Ireland's Basic Income for the Arts experiment has given creatives a weekly payment for three years. Now, a permanent program could be on the way.

As Ireland’s $1,500-a-month basic income pilot program for creatives nears its end in February, officials have to answer a simple question: Is it worth it?

With four months to go, they say the answer is yes.

Earlier this month, Ireland’s government announced its 2026 budget, which includes “a successor to the pilot Basic Income Scheme for the Arts to begin next year” among its expenditures.

Ireland is just one of many places experimenting with guaranteed basic income programs, which provide recurring, unrestricted payments to people in a certain demographic. These programs differ from a universal basic income, which would provide payments for an entire population.

  • plyth@feddit.orgEnglish
    1·
    4 hours ago

    If we replace the capitalists with a fair sharing system, we could implement a generous UBI and also your effective net salary would go up.

    Which is essentially communism and a goal too far away.

    Or, if you want to go a more reformist route, you can implement a very aggressive progressive taxation scheme (a-la FDR) to force rich people to contribute more.

    Why should the rich share with the average person if the average person doesn’t want to share with the poor?

    Start with the average person and the rich will join.

    • balsoft@lemmy.mlEnglish
      1·
      4 hours ago

      Which is essentially communism

      No, it’s more like total welfare state socialism. Not yet achieved anywhere, but might happen within our lifetimes in China.

      and a goal too far away.

      Only because most working-class people think that, with a bit of class conscience is totally within our grasp.

      Why should the rich share with the average person if the average person doesn’t want to share with the poor?

      Because the average person, world-wide, is struggling to get by and doesn’t have much in terms of extra resources, because the rich are stealing a significant portion of the labor value. Meanwhile the rich (who, again, are stealing the resources from the working person) are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on stupid bullshit that even they don’t really need. It’s pretty clear that we should indeed start with the rich.

      Start with the average person and the rich will join.

      Lol. No. The rich will never do anything other than short-sighted profiteering unless directly threatened with imprisonment or death. Otherwise they would be joining the mutual aid orgs which already exist almost everywhere.

      • plyth@feddit.orgEnglish
        1·
        1 hour ago

        Because the average person, world-wide

        Of course, because the average person in the West is already rich.

        So there are the resources for an UBI.

        are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on stupid bullshit that even they don’t really need.

        Make it $800 billion. That would give each person $100.

        It’s pretty clear that we should indeed start with the rich.

        It us not. The rich can prevent you from starting if you need them to participate but nobody is preventing you from doing it yourself.

        No. The rich will never do anything other than short-sighted profiteering

        Even if they do, it’s just $100 more. You don’t need them.

        • balsoft@lemmy.mlEnglish
          1·
          50 minutes ago

          Make it $800 billion. That would give each person $100.

          I’m not talking about just taking the bullshit money away. The combined assets of “big” capitalists worldwide is in high-double-digit trillions of dollars. That would be enough for a livable UBI for everyone, for some time at least. Redistributing the rest of the capital more equitably is trickier but also worthwhile.

          It us not. The rich can prevent you from starting if you need them to participate but nobody is preventing you from doing it yourself.

          As I’ve said, I’m participating in local mutual aid communities when I can.

          Even if they do, it’s just $100 more. You don’t need them.

          Even $100 is considered an OK monthly salary in some places of the world. But redistributing all the wealth more equitably would mean a lot more than $100.

          Stop defending capitalists, they will never appreciate it or give you anything in return.