> The idea of a basic income is still sci-fi. There just isn't that much money.
Sorry, but that last part is utterly dumb. There is enough of everything for everyone, money is just one of the abstractions we built for convenience's sake. Most of these abstractions for power have gone out of hand, but I assure you that there exists a theoretical parallel universe where basic income is implemented at a global scale.
No, post-scarcity is what is dumb. Some things just are scarce. Let's say we agree a basic human right that everyone gets a house. Who decides who gets houses on the beach?
You can actually see this in practice if you visit Cuba. In Havana there are 3 families living in one apartment with cardboard over the windows for normal people, and there are gorgeous ex-Colonial villas with landscaped gardens, where well-connected Party types live.
>In Havana there are 3 families living in one apartment with cardboard over the windows for normal people, and there are gorgeous ex-Colonial villas with landscaped gardens, where well-connected Party types live.
And how is that different from the US? Besides "party types" being Ivy Leaguers and silver-spoon fed people?
No, but it has a claim to the "american dream" of hard work ending with success, a white picket fence and the like.
Whereas in real life you see people working their ass off all their lives still working at Walmarts at their 70s, while heirs, privileged slobs and frauds who haven't actually worked a day in their lives are living the dream...
Total estimated energy potential for renewables in the US (wind/solar/biomass/etc) is 481800 TWh. The US used 25,776 Twh of energy in 2010. That's a lot of renewable energy. With that much renewable energy, you can desal all the water you want. You could even replenish aquifers by condensing water out of the air when power is cheap (at night, when the wind is blowing hard).
We have enough land for food production, which is for the most part automated (http://www.epa.gov/oecaagct/ag101/demographics.html ; "There are over 313,000,000 people living in the United States. Of that population, less than 1% claim farming as an occupation (and about 2% actually live on farms). In 2007, only 45% of farmers claimed farming as their principal occupation and a similar number of farmers claiming some other principal occupation. The number of farms in the U.S. stands at about 2.2 million."). As we continue to automate farming, we'll be able to feed more people with less effort. Ergo, there is enough food for everyone.
So, let me run through this:
* Energy
* Water
* Food
* Communications infrastructure
Ahh! Transportation! I missed that. Self-driving electric cars fit the bill. Also, efficient traffic management algorithms ensure our existing roadways can be used at maximum efficiency, thereby removing the need for more roadway.
Sorry, but that last part is utterly dumb. There is enough of everything for everyone, money is just one of the abstractions we built for convenience's sake. Most of these abstractions for power have gone out of hand, but I assure you that there exists a theoretical parallel universe where basic income is implemented at a global scale.