A Completely Different Kind of Society

[Accountable]

Watch this video. It's almost 11 minutes but very entertaining and thought-provoking.

‪RSA Animate - Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us‬‏ - YouTube

While watching it a thought came to me: Imagine a society where everybody received a check from the government so long as they were employed, to use as they wished. Everybody received the same size check, regardless of skill level, education, job description or responsibilities. This pay would be large enough to take care of everybody's needs - a truly living wage.

All education and healthcare would be paid for, so anyone could pursue any career that struck their fancy.

All of this would be paid for by taxing the businesses, schools, and hospitals themselves. So I spose it would be virtually a closed system, but not necessarily.

Anyway, considering the information in the video. Could it work?

 

[Kyle B]

This sounds like just another form of communism. If everyone was getting paid the same amount of money, what would be the incentive to work hard and excel at your job? Who would do the dangerous and less enjoyable jobs that nobody else wants to do? What if everyone wants to be a writer/singer/ artist?

 

[Johnfromokc]

Watch this video. It's almost 11 minutes but very entertaining and thought-provoking.


While watching it a thought came to me: Imagine a society where everybody received a check from the government so long as they were employed, to use as they wished. Everybody received the same size check, regardless of skill level, education, job description or responsibilities. This pay would be large enough to take care of everybody's needs - a truly living wage.

All education and healthcare would be paid for, so anyone could pursue any career that struck their fancy.

All of this would be paid for by taxing the businesses, schools, and hospitals themselves. So I spose it would be virtually a closed system, but not necessarily.

Anyway, considering the information in the video. Could it work?

The video is not quite like you framed it in your post - that's your addendum to the video, your perception perhaps.

It was very interesting and thought provoking though. I believe elements of that idea in the video could go a long way toward improving our present society.

On edit:

All education and healthcare would be paid for, so anyone could pursue any career that struck their fancy.

This I can go with. There's absolutely no reason we cannot do this now.

This sounds like just another form of communism. If everyone was getting paid the same amount of money, what would be the incentive to work hard and excel at your job? Who would do the dangerous and less enjoyable jobs that nobody else wants to do? What if everyone wants to be a writer/singer/ artist?

LOL. You didn't watch the video did you?

 

[Accountable]

This sounds like just another form of communism. If everyone was getting paid the same amount of money, what would be the incentive to work hard and excel at your job? Who would do the dangerous and less enjoyable jobs that nobody else wants to do? What if everyone wants to be a writer/singer/ artist?

Watch the video. It's about motivation & incentives.

 

[Accountable]

The video is not quite like you framed it in your post - that's your addendum to the video, your perception perhaps.

It was very interesting and thought provoking though. I believe elements of that idea in the video could go a long way toward improving our present society.

Yeh, addendum. The vid spurred the idea. I had to jot it down before I started critiquing it, otherwise I might not have even posted it. A society paid for only by the businesses.

 

[Accountable]

Who would do the dangerous and less enjoyable jobs that nobody else wants to do? What if everyone wants to be a writer/singer/ artist?

It's surprising what people are willing to do for nothing or very little even though they don't have to. I've worked carpentry for $10/hr even after becoming a teacher just for the and chance to keep my skills up - but mostly for the camaraderie. I've cleaned up a pile of crap (real excrement) left by an old man I'd never met, without being told, forced, paid, or even expected to.

Lots of people would want to be a writer/singer/artist. I covered that in the OP that the check wouldn't come unless you have a job, so not many would be able to do that full time. They'd have to do it as a hobby.

You're right, though. There are bound to be some towns where no one would be willing to be the garbage man. Maybe after the trash piled up awhile somebody would come up with a solution.

 

[Johnfromokc]

Yeh, addendum. The vid spurred the idea. I had to jot it down before I started critiquing it, otherwise I might not have even posted it. A society paid for only by the businesses.

I firmly believe that if people did not have to be concerned with large unexpected health care costs and college tuition at an average annual cost of $10,747, our economy and society would perform at a far higher level.

As a society paid for only by business - it takes human beings trading human energy for goods and services produced with human energy. Businesses are a compounding of human energies for a common goal. Unfortunately today, that common goal is profit for the top 1% at the expense of the lower 99% in varying degrees. We can easily have a more egalitarian society with health care and education for all that desire it.

That video makes some excellent points that could be incorporated with success. I don't believe your model would work - It seems you might have concieved it to fail - that's my perception.

 

[Accountable]

I didn't purposely conceive it to fail. It's not a society that naturally appeals to me. Hence the need to get it posted before I thought about it too much. Even still, everything after the first three sentences, except for the bit about business taxes paying for it all, I thought of as I typed. You can tell I'd already started critiquing it.

 

[Johnfromokc]

I didn't purposely conceive it to fail. It's not a society that naturally appeals to me. Hence the need to get it posted before I thought about it too much. Even still, everything after the first three sentences, except for the bit about business taxes paying for it all, I thought of as I typed. You can tell I'd already started critiquing it.

But don't you see some validity in the video?

 

[Accountable]

But don't you see some validity in the video?

Absolutely! I think a business might be wise to apply the principles, and lots of people would be dumb enough to think we should force everyone via legislation to do it.

 

[Johnfromokc]

Absolutely! I think a business might be wise to apply the principles, and lots of people would be dumb enough to think we should force everyone via legislation to do it.

The ideas in the video could hardly be legislated - but it could easily be implemented into a compensation package. Current corporate cultures, like religious cultures, will be hard to convince.

Legislation is necessary to prevent one human or group of humans from screwing over other humans. That's why universal healthcare, worker safety, minimum wage, labor laws and the like must be legislated. Business has repeatedly proven their inability to do the right thing of their own accord in those areas where workers are concerned.

 

[Kyle B]

Shame on me! I didn't watch the video until after I posted. But I did respond to accountables post!

I agree with a lot of the points in the video. It's understandable that happy workers make better workers. Companies that strive to make their employees happy with little perks, better pay, and flexibility are probably going to have higher productivity.

Wasn't this originally researched by Henry Fayol or one of those people many years back? I mean, it doesn't seem that new.

 

[BornReady]

I think something other than motivation was going on in the MIT study. If you give someone a short task and offer him a large monetary sum if he's successful then he will be more motivated than if you offer him a small sum. So what the study shows is that motivation is not a factor in successfully performing the task. Perhaps there was a time limit and what is required to succeed is calm. The potential of a large reward creates stress and interferes with his ability to perform. If you gave him the same task without a time limit then I'd expect there would be no correlation between reward and success. However if you offered a larger reward then you'd probably have more students willing to participate in your study.

I don't think the salary you give someone has much effect on how hard they will work. But it does have a big effect on whether they will work for you or someone else. If you want the best employees then be prepared to pay the most.

 

[Accountable]

I kind of wish the vid had gone a bit more in depth about the study's finding that higher rewards on complex tasks result in lower production.

 

[Accountable]

This sounds like just another form of communism.

Sort of but not quite. No work, no pay. Plus, if the businesses are the ones who pay all the taxes, then that means that the businesses are not limited in the amount of money they can make. How could they be? So, if you're the entrepreneurial type that want's to make millions then there's a place for you, too.

 

[Kyle B]

Sort of but not quite. No work, no pay. Plus, if the businesses are the ones who pay all the taxes, then that means that the businesses are not limited in the amount of money they can make. How could they be? So, if you're the entrepreneurial type that want's to make millions then there's a place for you, too.

Wait, so would the owner(s) be able to earn more money than everyone else?

 

[Johnfromokc]

Wait, so would the owner(s) be able to earn more money than everyone else?

Wow. I can see this upcoming attempt at making a point being telegraphed from a mile away.

 

[Accountable]

Wait, so would the owner(s) be able to earn more money than everyone else?

How could you stop it and call yourself a free society? But then again, wouldn't it have to be a closed society? The taxes would have to be astronomical, though the overhead would be reduced by not having to maintain a payroll. Remember, I just laid out the idea the minute I thought of it. I'm slogging through it for the first time, too.