why is it that work is the only way? Why must we work and have "incentive to work"? Who decided that we must work or be worthless? Why must we be forced to play a game that treats us like shit or be outcast and ostracized?

I don't expect you to have answers, this is just something I've always wondered.
- Humans are naturally creative and driven. We like working, building and accomplishing something.
  
  Yet you must be forced to do the work of your employment.
  
  If you had all your necessities met, not for long you would start to work. But you would work on projects you enjoyed. I doubt all those projects would be less useful for society than the average workplace nowadays.
- Because all the things in that picture are produced by people working. If there are not people working to make clothes, you don't get clothes. If there are not people making and maintaining power plants, there is no electricity. And so on.
  
  It's okay if temporarily non working people, or people that are unable to work, or people that work but are not paid enough gets these things for free (or deeply discounted. But if absolutely everyone gets all of that for free, there won't be enough people working just to sustain the ones who won't.
- We have value beyond work,, but ultimately theres the practical questions of:
  
  If no one worked, then how does everyone get that free food and clean water? Who are the volunteers lining up to elect to keep the sewage plant running?
  
  Who is providing the medical care? Particularly nursing of mentally unstable, dementia, and hospice care is soul crushing and demands way more people than would ever volunteer.
  
  Who is building those homes and wiring them? Who is operating the free public transit? Who is repairing the vehicles, roads, and tracks? Who is stepping out in 90 degree heat to repair a road?
  
  All the "free stuff" needs people to work to make it a reality. It may be that we can "afford" to provide basic needs confidently for free in a way that leaves motivation to do those jobs to get better, but ultimately we need work to be done and some way to motivate that work to be done.
- I mean we could go back to being hunter gatherers with no electricity, roads, police, government etc..But in order to have the comforts of life, we need peoples to do stuff and cooperate and coordinate.. think about who runs the cables for your Internet or maintains the cell towers, picks up your trash, grows the avocados for your guacamole, manufactures the medicines..etc etc..If nobody has a job, nothing gets done.. think about living off the grid and the logistics associated with it, that's just a small taste
With these things you get to work at what you want. For instance, I’ve travelled extensively where the items in the meme are mostly available, and you get cottage or small businesses that are really good at what they do but make too little money to actually be a “real job”.

So you get things like someone making the finest handmade tile, the best bread, an artist gets to make his/her art, you get to run your own private consulting business, etc. You have a shot at doing what you want, not some shitty grind you’re forced to do to hope you get healthcare, kids college money and a retirement. Of course these jobs don’t make a lot of money, but you can certainly look for employment that does offer better compensation.

Point being you have a choice.

And it’s funny, even in places where these services are available the vast majority don’t sit on their asses avoiding work. They understand they want more for themselves and maybe even the community they live in, so they choose more gainful employment.

Also, just because you get those meme things doesn’t mean you get everything else too. These are just basics, not a lifestyle that gets you much more than social housing and the ability to visit cheap destinations on your guaranteed vacation via public transportation. Maybe that’s all some people want, and that’s fine. YMMV.
- All of you guys have great ideas, have you ever thought about running for political office?
I don't see a panel for European vacations, video games, fancy dinners, nice cars, concert tickets, iPhones, trips to SeaWorld, a six pack of beer, or a Netflix subscription. If you want an empty, boring-ass life then it's yours for free. I would like to see a panel for free birth control as well. I don't think a system like this can stand for long if every non-working person has 6 kids.
What you mean to say is "what is the incentive to work in a mind-numbing, soul-crushing, mental and physical health-risking job?"

The answer is there aren't any and no one should be forced to work those jobs even if it benefits others.

And if a job is both necessary and unpleasant, you get people into it by offering them high pay above their universal basic income.

UBI is not communism. It's an end to poverty, not an end to wealth.
- offering them high pay above their universal basic income.
  
  Isn't the whole point of UBI that everyone gets it without questions or restrictions. This way you can get some extra bucks even from a low paying job, when you're not actually relying on that job but it gets you extra
  
  At least that's how it has been discussed in Finland, and it has support on both sides of the political spectrum
You might, but most don't. Most people love working as long as they are passionate about what they are doing. You might find that you wander for a while, but eventually take that time to develop a skill or lean into researching something that benefits, not only you, but society as a whole.
- The issue being "as long as they are passionate about what they are doing". Unfortunately, there's a lot of jobs where there's no where near enough people with passion for the job. You know anyone signing up to drive a garbage truck around all day long? Anyone excited at the prospect of volunteering at the sewage treatment plant? You might have some volunteers to help dementia patients, but not nearly enough and most would quite very soon after realuzing how hellish it can be.
  
  We need more than passion to motivate. That's not too say it's impossible to get to a guaranteed basic level of living for people to feel more safe and secure about how bad it could get, but there needs to be some room to motivate beyond intrinsic passion for the work.