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  • Basic Income has gotten some attention recently with several well-known people speaking out

  • in favor of its idea.

  • While this in itself should open the discussion about basic income further,

  • another idea has been discussed as well.

  • The robot tax, a taxation on companies that replace robots for people, which is essential

  • at the core of basic income.

  • While the idea of basic income often gets seen as a left right divide, there is a fundamental

  • issue that needs to be addressed.

  • When robots and automation will replace millions of employees, that are not able to get a new

  • job or need to go through training and education to pursue another field, they will need support

  • from the government and if only for this transition period.

  • This means on one side, that there needs to be a working system in place that lets people

  • go through education or training even if they are in their late 50s or older.

  • On the other side, millions of people need a working welfare system in this transition

  • period to get reintegrated into the labor market.

  • But even if you are able to reintegrate many people, you can’t reintegrate all and especially

  • not everyone instantaneously.

  • The robot tax solves the economical issue for this transition period, but at some point

  • even people who go through education are not able to get a new job or only get a very poorly

  • paid one.

  • At the same time automation continues and makes universal basic income, which could

  • be partially or completely paid by the robot tax, more important than ever.

  • While this has to be thought through over the next years and decades, it is worthy of

  • discussion right now.

  • And while there are always people that will discard the idea, it would be great to hear

  • different approaches, which could resolve the problems automation will bring.

Basic Income has gotten some attention recently with several well-known people speaking out

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