Free Lunch Society
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
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What would you do if your income was taken care of?
Just a few years ago, an unconditional basic income was considered a pipe dream. Today, this utopia is more imaginable than ever before-intense discussions are taking place in all political and scientific camps.
FREE LUNCH SOCIETY provides background information about this idea and searches for explanations, possibilities and experiences regarding its implementation.
Globalization, automation, Donald Trump. The middle class is falling apart. One hears talk about the causes, rather than about solutions. Time for a complete rethinking:
An unconditional basic income means money for everyone - as a human right without service in return! Visionary reform project, neoliberal axe to the roots of the social state or socially romantic left-wing utopia? Depending on the type and scope, a basic income demonstrates very different ideological visions. Which side of the coin one sees depends on one's own idea of humankind: inactivity as sweet poison that seduces people into laziness, or freedom from material pressures as a chance for oneself and for the community. Do we actually need the whip of existential fear to avoid a lazy, depraved life in front of the TV set? Or does gainful employment give our lives meaning and social footing simply because we haven't known anything else for centuries? And because we've never all had the freedom to self-actualise in other ways?
That basic income is a powerful idea is indisputable: land, water and air are gifts of nature. They are different from private property that humans create by their individual effort. However, when we receive wealth from nature, from the commons, then that wealth belongs to all of us equally.
From Alaska's oil fields to the Canadian prairie, from Washington's think tanks to the Namibian steppes, the film takes us on a grand journey and shows us what the driverless car has to do with the ideas of a German billionaire and a Swiss referendum. FREE LUNCH SOCIETY, the first international film in cinemas about basic income, is dedicated to one of the most crucial questions of our times.
'The film has the potential to challenge people's stances and get them to consider an unconditional basic income!' - Klaus Kofler
'A film that today has already documented the world of tomorrow.' - Grundeinkommen.de
Citation
Main credits
Tod, Christian (film director)
Tod, Christian (screenwriter)
Riahi, Arash T. (film producer)
Berger, Karin C. (film producer)
Other credits
Cinematographers, Lars Barthel, Joerg Burger; editing, Cordula Werner & Elke Groen.
Distributor subjects
Business; Capitalism; Economics; Ethics; Globalization; Neoliberalism; Political Science; PoliticsKeywords
WEBVTT
00:00:28.709 --> 00:00:38.959
♪
00:00:46.208 --> 00:00:48.125
This is the 24th century.
00:00:48.125 --> 00:00:50.667
A lot has changed
in the past 300 years.
00:00:50.667 --> 00:00:52.750
People are no longer
obsessed with
00:00:52.750 --> 00:00:55.291
the accumulation of things.
00:00:55.291 --> 00:00:58.125
We have eliminated
hunger, want,
00:00:58.125 --> 00:01:00.667
the need for possessions.
00:01:00.667 --> 00:01:02.250
We\'\'ve grown out
of our infancy.
00:01:02.250 --> 00:01:05.583
It has never been
about possessions.
00:01:05.583 --> 00:01:07.500
It\'\'s about power.
00:01:07.500 --> 00:01:09.083
(static)
00:01:09.083 --> 00:01:10.500
I have a dream!
00:01:10.500 --> 00:01:11.959
Sieg Heil!
00:01:11.959 --> 00:01:20.625
♪
00:01:20.625 --> 00:01:22.166
Over the course of history,
00:01:22.166 --> 00:01:24.750
our common wealth--
the land, water,
00:01:24.750 --> 00:01:27.291
and air around us--
has been appropriated
00:01:27.291 --> 00:01:32.709
by a few while the majority
lost its legitimate entitlement
00:01:32.709 --> 00:01:34.375
to the gifts of nature.
00:01:34.375 --> 00:01:37.959
And with ownership
came power.
00:01:37.959 --> 00:01:40.458
Nowadays in
the 24th century,
00:01:40.458 --> 00:01:42.291
money doesn\'\'t exist anymore,
00:01:42.291 --> 00:01:45.542
and the resources
are commonly owned.
00:01:45.542 --> 00:01:48.999
The new age dawned
over 300 years ago
00:01:48.999 --> 00:01:49.750
in your time,
00:01:49.750 --> 00:01:52.166
at the beginning
of the 21st century.
00:01:52.166 --> 00:01:55.625
It all started with
an idea that was so simple
00:01:55.625 --> 00:01:58.458
only a few were able
to understand it.
00:01:58.458 --> 00:02:01.667
It was the idea
of an unconditional
00:02:01.667 --> 00:02:03.375
basic income.
00:02:03.792 --> 00:02:06.583
Now, imagine a world
with peace, love, harmony,
00:02:06.583 --> 00:02:10.417
and where you\'\'re paid
for just being alive.
00:02:10.417 --> 00:02:11.500
This is a crazy idea.
00:02:11.500 --> 00:02:13.458
Just so this is clear,
because I want people
00:02:13.458 --> 00:02:14.750
to understand this idea, right?
00:02:14.750 --> 00:02:15.750
The idea is that
the government
00:02:15.750 --> 00:02:17.750
writes people a check
for, say, $20,000 a year
00:02:17.750 --> 00:02:19.041
because you\'\'re
an American citizen.
00:02:19.041 --> 00:02:20.583
Rich or poor,
everyone gets a check,
00:02:20.583 --> 00:02:24.542
and that\'\'s on top
of any salary you may earn.
00:02:26.375 --> 00:02:34.208
♪
00:02:34.208 --> 00:02:36.458
♪ This land is your land ♪
00:02:36.458 --> 00:02:39.083
♪
00:02:39.083 --> 00:02:41.417
♪ This land is my land ♪
00:02:41.417 --> 00:02:44.583
♪
00:02:44.583 --> 00:02:47.458
♪ From California ♪
00:02:47.458 --> 00:02:52.792
♪ Well, to the
New York island ♪
00:02:52.792 --> 00:02:55.083
My plan is real simple.
00:02:55.083 --> 00:02:57.792
Everybody over the age of 21
00:02:57.792 --> 00:03:00.166
gets a monthly deposit
00:03:00.166 --> 00:03:02.417
into a known bank account.
00:03:02.999 --> 00:03:04.333
♪ I tell you ♪
00:03:04.333 --> 00:03:06.750
♪ This land ♪
00:03:06.750 --> 00:03:11.458
♪ Was made for you and me ♪
00:03:21.250 --> 00:03:23.291
It\'\'s really
a type of freedom
00:03:23.291 --> 00:03:26.500
that most human beings have
never experienced before.
00:03:26.500 --> 00:03:29.875
We\'\'ve always had that thing
in the back of our heads,
00:03:29.875 --> 00:03:32.542
\"If I don\'\'t work,
I don\'\'t eat.\"
00:03:32.542 --> 00:03:34.999
♪ This land ♪
00:03:34.999 --> 00:03:38.333
♪ Was made for you and me ♪
00:03:38.333 --> 00:03:41.999
Our middle class
is falling apart.
00:03:41.999 --> 00:03:43.583
People are talking
about that now,
00:03:43.583 --> 00:03:45.375
but they aren\'\'t talking
about solutions.
00:03:45.375 --> 00:03:48.542
And this is
an obvious solution.
00:03:49.250 --> 00:03:50.875
♪ Well, on the back side ♪
00:03:50.875 --> 00:03:55.458
It has the advantage
of a kind of bold simplicity.
00:03:55.458 --> 00:04:00.500
Bold simplicity with
a powerful idea behind it.
00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:02.959
♪ Back side ♪
00:04:02.959 --> 00:04:06.875
♪ Was made for you and me ♪
00:04:06.875 --> 00:04:08.208
♪ Yeah ♪
00:04:08.208 --> 00:04:13.417
♪
00:04:31.500 --> 00:04:33.417
At the beginning
of the 21st century,
00:04:33.417 --> 00:04:35.500
Goöötz Werner,
the founder of the largest
00:04:35.500 --> 00:04:38.083
European drugstore chain,
was among those who were
00:04:38.083 --> 00:04:42.291
thinking about a way
to decouple work from income.
00:05:26.208 --> 00:05:29.250
(suitcase thumping)
00:06:01.458 --> 00:06:10.500
♪
00:06:15.875 --> 00:06:18.125
The idea had
various names:
00:06:18.125 --> 00:06:20.041
guaranteed annual income,
00:06:20.041 --> 00:06:21.458
negative income tax,
00:06:21.458 --> 00:06:25.542
or unconditional
basic income.
00:06:25.542 --> 00:06:28.417
(radio chatter)
00:06:35.500 --> 00:06:37.667
Valdez is only
30 minutes away.
00:06:37.667 --> 00:06:39.875
One of the virtues
of an unconditional
00:06:39.875 --> 00:06:42.917
basic income was that
it could be implemented
00:06:42.917 --> 00:06:45.917
incrementally in
a phased approach.
00:06:45.917 --> 00:06:47.458
Let me give you an example.
00:06:47.458 --> 00:06:49.458
We gotta go up
over the glacier,
00:06:49.458 --> 00:06:50.875
and then fly down in.
00:06:50.875 --> 00:06:54.583
That\'\'s where the pipeline
from Prudhoe Bay ends.
00:06:54.583 --> 00:06:56.166
Right, exactly.
00:06:56.166 --> 00:07:04.333
♪
00:07:04.333 --> 00:07:06.208
Oil at the North Slope.
00:07:06.208 --> 00:07:08.792
Oil at Alaska\'\'s
North Slope
00:07:08.792 --> 00:07:10.999
at Prudhoe Bay,
a lot of it!
00:07:10.999 --> 00:07:15.000
Possibly the biggest
discovery in history.
00:07:17.375 --> 00:07:23.375
In 1969, the very first payment
of $900 million was made
00:07:23.375 --> 00:07:26.750
from the oil industry
to the State of Alaska
00:07:26.750 --> 00:07:29.458
because they discovered
oil north,
00:07:29.458 --> 00:07:31.500
the very far north:
Prudhoe Bay.
00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:35.166
And the first payment was really
quite a shock to the state,
00:07:35.166 --> 00:07:37.125
which had been
fairly poor.
00:07:37.125 --> 00:07:38.542
There had been
a fishing industry,
00:07:38.542 --> 00:07:40.709
a little bit of mining,
a little bit of tourism.
00:07:40.709 --> 00:07:43.375
But generally speaking,
the budgets were very small.
00:07:43.375 --> 00:07:46.125
Alaska\'\'s experiencing
a money boom.
00:07:46.125 --> 00:07:47.500
Cash generated
by Alaskan oil
00:07:47.500 --> 00:07:50.417
is expected to produce
tens of billions of dollars.
00:07:50.417 --> 00:07:52.542
This puts Alaska in
the enviable position
00:07:52.542 --> 00:07:54.542
of deciding how to spend
all this money.
00:07:54.542 --> 00:07:55.999
And there\'\'s no
shortage of ideas.
00:07:55.999 --> 00:07:59.291
It doesn\'\'t matter what
they\'\'re gonna spend it on,
00:07:59.291 --> 00:08:00.375
they\'\'re gonna find something.
00:08:00.375 --> 00:08:05.333
Perhaps exploration
of outer space.
00:08:05.333 --> 00:08:06.999
Buying a football team,
which might be
00:08:06.999 --> 00:08:07.834
an interesting thing.
00:08:07.834 --> 00:08:09.041
I think we should
save some of it,
00:08:09.041 --> 00:08:11.709
and give some of it
back to the people.
00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:17.166
The people of the state
had a big conversation
00:08:17.166 --> 00:08:19.166
about \"What should we do
with all the money?\"
00:08:19.166 --> 00:08:22.709
There was a lot of needs
for schools, and libraries,
00:08:22.709 --> 00:08:24.750
and hospitals,
and roads, and bridges,
00:08:24.750 --> 00:08:26.583
but there was also
a sense that because
00:08:26.583 --> 00:08:29.542
Prudhoe Bay was
a limited-life field
00:08:29.542 --> 00:08:31.417
that some day the oil
would run out,
00:08:31.417 --> 00:08:33.125
and some day the money
would run out.
00:08:33.125 --> 00:08:35.583
So, Governor Jay Hammond,
along with a number
00:08:35.583 --> 00:08:39.291
of legislators, proposed
creating a savings account,
00:08:39.291 --> 00:08:42.375
which we call
the Alaska Permanent Fund.
00:08:42.375 --> 00:08:48.000
♪
00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:49.333
Welcome to Alaska.
00:08:49.333 --> 00:08:51.041
Here\'\'s a thousand dollars.
00:08:51.041 --> 00:08:53.458
Well, it\'\'s about time! But why?
00:08:53.458 --> 00:08:55.250
We pay every resident
a thousand dollars
00:08:55.250 --> 00:08:58.375
to allow the oil companies
to ravage our state\'\'s
00:08:58.375 --> 00:08:59.625
natural beauty.
00:08:59.625 --> 00:09:01.750
I\'\'m home!
00:09:01.750 --> 00:09:03.333
Aw, thanks.
00:09:03.333 --> 00:09:06.875
♪
00:09:11.750 --> 00:09:15.333
You know, Alaska
is a unique place.
00:09:15.333 --> 00:09:17.834
Some people in
the continental U.S.
00:09:17.834 --> 00:09:20.291
still might think
it\'\'s a foreign country.
00:09:20.291 --> 00:09:24.583
And, you know, it\'\'s definitely
a unique place to live.
00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:31.500
Hey, what\'\'s up, baby girl?
00:09:32.834 --> 00:09:33.583
Huh?
00:09:33.583 --> 00:09:35.250
Yeah, on the window?
00:09:35.250 --> 00:09:35.999
Yeah?
00:09:35.999 --> 00:09:37.834
As we experience
the Permanent Fund Dividend,
00:09:37.834 --> 00:09:39.166
there\'\'s lots of rules
about how long
00:09:39.166 --> 00:09:40.333
you\'\'ve had to have been here,
00:09:40.333 --> 00:09:41.750
and how many days
you could be absent,
00:09:41.750 --> 00:09:43.625
and exceptions if
you\'\'re a college student,
00:09:43.625 --> 00:09:45.625
or exceptions if
you\'\'re in the military
00:09:45.625 --> 00:09:46.417
or something like that.
00:09:46.417 --> 00:09:48.500
So every year you have
until the end of March
00:09:48.500 --> 00:09:51.750
to apply and kind of
prove that you are
00:09:51.750 --> 00:09:52.583
a resident of the state,
00:09:52.583 --> 00:09:53.834
and you fill out
the questionnaire,
00:09:53.834 --> 00:09:55.917
and if you forget to do it
by the end of March,
00:09:55.917 --> 00:09:57.250
you\'\'re out of luck that year.
00:09:57.250 --> 00:09:59.208
Which Nathan
forgot one year,
00:09:59.208 --> 00:10:00.291
and it happened
to be the year--
00:10:00.291 --> 00:10:01.709
-A couple years.
-Oh, one that I remember,
00:10:01.709 --> 00:10:04.417
because it happened to be
the year that our governor
00:10:04.417 --> 00:10:05.333
did a bonus.
00:10:05.333 --> 00:10:07.208
And so that year
the dividend
00:10:07.208 --> 00:10:10.417
was like almost $3,000.
00:10:10.417 --> 00:10:11.625
And he forgot.
00:10:11.625 --> 00:10:14.583
And then in October,
00:10:14.583 --> 00:10:15.917
end of September
beginning of October,
00:10:15.917 --> 00:10:18.417
there\'\'s kind of this big deal
they\'\'re gonna announce
00:10:18.417 --> 00:10:20.500
what the amount is
for that year,
00:10:20.500 --> 00:10:21.834
\'\'cause it changes every year.
00:10:21.834 --> 00:10:23.500
The 2014 dividend
will be distributed
00:10:23.500 --> 00:10:26.208
to Alaskans
beginning October 2nd.
00:10:26.208 --> 00:10:29.333
That\'\'s when the checks
will be directly deposited
00:10:29.333 --> 00:10:33.250
or mailed to those
who chose that option.
00:10:33.250 --> 00:10:36.208
So, with that, I\'\'ll speak
for another half hour
00:10:36.208 --> 00:10:38.750
before announcing
the amount.
00:10:38.750 --> 00:10:41.625
Commissioner Rodell,
the envelope please.
00:10:41.625 --> 00:10:42.625
And it\'\'s kind of unusual.
00:10:42.625 --> 00:10:44.542
This year there are
three seals on the back.
00:10:44.542 --> 00:10:46.208
I\'\'m not sure why.
00:10:46.208 --> 00:10:48.500
But let\'\'s get to this.
00:10:51.208 --> 00:10:54.417
So, Alaskans,
2014 dividend amount
00:10:54.417 --> 00:10:56.583
is $1884.
00:10:56.583 --> 00:10:59.458
The oil companies coming in
and using our resources,
00:10:59.458 --> 00:11:01.000
and I think it\'\'s
a good thing that,
00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:04.625
you know, Alaska would
get something back.
00:11:05.667 --> 00:11:06.542
Can you push my foot?
00:11:06.542 --> 00:11:08.375
And the PFD,
as far as I understand,
00:11:08.375 --> 00:11:11.417
it\'\'s part of the revenue
from the investments.
00:11:11.417 --> 00:11:13.542
Half of it gets reinvested
back in the fund,
00:11:13.542 --> 00:11:15.917
and then half of it
gets divided amongst
00:11:15.917 --> 00:11:18.542
all of the citizens
of the state.
00:11:18.542 --> 00:11:19.166
My turn?
00:11:19.166 --> 00:11:20.834
No, for you be safe.
00:11:20.834 --> 00:11:21.625
Okay, thanks, Lizzy.
00:11:21.625 --> 00:11:23.959
Oh, man, you\'\'ve got
some big muscles.
00:11:23.959 --> 00:11:25.000
So, we\'\'re a family of four,
00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:28.792
and everybody in the family
receives the PFD.
00:11:30.166 --> 00:11:32.542
Us personally,
since we had kids,
00:11:32.542 --> 00:11:35.291
we take their PFD
and put it towards
00:11:35.291 --> 00:11:37.000
a college fund.
00:11:37.458 --> 00:11:38.250
So when they turn--
00:11:38.250 --> 00:11:40.208
or we think of it
as a college fund,
00:11:40.208 --> 00:11:42.417
I hope they use it
as a college fund.
00:11:42.417 --> 00:11:44.500
I mean, that\'\'s quite
a bit of money
00:11:44.500 --> 00:11:47.583
that wouldn\'\'t be
there otherwise.
00:11:47.583 --> 00:11:49.917
Our kids, if we can
continue this,
00:11:49.917 --> 00:11:51.792
will be strongly
in the middle class,
00:11:51.792 --> 00:11:53.166
maybe even upper middle class,
00:11:53.166 --> 00:11:56.458
and maybe it\'\'s because
of the idea that
00:11:56.458 --> 00:11:58.166
it\'\'s gonna be harder
to hold onto that.
00:11:58.166 --> 00:11:59.959
I don\'\'t necessarily
want them to have
00:11:59.959 --> 00:12:00.917
a better life than we have.
00:12:00.917 --> 00:12:03.917
If they can just have
the life that we have,
00:12:03.917 --> 00:12:05.166
that would be great.
00:12:05.166 --> 00:12:06.667
You know?
00:12:06.667 --> 00:12:16.917
♪
00:12:19.834 --> 00:12:21.291
From the Port of Valdez,
00:12:21.291 --> 00:12:24.291
the end of the
Trans-Alaska Pipeline,
00:12:24.291 --> 00:12:25.208
the oil was carried down
00:12:25.208 --> 00:12:27.875
to the continental
United States.
00:12:27.875 --> 00:12:31.083
It was here
in San Francisco in 1976
00:12:31.083 --> 00:12:34.125
that Peter Barnes
founded a worker-owned
00:12:34.125 --> 00:12:36.417
solar energy company.
00:12:37.166 --> 00:12:38.083
Land, water, and air,
00:12:38.083 --> 00:12:41.125
these gifts of nature
are different
00:12:41.125 --> 00:12:42.875
from the kind of
private property
00:12:42.875 --> 00:12:47.500
that humans create
by their individual effort.
00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:51.834
He has focused on fixing
the deep flaws of capitalism.
00:12:51.834 --> 00:12:55.583
Peter Barnes\'\' vision was
to pay everyone dividends
00:12:55.583 --> 00:12:58.999
from the wealth
we earn together.
00:12:58.999 --> 00:13:01.208
When we create some
wealth individually,
00:13:01.208 --> 00:13:04.625
we have a right to own
that wealth individually.
00:13:04.625 --> 00:13:09.041
But if we receive wealth
from the creation,
00:13:09.041 --> 00:13:11.375
from nature,
from the commons,
00:13:11.375 --> 00:13:16.250
that wealth, rightfully,
belongs to everybody equally.
00:13:16.250 --> 00:13:22.583
♪
00:13:22.583 --> 00:13:24.834
We can take
the Alaskan model
00:13:24.834 --> 00:13:29.375
and blow it up,
apply it nationwide
00:13:29.375 --> 00:13:31.208
to all 50 states,
00:13:31.208 --> 00:13:33.625
and not actually
base it on oil,
00:13:33.625 --> 00:13:38.000
but base it on other
forms of common wealth
00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:40.959
that really belong
to everybody,
00:13:40.959 --> 00:13:45.083
but aren\'\'t appropriately
charged for.
00:13:45.083 --> 00:13:49.709
♪
00:13:49.917 --> 00:13:51.458
The flip side of it,
with Alaska, right,
00:13:51.458 --> 00:13:53.875
is this idea of this
check to everyone,
00:13:53.875 --> 00:13:57.083
which does seem
so sort of anathema,
00:13:57.083 --> 00:13:57.959
so un-American, right?
00:13:57.959 --> 00:14:00.333
So ridiculous that
you would just
00:14:00.333 --> 00:14:01.166
write people checks,
00:14:01.166 --> 00:14:03.000
but the idea of
the government
00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:04.041
just writing people checks
00:14:04.041 --> 00:14:08.041
has this very long
conservative heritage.
00:14:08.792 --> 00:14:15.250
♪
00:14:15.250 --> 00:14:18.500
Support for
an unconditional basic income
00:14:18.500 --> 00:14:22.709
has never been tied
to any political affiliation.
00:14:22.709 --> 00:14:24.166
Some on the left
held the view
00:14:24.166 --> 00:14:27.125
that a basic income
would benefit workers
00:14:27.125 --> 00:14:29.625
by liberating them
from the tyranny
00:14:29.625 --> 00:14:31.041
of wage slavery.
00:14:31.041 --> 00:14:32.917
Many labor unions, however,
00:14:32.917 --> 00:14:34.291
opposed a basic income
00:14:34.291 --> 00:14:37.041
because the separation
of income and work
00:14:37.041 --> 00:14:39.875
threatened
their very existence.
00:14:39.875 --> 00:14:41.709
♪
00:14:41.709 --> 00:14:44.458
Most conservatives
despise the idea
00:14:44.458 --> 00:14:46.542
because they regarded
the interconnection
00:14:46.542 --> 00:14:49.333
of income and work
as a law of nature.
00:14:49.333 --> 00:14:52.208
Free market economists,
like Friedrich Hayek
00:14:52.208 --> 00:14:54.625
and Milton Friedman,
however, endorsed
00:14:54.625 --> 00:14:57.999
a basic income to limit
government bureaucracy,
00:14:57.999 --> 00:15:00.750
and eliminate
the welfare state.
00:15:00.750 --> 00:15:02.375
Actually, a basic
guaranteed income
00:15:02.375 --> 00:15:06.667
has a very distinguished
intellectual pedigree
00:15:06.667 --> 00:15:07.417
for Libertarians.
00:15:07.417 --> 00:15:11.792
In 2006, the American
Libertarian political scientist,
00:15:11.792 --> 00:15:15.291
Charles Murray, again
made the conservative case
00:15:15.291 --> 00:15:17.834
for an unconditional
basic income.
00:15:17.834 --> 00:15:19.125
When I wroteIn Our Hands
00:15:19.125 --> 00:15:21.291
advocating a basic
guaranteed income,
00:15:21.291 --> 00:15:24.375
my friend who is the head
of the Cato Institute,
00:15:24.375 --> 00:15:25.458
a Libertarian think tank,
00:15:25.458 --> 00:15:29.583
referred to it as
\"that wacky book you wrote.\"
00:15:29.583 --> 00:15:32.208
I would like to think
that the idea
00:15:32.208 --> 00:15:33.875
of a basic guaranteed income
00:15:33.875 --> 00:15:35.542
has the potential
to make a comeback
00:15:35.542 --> 00:15:38.709
among Libertarians
as well as people on the left.
00:15:38.709 --> 00:15:41.999
And, to me,
look at what\'\'s happened
00:15:41.999 --> 00:15:44.417
to the family,
to work effort,
00:15:44.417 --> 00:15:48.792
to the civic culture
over the last 50 years,
00:15:48.792 --> 00:15:54.542
it\'\'s kind of an obvious
indictment of the way
00:15:54.542 --> 00:15:57.250
that we are redistributing
money now.
00:15:57.250 --> 00:16:00.375
So, would a basic
guaranteed income
00:16:00.375 --> 00:16:02.375
have some bad effects?
00:16:02.375 --> 00:16:04.041
I suppose so.
00:16:04.041 --> 00:16:06.999
But we\'\'re living
in a society
00:16:06.999 --> 00:16:12.083
that has huge,
documented bad effects
00:16:12.083 --> 00:16:14.583
of the same kinds.
00:16:14.583 --> 00:16:17.041
How much worse can it get?
00:16:17.041 --> 00:16:25.333
♪
00:16:35.959 --> 00:16:39.000
At the same time as
the Trans-Alaska Pipeline
00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:42.083
was built and the
Permanent Fund created,
00:16:42.083 --> 00:16:45.000
citizens of a small town
in Canada became part
00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:49.834
of one of the biggest
social experiments in history.
00:16:51.709 --> 00:16:54.834
The Mincome Experiment
in Dauphin, Manitoba,
00:16:54.834 --> 00:16:58.583
examined the effects
of a basic income on society.
00:16:58.583 --> 00:17:04.834
A family of four received
5,800 Canadian dollars a year.
00:17:05.041 --> 00:17:06.375
This was the equivalent
00:17:06.375 --> 00:17:09.667
of 22,000 U.S. dollars in 2016.
00:17:09.667 --> 00:17:12.125
In the words of the renowned
social theorist, Woody Allen,
00:17:12.125 --> 00:17:14.291
and I quote, \"Money is
better than poverty
00:17:14.291 --> 00:17:16.250
if only for
financial reasons.\"
00:17:16.250 --> 00:17:17.208
-Now...
-(laughter)
00:17:17.208 --> 00:17:19.458
Woody\'\'s still got
the best lines.
00:17:19.458 --> 00:17:21.250
And joining us now
on the debate
00:17:21.250 --> 00:17:23.625
in Winnipeg, Manitoba,
economist Evelyn Forget,
00:17:23.625 --> 00:17:26.458
professor in the Department
of Community Health Sciences
00:17:26.458 --> 00:17:27.999
at the University of Manitoba.
00:17:27.999 --> 00:17:29.166
Evelyn, talk to us
about this,
00:17:29.166 --> 00:17:30.500
because I know you did
some studies on programs
00:17:30.500 --> 00:17:34.000
that were in Manitoba that
tried to do similar things
00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:35.041
back in the 1970s.
00:17:35.041 --> 00:17:35.834
What did you find?
00:17:35.834 --> 00:17:37.959
That\'\'s right, we actually
went back to the--
00:17:37.959 --> 00:17:40.250
There were five guaranteed
income experiments
00:17:40.250 --> 00:17:41.375
in North America
in the 1970s.
00:17:41.375 --> 00:17:44.208
Four of them were in the U.S.,
and one was in Canada.
00:17:44.208 --> 00:17:46.917
The Canadian experiment
took place in Manitoba,
00:17:46.917 --> 00:17:49.000
and it was called Mincome.
00:17:49.792 --> 00:17:51.208
Eric Richardson
was a teenager
00:17:51.208 --> 00:17:55.208
when his family
was part of this experiment.
00:17:57.083 --> 00:17:58.999
-Hi, Evelyn?
-Must be Eric?
00:17:58.999 --> 00:18:01.125
Well, it\'\'s nice
to finally meet you.
00:18:01.125 --> 00:18:01.709
(laughter)
00:18:01.709 --> 00:18:04.417
We\'\'ve only spoken
on the phone, I guess.
00:18:04.417 --> 00:18:13.417
♪
00:18:13.417 --> 00:18:16.458
So, all kinds of data
was collected
00:18:16.458 --> 00:18:18.166
on every family.
00:18:20.083 --> 00:18:23.792
And it\'\'s just an attempt
to find out
00:18:23.792 --> 00:18:24.750
what kind of things you do,
00:18:24.750 --> 00:18:26.542
what kind of things
your children do,
00:18:26.542 --> 00:18:27.750
do you belong to clubs or--
00:18:27.750 --> 00:18:28.750
You go to church or clubs?
00:18:28.750 --> 00:18:31.625
Do you go to church,
do you belong to the lodge?
00:18:31.625 --> 00:18:33.542
You know, who do you
socialize with?
00:18:33.542 --> 00:18:35.375
Would you say that
most of the people
00:18:35.375 --> 00:18:36.792
you work with
or do business with
00:18:36.792 --> 00:18:38.417
are very friendly,
moderately friendly,
00:18:38.417 --> 00:18:40.250
only a little friendly,
not friendly at all?
00:18:40.250 --> 00:18:43.250
So, I mean, you\'\'ve got
a good sense of how
00:18:43.250 --> 00:18:45.250
this community operates.
00:18:45.250 --> 00:18:49.458
♪
00:18:49.458 --> 00:18:51.917
Did you ever come
across my mother\'\'s file?
00:18:51.917 --> 00:18:54.542
Actually, I don\'\'t--
these are de-identified data,
00:18:54.542 --> 00:18:56.417
so the families,
the privacy of the families
00:18:56.417 --> 00:19:01.083
were protected by, um,
by confidentiality legislation.
00:19:01.083 --> 00:19:03.000
So I\'\'ve got the families
identified by numbers.
00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:06.375
So in principle, yes,
I could find your mother\'\'s box.
00:19:06.375 --> 00:19:07.999
In practice,
I haven\'\'t done that,
00:19:07.999 --> 00:19:11.542
and, you know,
there are 1,800 boxes
00:19:11.542 --> 00:19:13.041
associated with this project.
00:19:13.041 --> 00:19:15.083
It\'\'ll remain a mystery.
00:19:18.417 --> 00:19:21.125
Well, somebody
phoned me, I guess.
00:19:21.125 --> 00:19:24.000
And they chose
every third house,
00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:27.000
that\'\'s how I got chosen.
00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:29.792
And...they would come
00:19:29.792 --> 00:19:30.792
and check up on us
00:19:30.792 --> 00:19:34.208
every couple of weeks, and...
00:19:34.208 --> 00:19:35.709
then after it got going,
00:19:35.709 --> 00:19:38.417
it seemed like a good idea.
00:19:39.125 --> 00:19:41.917
And who decided
how much you needed?
00:19:41.917 --> 00:19:42.792
Well, this--
00:19:42.792 --> 00:19:44.834
Well, the--the government.
00:19:44.834 --> 00:19:46.792
The ones that started
the program.
00:19:46.792 --> 00:19:48.625
-Okay.
-They figured, according
00:19:48.625 --> 00:19:51.125
to how many people
you had in the family,
00:19:51.125 --> 00:19:55.333
that was the way they
figured the cost of living
00:19:55.333 --> 00:19:57.041
that you needed.
00:19:57.625 --> 00:19:59.083
How long did that go on?
00:19:59.083 --> 00:20:02.667
From \'\'74 to \'\'78.
00:20:03.709 --> 00:20:06.625
Everybody thought
Mincome was good,
00:20:06.625 --> 00:20:09.834
they were very pleased with it.
00:20:09.834 --> 00:20:10.834
But it was just dropped.
00:20:10.834 --> 00:20:14.125
The government said
they had no money, so...
00:20:17.250 --> 00:20:20.792
I think maybe the politics
changed in Ottawa,
00:20:20.792 --> 00:20:23.166
that\'\'s why the two, uh,
00:20:23.166 --> 00:20:27.375
provincial and federal
didn\'\'t go together
00:20:27.375 --> 00:20:29.792
on keeping it running.
00:20:29.792 --> 00:20:33.583
At least, I think that\'\'s
partly what happened.
00:20:33.583 --> 00:20:38.208
Or maybe they didn\'\'t have
any money, I don\'\'t know.
00:20:38.208 --> 00:20:40.542
You never know
with the government.
00:20:40.542 --> 00:20:42.208
And now we\'\'re going
to get into a little bit
00:20:42.208 --> 00:20:43.417
of debate and discussion
about it.
00:20:43.417 --> 00:20:45.917
Tasha Kheiriddin, columnist
with theNational Post,
00:20:45.917 --> 00:20:49.291
co-author of the book
Rescuing Canada\'\'s Right.
00:20:49.291 --> 00:20:51.166
The work effort,
first of all,
00:20:51.166 --> 00:20:52.458
of people who are
in the experiment
00:20:52.458 --> 00:20:55.750
compared to a control group
was much less.
00:20:55.750 --> 00:20:57.417
Married men,
on average, 9 percent;
00:20:57.417 --> 00:20:59.125
married women,
on average, 20 percent.
00:20:59.125 --> 00:21:01.375
The big jump, though,
was for men
00:21:01.375 --> 00:21:02.959
who were not yet
heads of household,
00:21:02.959 --> 00:21:04.375
single men,
who worked an average
00:21:04.375 --> 00:21:07.792
of 43 percent less
in terms of hours.
00:21:07.792 --> 00:21:09.417
♪
00:21:09.417 --> 00:21:12.333
If you\'\'re a little bit
more in favor
00:21:12.333 --> 00:21:13.500
of a guaranteed income,
00:21:13.500 --> 00:21:15.667
you put it in slightly
different language.
00:21:15.667 --> 00:21:18.083
And what that meant
was that adolescents
00:21:18.083 --> 00:21:19.999
reduced the number
of hours they worked
00:21:19.999 --> 00:21:21.000
pretty significantly.
00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:23.208
And when I looked
more closely,
00:21:23.208 --> 00:21:25.250
I discovered that, um,
they reduced the number
00:21:25.250 --> 00:21:26.583
of hours they worked
because they took
00:21:26.583 --> 00:21:28.917
their first full time
job at a later age.
00:21:28.917 --> 00:21:31.375
So we found all those
irresponsible young men,
00:21:31.375 --> 00:21:35.625
um, in high school,
actually finishing grade 12.
00:21:35.625 --> 00:21:39.500
♪
00:21:39.500 --> 00:21:42.166
Finally, in 1978,
the researchers were told
00:21:42.166 --> 00:21:44.875
to archive the data
for future analysis,
00:21:44.875 --> 00:21:49.667
and the project ended without
any kind of a final report.
00:21:49.667 --> 00:21:52.875
♪
00:21:52.875 --> 00:21:54.208
Could it happen again?
00:21:54.208 --> 00:21:56.875
In some ways, it could be done
a lot more efficiently
00:21:56.875 --> 00:21:58.000
and a lot more cheaply.
00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:00.083
So you think they
could actually have
00:22:00.083 --> 00:22:02.500
the program now?
00:22:02.500 --> 00:22:04.917
Give everybody money?
00:22:04.917 --> 00:22:05.959
Do I think that?
00:22:05.959 --> 00:22:07.875
Yes, I think
that it would be
00:22:07.875 --> 00:22:11.500
a much more efficient way
of delivering
00:22:11.500 --> 00:22:12.250
social programs.
00:22:12.250 --> 00:22:13.917
Evelyn, tell me this,
if this is such
00:22:13.917 --> 00:22:16.458
a compellingly obvious
and good idea,
00:22:16.458 --> 00:22:18.417
how come it hasn\'\'t
happened yet?
00:22:18.417 --> 00:22:20.999
Well, I think you answered
that question just a minute ago.
00:22:20.999 --> 00:22:23.083
The political right
is worried about
00:22:23.083 --> 00:22:23.917
the work disincentives,
00:22:23.917 --> 00:22:26.083
and the political left
doesn\'\'t quite trust
00:22:26.083 --> 00:22:27.875
people to make their own
decisions and choices.
00:22:27.875 --> 00:22:29.834
So there\'\'s still not
the political will
00:22:29.834 --> 00:22:30.625
for this to happen?
00:22:30.625 --> 00:22:32.083
I think most people
seem to recognize
00:22:32.083 --> 00:22:33.834
the current system
is not working,
00:22:33.834 --> 00:22:34.542
we need to make changes,
00:22:34.542 --> 00:22:37.875
and we\'\'d like to talk about
some of those big ideas.
00:22:37.875 --> 00:22:40.834
(train chugging)
00:22:45.458 --> 00:22:48.583
The first experiment
of its kind was begun
00:22:48.583 --> 00:22:51.083
in New Jersey in the 1960s.
00:22:51.083 --> 00:22:53.291
Three further experiments
followed,
00:22:53.291 --> 00:22:56.583
the biggest in Seattle
and Denver.
00:22:59.792 --> 00:23:03.291
At the beginning of
Ronald Reagan\'\'s presidency,
00:23:03.291 --> 00:23:05.000
the experiments
were called off
00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:08.083
and never fully evaluated.
00:23:11.083 --> 00:23:12.041
But how did it come about
00:23:12.041 --> 00:23:16.959
that those experiments were
conducted in the first place?
00:23:20.250 --> 00:23:30.208
♪
00:23:30.375 --> 00:23:32.583
Six days of rioting
in the negro section
00:23:32.583 --> 00:23:35.792
of Los Angeles left behind
scenes reminiscent
00:23:35.792 --> 00:23:36.999
of war-torn cities.
00:23:36.999 --> 00:23:39.750
More than 100 square blocks
were decimated
00:23:39.750 --> 00:23:40.750
by fire and looters,
00:23:40.750 --> 00:23:43.417
and Martin Luther King
vowed to do all in his power
00:23:43.417 --> 00:23:47.999
to prevent a recurrence
in Los Angeles or anywhere.
00:23:47.999 --> 00:23:51.834
♪
00:23:51.834 --> 00:23:53.250
It was a fight.
00:23:53.250 --> 00:23:55.583
It was a fight
at a time when
00:23:55.583 --> 00:23:57.875
the cities were in turmoil.
00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:02.792
The United States has had
race riots for a very long time,
00:24:02.792 --> 00:24:07.125
but until fairly recently,
the people rioting
00:24:07.125 --> 00:24:10.583
were white people
trying to hound
00:24:10.583 --> 00:24:12.875
and terrorize blacks
so they would get out
00:24:12.875 --> 00:24:15.291
of their community,
their city.
00:24:15.291 --> 00:24:18.875
But these were riots
by black people
00:24:18.875 --> 00:24:22.125
who were fighting
for a place
00:24:22.125 --> 00:24:23.625
in American society.
00:24:23.625 --> 00:24:26.792
Now, one of the answers,
it seems to me,
00:24:26.792 --> 00:24:29.750
is a guaranteed
annual income,
00:24:29.750 --> 00:24:31.875
a guaranteed minimum income
00:24:31.875 --> 00:24:35.959
for all people
and for all families
00:24:35.959 --> 00:24:37.208
of our country.
00:24:37.208 --> 00:24:39.542
(shouting)
00:24:39.750 --> 00:24:42.291
And as that kind
of pressure built up,
00:24:42.291 --> 00:24:45.875
there was more
and more talk of
00:24:45.875 --> 00:24:48.125
a guaranteed income,
basic income,
00:24:48.125 --> 00:24:50.875
negative income tax,
even Milton Friedman
00:24:50.875 --> 00:24:53.458
started talking about
negative income tax.
00:24:53.458 --> 00:24:54.458
First of all,
you better--
00:24:54.458 --> 00:24:57.583
you\'\'d better explain
your negative income tax,
00:24:57.583 --> 00:25:00.125
because it\'\'s frequently
misunderstood.
00:25:00.125 --> 00:25:01.166
Yes, it certainly is.
00:25:01.166 --> 00:25:03.750
The proposal for
a negative income tax
00:25:03.750 --> 00:25:05.500
is a proposal to help people
00:25:05.500 --> 00:25:08.417
by giving them money,
which is what they need,
00:25:08.417 --> 00:25:11.000
rather than as now
by requiring them to come
00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:13.667
before a governmental official
to tail all their assets
00:25:13.667 --> 00:25:16.875
and their liabilities,
and be told that you may spend
00:25:16.875 --> 00:25:19.208
X dollars on rent,
Y dollars of food,
00:25:19.208 --> 00:25:21.667
et cetera, and then
be given a handout.
00:25:21.667 --> 00:25:22.542
(shouting)
00:25:22.542 --> 00:25:24.166
Wait a minute,
wait a minute, don\'\'t push!
00:25:24.166 --> 00:25:27.166
People come down here
3:00, 2:00 in the morning,
00:25:27.166 --> 00:25:30.166
and have to sit down here
and wait until they decide
00:25:30.166 --> 00:25:32.667
to open this door
for us to get in.
00:25:32.667 --> 00:25:34.000
They ask about your sex lives!
00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:35.000
You taking birth
control pill,
00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:36.500
what you doing,
who are you going--
00:25:36.500 --> 00:25:38.625
They do, that\'\'s what
they do down here.
00:25:38.625 --> 00:25:41.125
This is the worst
center they got.
00:25:41.291 --> 00:25:43.250
Poor people
and people on welfare
00:25:43.250 --> 00:25:44.625
are always being attacked
00:25:44.625 --> 00:25:46.375
as though they
don\'\'t want to work
00:25:46.375 --> 00:25:48.959
when the real problem is
they can\'\'t get a job,
00:25:48.959 --> 00:25:50.250
or they can\'\'t get a job
that pays them
00:25:50.250 --> 00:25:53.583
an adequate amount of money
to support their families.
00:25:53.583 --> 00:25:55.583
♪
00:25:55.583 --> 00:25:59.250
In 1967, President
Lyndon B. Johnson
00:25:59.250 --> 00:26:01.875
appointed a high-ranking
commission composed
00:26:01.875 --> 00:26:04.959
of economists,
union representatives,
00:26:04.959 --> 00:26:06.041
and business leaders.
00:26:06.041 --> 00:26:07.959
Two years later,
the president\'\'s commission
00:26:07.959 --> 00:26:12.375
on income maintenance programs
recommended the implementation
00:26:12.375 --> 00:26:17.000
of an unconditional basic income
in the United States.
00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:20.375
♪
00:26:20.375 --> 00:26:21.792
It probably carries with it
00:26:21.792 --> 00:26:25.000
a rather radical
redefinition of work,
00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:28.583
and with automation
and cybernation with us now,
00:26:28.583 --> 00:26:32.208
we will probably have to do
that in our society anyway.
00:26:32.208 --> 00:26:33.208
Yeah, but in general terms,
00:26:33.208 --> 00:26:34.250
how much should
the guaranteed--
00:26:34.250 --> 00:26:36.208
Well, it would depend
on the size of the family.
00:26:36.208 --> 00:26:39.208
I would think
of a floor of $4,000.
00:26:39.208 --> 00:26:42.583
Three, two, one, zero.
00:26:42.583 --> 00:26:44.959
♪
00:26:44.959 --> 00:26:47.208
$4,000 in 1967
00:26:47.208 --> 00:26:51.417
would\'\'ve been
almost $30,000 in 2016.
00:26:51.417 --> 00:26:57.125
♪
00:26:57.125 --> 00:26:58.583
Uh, go ahead, Mr. President.
00:26:58.583 --> 00:26:59.750
Hello, Neil and Buzz.
00:26:59.750 --> 00:27:01.542
I\'\'m talking to you
by telephone
00:27:01.542 --> 00:27:04.000
from the Oval room
at the White House,
00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:06.125
and this certainly has
to be the most historic
00:27:06.125 --> 00:27:10.041
telephone call ever made
from the White House.
00:27:10.041 --> 00:27:12.583
♪
00:27:12.583 --> 00:27:15.000
And then came
Richard Nixon.
00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:17.750
On the 8th of August, 1969,
00:27:17.750 --> 00:27:19.542
two weeks after
the Americans
00:27:19.542 --> 00:27:20.667
landed on the moon,
00:27:20.667 --> 00:27:24.375
he presented his version
of a basic income:
00:27:24.375 --> 00:27:26.625
the Family Assistance Plan.
00:27:26.625 --> 00:27:28.125
If the present
trend continues,
00:27:28.125 --> 00:27:32.667
another four million
will join the welfare rolls
00:27:32.667 --> 00:27:34.041
by 1975.
00:27:34.041 --> 00:27:37.333
And that is why tonight
I, therefore, propose
00:27:37.333 --> 00:27:40.792
that we abolish
the present welfare system
00:27:40.792 --> 00:27:43.999
and that we adopt
in its place a new
00:27:43.999 --> 00:27:47.250
family assistance system.
00:27:47.458 --> 00:27:52.875
As director of the Office
of Economic Opportunity,
00:27:52.875 --> 00:27:57.166
uh, I am naming
Don Rumsfeld,
00:27:57.166 --> 00:27:58.959
a congressman
from Illinois--
00:27:58.959 --> 00:28:02.959
As the new director of the
Office of Economic Opportunity,
00:28:02.959 --> 00:28:05.166
a young Donald Rumsfeld
was responsible
00:28:05.166 --> 00:28:10.291
for conducting the negative
income tax experiments.
00:28:10.291 --> 00:28:11.542
They had started
a year earlier,
00:28:11.542 --> 00:28:15.083
under Johnson, to establish
whether a basic income
00:28:15.083 --> 00:28:18.208
had negative effects
on work effort.
00:28:18.208 --> 00:28:20.875
To convince Congress
of Nixon\'\'s plan,
00:28:20.875 --> 00:28:23.500
preliminary results
were published.
00:28:23.500 --> 00:28:25.625
What we have to do
is to see that the program
00:28:25.625 --> 00:28:28.000
operates in a way
that we are allowed
00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:29.792
to continue and that
we are functioning
00:28:29.792 --> 00:28:31.000
in a way that serves
the poor,
00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:34.583
and functioning in a way
that Congress will provide
00:28:34.583 --> 00:28:35.750
the funds we need.
00:28:35.750 --> 00:28:37.750
I\'\'ll be able to tell you
a lot better after we see
00:28:37.750 --> 00:28:39.917
what the House of
Representatives does,
00:28:39.917 --> 00:28:41.333
I would think.
00:28:41.333 --> 00:28:43.750
♪
00:28:43.750 --> 00:28:46.125
There was no decline
in work effort.
00:28:46.125 --> 00:28:48.542
On the contrary,
the results showed
00:28:48.542 --> 00:28:52.542
that work effort
had actually increased.
00:28:55.250 --> 00:28:58.458
Most people want
self-fulfilling jobs,
00:28:58.458 --> 00:29:00.083
they want a sense of dignity,
00:29:00.083 --> 00:29:01.291
and they want to work.
00:29:01.291 --> 00:29:02.333
And if we don\'\'t
believe in that,
00:29:02.333 --> 00:29:06.083
then we shouldn\'\'t have put
this program forward at all.
00:29:06.083 --> 00:29:13.333
♪
00:29:13.333 --> 00:29:15.709
On the 16th of April, 1970,
00:29:15.709 --> 00:29:18.583
the House of Representatives
passed Nixon\'\'s
00:29:18.583 --> 00:29:24.750
Family Assistance Plan
by a vote of 243 to 155.
00:29:24.750 --> 00:29:27.458
Now it was the Senate\'\'s turn.
00:29:27.458 --> 00:29:28.750
♪
00:29:28.750 --> 00:29:31.000
But in California,
things started to change.
00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:35.375
Governor Ronald Reagan opposed
the Family Assistance Plan
00:29:35.375 --> 00:29:39.208
and refused to go along
with Nixon\'\'s idea.
00:29:40.500 --> 00:29:41.625
And the plan was stalled
00:29:41.625 --> 00:29:45.250
in the Senate
Finance Committee.
00:29:46.333 --> 00:29:49.166
We have a report from
the Flight Dynamics Officer
00:29:49.166 --> 00:29:51.000
that the vehicle has exploded.
00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:52.333
Flight Director
confirms that.
00:29:52.333 --> 00:29:54.458
We are looking
at checking
00:29:54.458 --> 00:29:57.375
with the recovery forces
to see what can be done
00:29:57.375 --> 00:29:59.291
at this point.
00:30:01.375 --> 00:30:04.542
The Senate vote
never took place.
00:30:04.542 --> 00:30:08.667
For now, the fight
for a basic income was lost.
00:30:08.667 --> 00:30:10.458
(cheering)
00:30:10.458 --> 00:30:13.291
And not least due
to the constant attacks
00:30:13.291 --> 00:30:15.583
on the inefficient
welfare state
00:30:15.583 --> 00:30:18.166
from both the right
and the left,
00:30:18.166 --> 00:30:21.208
Ronald Reagan
came to power.
00:30:22.291 --> 00:30:23.875
Here we are.
00:30:23.875 --> 00:30:25.250
We want Reagan!
00:30:25.250 --> 00:30:26.959
We want Reagan!
00:30:26.959 --> 00:30:28.458
We want Reagan!
00:30:28.458 --> 00:30:30.959
Thank you very much.
00:30:30.959 --> 00:30:34.792
In the last three decades
after World War II,
00:30:34.792 --> 00:30:38.417
the vast majority
of Americans did well
00:30:38.417 --> 00:30:39.583
when the economy did well.
00:30:39.583 --> 00:30:41.834
The bottom 90 percent
did pretty well.
00:30:41.834 --> 00:30:43.041
Bottom 90 percent
did pretty well,
00:30:43.041 --> 00:30:44.709
bottom 90 percent
did pretty well.
00:30:44.709 --> 00:30:47.166
Bottom 90 percent
begins to do less well.
00:30:47.166 --> 00:30:50.333
Less well, but they\'\'re
still getting a majority
00:30:50.333 --> 00:30:51.917
of the new income.
00:30:51.917 --> 00:30:52.834
Whoa!
00:30:52.834 --> 00:30:54.875
What happens in 1982?
00:30:54.875 --> 00:30:57.709
Well, Ronald Reagan
is president,
00:30:57.709 --> 00:30:58.875
and the good news is
00:30:58.875 --> 00:31:01.500
we are into
trickle-down economics.
00:31:01.500 --> 00:31:03.250
Instead of being
the famous, you know,
00:31:03.250 --> 00:31:08.500
trickle down that was advertised
by the Reagan administration,
00:31:08.500 --> 00:31:11.709
what we\'\'ve seen really
is a trickle up.
00:31:11.709 --> 00:31:14.375
Emmanuel Saez became
Professor of Economics
00:31:14.375 --> 00:31:17.625
at the University
of California in Berkeley
00:31:17.625 --> 00:31:18.542
in 2002.
00:31:18.542 --> 00:31:21.083
His work, performed
with Thomas Piketty,
00:31:21.083 --> 00:31:22.250
includes tracking
the incomes
00:31:22.250 --> 00:31:25.834
of the poor, middle class,
and rich around the world.
00:31:25.834 --> 00:31:29.750
As you make the economic
environment more favorable
00:31:29.750 --> 00:31:30.709
to top earners,
00:31:30.709 --> 00:31:34.208
you see money moving
away, you know,
00:31:34.208 --> 00:31:35.375
from the broad middle class
00:31:35.375 --> 00:31:38.166
and towards the top
of the distribution.
00:31:38.166 --> 00:31:41.125
We are in Omaha, Nebraska,
for a conversation
00:31:41.125 --> 00:31:42.041
with Warren Buffett.
00:31:42.041 --> 00:31:43.667
Like so many people,
I got up this morning
00:31:43.667 --> 00:31:45.333
in New York and read
theNew York Times
00:31:45.333 --> 00:31:46.417
editorial page
and I found
00:31:46.417 --> 00:31:49.458
the following column
written by him.
00:31:49.458 --> 00:31:51.041
It is an op-ed
which is called
00:31:51.041 --> 00:31:52.417
\"Stop Coddling
the Super-Rich.\"
00:31:52.417 --> 00:31:55.458
You\'\'ve had the income of
the top Americans quintuple,
00:31:55.458 --> 00:31:57.208
top 400, in the last 20 years.
00:31:57.208 --> 00:32:01.208
This is becoming a nation
of haves and have-nots,
00:32:01.208 --> 00:32:01.917
and super haves.
00:32:01.917 --> 00:32:04.166
The Reagan revolution
decided, you know,
00:32:04.166 --> 00:32:07.959
to have, you know,
free market forces
00:32:07.959 --> 00:32:12.125
shape the distribution
and remove as many as possible,
00:32:12.125 --> 00:32:15.750
you know, of the government
regulations in which
00:32:15.750 --> 00:32:19.417
we saw an explosion
of inequality.
00:32:20.333 --> 00:32:23.125
Inequality, as such,
though, has never been
00:32:23.125 --> 00:32:27.333
something that Americans
have been very excited about.
00:32:27.333 --> 00:32:28.999
You in Europe are
much more excited
00:32:28.999 --> 00:32:31.041
about inequality,
as such, is a bad thing.
00:32:31.041 --> 00:32:34.625
Americans are more likely
to say, \"Hey, so Bill Gates
00:32:34.625 --> 00:32:35.999
has $50 billion.
00:32:35.999 --> 00:32:38.083
He\'\'s not taking it
out of my pocket.
00:32:38.083 --> 00:32:39.542
You know, he didn\'\'t steal it.
00:32:39.542 --> 00:32:42.291
Uh, good luck to him.\"
00:32:42.291 --> 00:32:44.208
There is, however,
a real problem
00:32:44.208 --> 00:32:46.625
with the middle class
in that if you work hard
00:32:46.625 --> 00:32:50.709
and play by the rules,
you\'\'re supposed to get ahead.
00:32:50.709 --> 00:32:52.750
And you\'\'re supposed
to, over time,
00:32:52.750 --> 00:32:54.125
be making more money
than you used to,
00:32:54.125 --> 00:32:55.542
having a better life
than you used to,
00:32:55.542 --> 00:32:58.417
your children have a better
chance at their lives.
00:32:58.417 --> 00:33:03.166
That has been undercut
by the stagnation in wages.
00:33:03.166 --> 00:33:05.375
We\'\'re not just talking about
00:33:05.375 --> 00:33:06.834
desperately needy people.
00:33:06.834 --> 00:33:09.375
We\'\'re talking about
almost everybody
00:33:09.375 --> 00:33:12.750
in our country who,
if they want to remain
00:33:12.750 --> 00:33:16.542
part of the middle class,
are gonna need some supplemental
00:33:16.542 --> 00:33:19.417
income above and beyond
what they can earn
00:33:19.417 --> 00:33:20.792
through labor.
00:33:20.792 --> 00:33:23.667
(police sirens)
00:33:25.834 --> 00:33:26.750
God bless America!
00:33:26.750 --> 00:33:29.709
And God bless New York City!
00:33:29.709 --> 00:33:31.458
I love New York!
00:33:34.458 --> 00:33:36.834
New York has become
00:33:36.834 --> 00:33:39.000
kind of a city
00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:41.625
where you have
two kinds of people:
00:33:41.625 --> 00:33:42.250
the rich people
00:33:42.250 --> 00:33:45.458
and everybody else
working for the rich people.
00:33:46.542 --> 00:33:50.709
It has been known
for man to be a survivor,
00:33:50.709 --> 00:33:52.792
and he always will.
00:33:52.792 --> 00:33:55.959
There will always
be another place,
00:33:55.959 --> 00:33:57.625
another planet,
00:33:57.625 --> 00:33:58.667
another job,
00:33:58.667 --> 00:34:00.917
another trip, and greed!
00:34:00.917 --> 00:34:03.917
Because in this town,
greed is good!
00:34:08.417 --> 00:34:09.792
It\'\'s inevitable.
00:34:09.792 --> 00:34:12.875
The strongest
will be the leaders.
00:34:12.875 --> 00:34:14.291
The best will win.
00:34:14.291 --> 00:34:17.834
And the rest
will have to follow.
00:34:17.834 --> 00:34:19.750
Simple economics.
00:34:19.750 --> 00:34:29.333
♪
00:34:29.792 --> 00:34:37.917
♪
00:35:38.875 --> 00:35:40.625
(applause)
00:37:58.375 --> 00:38:04.208
♪
00:38:04.208 --> 00:38:05.959
Howdy.
00:38:05.959 --> 00:38:08.250
♪
00:38:08.250 --> 00:38:09.542
Howdy.
00:38:09.542 --> 00:38:12.583
♪
00:38:44.458 --> 00:38:54.709
♪
00:38:56.999 --> 00:39:01.291
With a basic income of,
say, $1,500 per month,
00:39:01.291 --> 00:39:03.667
four friends could\'\'ve
clumped together
00:39:03.667 --> 00:39:05.083
to spend the rest
of their lives
00:39:05.083 --> 00:39:09.458
chasing the biggest wave
of the Californian coast,
00:39:09.458 --> 00:39:12.000
and they could have
afforded to do so.
00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:16.999
Together, they would have
had $72,000 a year.
00:39:16.999 --> 00:39:19.709
♪
00:39:19.709 --> 00:39:21.375
What would you do?
00:39:21.375 --> 00:39:24.750
What would you do
if you won the lottery?
00:39:24.750 --> 00:39:27.125
♪
00:40:02.917 --> 00:40:05.750
(banging)
00:42:00.083 --> 00:42:05.291
♪
00:42:05.291 --> 00:42:07.834
Over the years,
economists have conducted
00:42:07.834 --> 00:42:10.083
several studies
of lottery winners.
00:42:10.083 --> 00:42:12.083
The application
of this scientific knowledge
00:42:12.083 --> 00:42:14.667
has a direct bearing
on the everyday life
00:42:14.667 --> 00:42:17.166
and habits of the average man.
00:42:17.166 --> 00:42:19.041
♪
00:42:19.041 --> 00:42:20.333
To the researchers\'\' surprise,
00:42:20.333 --> 00:42:23.792
winning up to $5,000
per month for a lifetime
00:42:23.792 --> 00:42:27.458
didn\'\'t influence
work effort negatively.
00:42:27.458 --> 00:42:31.917
♪
00:42:31.917 --> 00:42:33.750
On the contrary,
the security
00:42:33.750 --> 00:42:35.291
of a guaranteed
income floor
00:42:35.291 --> 00:42:37.999
enabled most of
the winners to pursue
00:42:37.999 --> 00:42:39.166
their innermost dreams,
00:42:39.166 --> 00:42:42.333
and become successful
entrepreneurs.
00:42:42.333 --> 00:42:44.166
(applause)
00:42:48.999 --> 00:42:52.542
A Berlin-based group
of basic income activists
00:42:52.542 --> 00:42:55.125
established their
own lottery in 2014.
00:42:55.125 --> 00:42:59.959
Winners received a monthly
basic income of 1,000 euros
00:42:59.959 --> 00:43:01.375
for one year.
00:43:01.375 --> 00:43:04.208
(applause)
00:45:13.750 --> 00:45:16.667
(applause)
00:46:38.542 --> 00:46:40.999
(applause)
00:46:55.417 --> 00:46:58.333
(applause)
00:47:28.333 --> 00:47:30.917
With the current
system that we have,
00:47:30.917 --> 00:47:34.375
we\'\'re facing huge
problems of all kinds
00:47:34.375 --> 00:47:38.792
that a basic guaranteed income
will do a lot to solve.
00:47:38.792 --> 00:47:40.917
I can afford to live
with a few people
00:47:40.917 --> 00:47:43.834
surfing in California
on my tax dollars
00:47:43.834 --> 00:47:46.542
and still think
a basic guaranteed income
00:47:46.542 --> 00:47:48.792
is the way to go.
00:47:49.333 --> 00:47:58.083
♪
00:47:58.083 --> 00:48:00.750
(sirens wailing)
00:48:00.750 --> 00:48:02.000
♪
00:48:02.000 --> 00:48:06.750
Here\'\'s a dirty little secret
about why we don\'\'t have
00:48:06.750 --> 00:48:09.166
a guaranteed income.
00:48:09.166 --> 00:48:13.792
The elites are
hugely condescending
00:48:13.792 --> 00:48:15.959
toward ordinary people.
00:48:15.959 --> 00:48:18.250
They know better.
00:48:18.250 --> 00:48:19.750
They can help.
00:48:19.750 --> 00:48:23.750
And whereas these truck drivers
and factory workers
00:48:23.750 --> 00:48:26.208
are likely to do
really stupid things
00:48:26.208 --> 00:48:28.917
if you just give
them the money.
00:48:28.917 --> 00:48:30.959
♪
00:48:42.959 --> 00:48:48.041
The advances that
the Republican Party made
00:48:48.041 --> 00:48:49.583
came to be coupled
00:48:49.583 --> 00:48:52.792
with the advances
of big business in politics,
00:48:52.792 --> 00:48:59.125
and increasingly
over the last 50 years really,
00:48:59.125 --> 00:49:02.000
the United States
has been dominated
00:49:02.000 --> 00:49:07.041
by this Republican
big business alliance.
00:49:07.041 --> 00:49:16.166
♪
00:49:16.166 --> 00:49:18.542
Over the course
of the 20th century,
00:49:18.542 --> 00:49:21.417
the idea of Western
democracy was hijacked
00:49:21.417 --> 00:49:23.542
by the interests
of big business.
00:49:23.542 --> 00:49:27.458
The idea of responsible
and informed citizens
00:49:27.458 --> 00:49:29.166
ceased to exist.
00:49:29.333 --> 00:49:33.000
The citizen was replaced
by the consumer.
00:49:33.000 --> 00:49:39.041
♪
00:49:39.041 --> 00:49:42.542
I think what
democracy means today
00:49:42.542 --> 00:49:44.917
in reality to a large extent,
00:49:44.917 --> 00:49:47.875
manipulated consent,
not forced consent,
00:49:47.875 --> 00:49:50.583
manipulated consent and
manipulated more and more
00:49:50.583 --> 00:49:52.875
with the help
of Madison Avenue.
00:49:52.875 --> 00:49:56.458
♪
00:49:56.458 --> 00:49:59.917
There\'\'s a term that has come
into some use in recent years
00:49:59.917 --> 00:50:04.917
called \"rent seeking,\" which
describes what companies do
00:50:04.917 --> 00:50:06.291
in Washington
and other state capitals
00:50:06.291 --> 00:50:09.750
where they send lobbyists,
vast numbers of lobbyists
00:50:09.750 --> 00:50:11.917
make all sorts of
campaign contributions,
00:50:11.917 --> 00:50:13.041
and what are
they really after?
00:50:13.041 --> 00:50:16.625
They\'\'re really after ways
to protect their industries
00:50:16.625 --> 00:50:18.542
so that they can
charge higher prices
00:50:18.542 --> 00:50:23.500
and extract rent from everybody
who buys their products.
00:50:23.500 --> 00:50:26.959
And that includes
a lot of companies
00:50:26.959 --> 00:50:27.750
in the medical industry.
00:50:27.750 --> 00:50:31.667
It includes software industry,
which is protected by things
00:50:31.667 --> 00:50:36.250
like copyrights, which
enable companies to charge
00:50:36.250 --> 00:50:39.583
far more than it actually
costs to produce a product.
00:50:39.583 --> 00:50:44.542
We don\'\'t charge banks
anything to use
00:50:44.542 --> 00:50:48.083
our financial infrastructure
for their own benefit.
00:50:48.083 --> 00:50:49.999
In fact, we subsidize them,
00:50:49.999 --> 00:50:51.999
and when they fail,
we bail them out.
00:50:51.999 --> 00:50:56.625
The Walton family is the
wealthiest family in America.
00:50:56.625 --> 00:50:59.000
Does anybody on the panel
think that they need
00:50:59.000 --> 00:51:00.709
significant welfare help?
00:51:00.709 --> 00:51:03.875
And yet it turns out that they
are the largest recipient
00:51:03.875 --> 00:51:05.291
of welfare in America,
00:51:05.291 --> 00:51:09.250
because when you pay
workers starvation wages,
00:51:09.250 --> 00:51:10.667
which is what Walmart does,
00:51:10.667 --> 00:51:14.166
how do the workers at
Walmart or McDonald\'\'s
00:51:14.166 --> 00:51:15.291
or Burger King survive?
00:51:15.291 --> 00:51:18.792
Well, they get Medicaid for
their kids and for themselves.
00:51:18.792 --> 00:51:22.375
They get food stamps, they
live in government sponsored
00:51:22.375 --> 00:51:23.458
affordable housing.
00:51:23.458 --> 00:51:26.458
So I start off with
my question to Dr. Winship
00:51:26.458 --> 00:51:27.500
and we\'\'ll go down the line.
00:51:27.500 --> 00:51:30.625
Do you think the Walton family,
worth $100 billion,
00:51:30.625 --> 00:51:31.500
is in need of welfare
00:51:31.500 --> 00:51:32.834
from the middle class
of this country?
00:51:32.834 --> 00:51:34.917
So I would not use
the word welfare,
00:51:34.917 --> 00:51:35.959
I think it\'\'s stigmatizing.
00:51:35.959 --> 00:51:37.583
Do you think their
workers in large numbers
00:51:37.583 --> 00:51:39.375
should have to get
Medicaid or food stamps?
00:51:39.375 --> 00:51:45.458
What I think is that Walmart
has the low prices, which--
00:51:45.458 --> 00:51:47.000
Please answer my question.
00:51:47.000 --> 00:51:48.417
I\'\'m sorry, repeat
the question for me.
00:51:48.417 --> 00:51:50.583
The question is, does
anybody think it makes moral
00:51:50.583 --> 00:51:55.375
or economic sense that one
family, the Walton family,
00:51:55.375 --> 00:51:58.500
owns more wealth
than the bottom 40 percent
00:51:58.500 --> 00:52:01.083
of the American people?
00:52:04.542 --> 00:52:08.792
In 2016, only two years
after this Senate hearing,
00:52:08.792 --> 00:52:11.542
the six Walmart heirs
owned as much wealth
00:52:11.542 --> 00:52:15.875
as one half of the
American population.
00:52:16.583 --> 00:52:21.041
Here are some of
those 160 million people.
00:52:21.041 --> 00:52:22.542
Who\'\'s Walmart?
00:52:22.542 --> 00:52:24.000
I\'\'m Walmart!
00:52:24.000 --> 00:52:25.166
Who\'\'s Walmart?
00:52:25.166 --> 00:52:27.458
I\'\'m Walmart.
00:52:28.375 --> 00:52:30.208
We\'\'re trying to hold
Walmart accountable
00:52:30.208 --> 00:52:32.333
on their actions and inactions
of how they treat
00:52:32.333 --> 00:52:35.917
their associates and
specifically veterans,
00:52:35.917 --> 00:52:37.667
the way they treat
the military veterans
00:52:37.667 --> 00:52:40.542
that they\'\'re
hiring these days.
00:52:40.542 --> 00:52:42.542
Walmart had hit
a billion dollars,
00:52:42.542 --> 00:52:44.417
if I\'\'m not mistaken,
what, 1979?
00:52:44.417 --> 00:52:46.625
So we\'\'re talking about
almost 30 somethin\'\' years
00:52:46.625 --> 00:52:51.041
where they could have been
paying us just livable wages,
00:52:51.041 --> 00:52:53.125
we\'\'re not asking
for $30 an hour,
00:52:53.125 --> 00:52:55.166
you know, we\'\'re asking
for a fraction of that,
00:52:55.166 --> 00:52:56.583
and that\'\'s just
bare minimum living.
00:52:56.583 --> 00:52:59.500
Even though Walmart\'\'s the
richest company in the world,
00:52:59.500 --> 00:53:00.625
it\'\'s not about
money for them,
00:53:00.625 --> 00:53:03.291
it\'\'s about the power
and control that they have
00:53:03.291 --> 00:53:04.125
over the associates.
00:53:04.125 --> 00:53:05.959
If you made under
32 hours a week,
00:53:05.959 --> 00:53:07.667
they cut your
healthcare benefits.
00:53:07.667 --> 00:53:09.999
I mean, I\'\'m 40 hours,
but I mean, what happens
00:53:09.999 --> 00:53:14.125
if there\'\'s an associate that\'\'s
working this job part time
00:53:14.125 --> 00:53:15.709
and they\'\'ve been there,
they put in their time
00:53:15.709 --> 00:53:17.250
to get that healthcare
and then all of a sudden
00:53:17.250 --> 00:53:18.625
it just disappears
out of thin air,
00:53:18.625 --> 00:53:20.625
like, what\'\'s
the point in that?
00:53:20.625 --> 00:53:22.208
I mean, as--we get sick,
00:53:22.208 --> 00:53:25.291
we\'\'re always gonna get sick,
who doesn\'\'t get sick?
00:53:25.291 --> 00:53:26.166
I mean, it\'\'s...
00:53:26.166 --> 00:53:30.291
It\'\'s gonna take young
activists such as, you know,
00:53:30.291 --> 00:53:31.333
Tiffy and everybody out here
00:53:31.333 --> 00:53:33.166
and just the American
people in general
00:53:33.166 --> 00:53:37.417
to start standing up and just
not in the retail business,
00:53:37.417 --> 00:53:39.709
but in the American dream,
the American way altogether.
00:53:39.709 --> 00:53:44.333
People need to wake up
before they get booted out.
00:53:44.333 --> 00:53:47.166
You know, get a revolution.
00:53:47.166 --> 00:53:48.750
Are you happy
seeing your suggestion,
00:53:48.750 --> 00:53:51.917
this new Buffett Rule,
becoming more of a basis
00:53:51.917 --> 00:53:54.458
of a political
battle that really,
00:53:54.458 --> 00:53:55.875
that really has turned
into class warfare?
00:53:55.875 --> 00:53:58.458
Well, no, actually, there\'\'s
been class warfare going on
00:53:58.458 --> 00:54:00.583
for the last 20 years
and my class is one.
00:54:00.583 --> 00:54:04.125
It\'\'s not a tax on all
millionaires or ten millionaires
00:54:04.125 --> 00:54:05.583
or anything like that,
it\'\'s only a tax,
00:54:05.583 --> 00:54:09.583
it\'\'ll only be a minimum tax on
people who make lots of money
00:54:09.583 --> 00:54:11.458
and pay very low tax rates
at the same time.
00:54:11.458 --> 00:54:14.542
Anybody who\'\'s paying normal
tax rates, it wouldn\'\'t touch.
00:54:14.542 --> 00:54:17.999
So in aggregate, there\'\'s
probably 50,000 people
00:54:17.999 --> 00:54:19.041
in the whole United States
00:54:19.041 --> 00:54:20.834
out of 310 million
that it would affect.
00:54:20.834 --> 00:54:26.834
As Warren Buffett said,
there is always class warfare
00:54:26.834 --> 00:54:28.375
going on in any society.
00:54:28.375 --> 00:54:31.792
In the sense that there\'\'s
always going to be bargaining,
00:54:31.792 --> 00:54:37.333
power struggle about who--
how, you know, the economic pie
00:54:37.333 --> 00:54:39.625
is going to be distributed.
00:54:39.625 --> 00:54:44.959
So I think it\'\'s an important
lesson we have to remember.
00:54:44.959 --> 00:54:47.834
Class warfare always happens
00:54:47.834 --> 00:54:52.667
and the government decides,
you know, the rules of the game.
00:54:52.667 --> 00:54:58.875
So one thing we could do
is charge a transaction fee
00:54:58.875 --> 00:55:01.959
when trades take place
in our securities markets.
00:55:01.959 --> 00:55:07.709
We could also have government
itself issue new currency
00:55:07.709 --> 00:55:13.083
every year instead of the banks
issuing it for free basically,
00:55:13.083 --> 00:55:14.500
creating it out of thin air.
00:55:14.500 --> 00:55:18.458
The amount of rent in
our country keeps getting
00:55:18.458 --> 00:55:22.291
higher and higher, although
economists still haven\'\'t
00:55:22.291 --> 00:55:25.000
actually quantified it--
I find this shocking.
00:55:25.000 --> 00:55:29.917
But I think it could be as high
as a third of our economy
00:55:29.917 --> 00:55:34.625
is rent, which is money
that is needlessly extracted
00:55:34.625 --> 00:55:38.417
from everybody because
of the market power
00:55:38.417 --> 00:55:43.125
or political power
of large corporations.
00:55:43.125 --> 00:55:48.375
♪
00:55:48.375 --> 00:55:51.875
And rent seeking decreased
economic efficiency.
00:55:51.875 --> 00:55:55.500
A study in the 1980s
concluded that rent seeking
00:55:55.500 --> 00:55:59.375
had decreased total income
in the United States
00:55:59.375 --> 00:56:01.083
by 45 percent.
00:56:01.083 --> 00:56:03.667
♪
00:56:03.667 --> 00:56:07.000
Capitalism is a system
in which economic wealth,
00:56:07.000 --> 00:56:10.208
or capital, is used
to produce goods for sale.
00:56:10.208 --> 00:56:14.166
Or in other words,
to produce new wealth.
00:56:14.166 --> 00:56:15.291
♪
00:56:15.291 --> 00:56:19.500
I think that our national wealth
is very widely distributed.
00:56:19.500 --> 00:56:20.125
♪
00:56:20.125 --> 00:56:22.208
Thomas Piketty
and Emmanuel Saez
00:56:22.208 --> 00:56:24.709
concluded that much
of income inequality
00:56:24.709 --> 00:56:28.792
was the result of rent seeking
among the wealthy.
00:56:28.792 --> 00:56:30.041
♪
00:56:30.041 --> 00:56:32.083
How high could
a basic income have been
00:56:32.083 --> 00:56:36.667
if we had used that
45 percent to finance it?
00:56:36.667 --> 00:56:39.333
♪
00:56:39.333 --> 00:56:42.500
Would it have been
$5,000 a year?
00:56:42.500 --> 00:56:43.375
♪
00:56:43.375 --> 00:56:44.750
$10,000 a year?
00:56:44.750 --> 00:56:48.208
Or would it have
been $25,000 a year
00:56:48.208 --> 00:56:52.208
for each citizen
from cradle to grave?
00:56:52.208 --> 00:56:54.500
♪
00:56:54.500 --> 00:56:56.583
A basic income
could have been financed
00:56:56.583 --> 00:56:58.834
with a transaction fee
on all payments.
00:56:58.834 --> 00:57:01.625
On average,
the sum of total payments
00:57:01.625 --> 00:57:02.834
in your developed economies
00:57:02.834 --> 00:57:05.458
was 100 times larger
than total income.
00:57:05.458 --> 00:57:08.959
With a tax rate
of only .45 percent
00:57:08.959 --> 00:57:10.875
on each financial transaction,
00:57:10.875 --> 00:57:14.417
an unconditional
basic income of $25,000
00:57:14.417 --> 00:57:17.166
could have been paid
to each citizen.
00:57:17.166 --> 00:57:18.500
(applause)
00:57:18.500 --> 00:57:23.000
In my view, I would be in
favor of the high tax rates,
00:57:23.000 --> 00:57:26.625
you know, we had before
the Reagan revolution.
00:57:26.625 --> 00:57:31.583
Those high tax rates are not
bad for economic incentives
00:57:31.583 --> 00:57:33.750
because that\'\'s not
what drives, you know,
00:57:33.750 --> 00:57:37.041
the most talented
people to work hard,
00:57:37.041 --> 00:57:41.917
but they are useful to put
a lid, you know, on greed
00:57:41.917 --> 00:57:44.417
in the sense
with very high tax rates,
00:57:44.417 --> 00:57:48.166
upper earners don\'\'t have as many
incentives to keep extracting,
00:57:48.166 --> 00:57:52.792
you know, more and more
from the rest of the economy.
00:57:52.792 --> 00:57:56.125
♪
00:58:04.709 --> 00:58:07.917
Albert Wenger, a partner
with Union Square Ventures,
00:58:07.917 --> 00:58:11.500
graduated Summa Cum Laude
from Harvard in economics
00:58:11.500 --> 00:58:14.041
and computer science,
and got a PhD
00:58:14.041 --> 00:58:17.750
in information
technology from MIT.
00:58:32.166 --> 00:58:33.750
Just last year,
00:58:33.750 --> 00:58:35.917
total federal and state pending
00:58:35.917 --> 00:58:36.709
on means-tested programs
00:58:36.709 --> 00:58:40.375
came in at more than
one trillion dollars.
00:58:40.375 --> 00:58:43.875
How much is that
in practical terms?
00:58:43.875 --> 00:58:45.500
For that amount of money,
00:58:45.500 --> 00:58:48.750
you could give every
poor American a check
00:58:48.750 --> 00:58:51.333
for $22,000.
00:59:10.959 --> 00:59:14.875
In 2006, the Swiss
entrepreneur, Daniel Haääni,
00:59:14.875 --> 00:59:18.208
co-founded the Initiative
for a Basic Income,
00:59:18.208 --> 00:59:20.792
a movement to
promote a basic income
00:59:20.792 --> 00:59:23.458
in Switzerland and Germany.
00:59:54.041 --> 01:00:01.542
♪
01:00:12.542 --> 01:00:14.667
(applause)
01:00:18.166 --> 01:00:21.417
(applause)
01:00:51.458 --> 01:00:54.250
(coins clattering)
01:01:01.333 --> 01:01:04.792
(applause)
01:01:23.709 --> 01:01:27.375
Switzerland had a unique feature
that helped promote the idea
01:01:27.375 --> 01:01:30.500
of a unconditional basic income
among its citizens.
01:01:30.500 --> 01:01:33.875
The direct democracy system
enabled the Swiss people
01:01:33.875 --> 01:01:37.625
to vote directly on
all matters of public concern.
01:01:37.625 --> 01:01:41.166
It wasn\'\'t just a small elite
who discussed ideas
01:01:41.166 --> 01:01:44.083
like an unconditional
basic income,
01:01:44.083 --> 01:01:46.500
but the people as a whole.
01:02:02.041 --> 01:02:04.500
(applause)
01:02:09.000 --> 01:02:11.458
(applause)
01:03:12.625 --> 01:03:15.250
(applause)
01:03:30.417 --> 01:03:33.875
(applause)
01:05:35.500 --> 01:05:36.208
♪
01:05:36.208 --> 01:05:39.000
That very idea may soon become
a reality in Switzerland.
01:05:39.000 --> 01:05:42.333
That\'\'s exactly the proposal
up for vote in Switzerland.
01:05:42.333 --> 01:05:44.583
It\'\'s an idea that
has quietly migrated
01:05:44.583 --> 01:05:47.458
from Switzerland
to our own shores.
01:06:29.792 --> 01:06:37.750
♪
01:06:37.750 --> 01:06:39.375
(honking)
01:06:44.750 --> 01:06:47.417
There was a third contender
to be the first country
01:06:47.417 --> 01:06:51.625
to introduce an unconditional
basic income nationwide.
01:06:51.625 --> 01:06:53.792
At the beginning
of the 21st century,
01:06:53.792 --> 01:06:57.792
the state of Namibia had
the most unequal distribution
01:06:57.792 --> 01:06:59.375
of wealth
in the whole world.
01:06:59.375 --> 01:07:04.000
Just like Lyndon Johnson in
the United States in the 1960s,
01:07:04.000 --> 01:07:06.583
the Namibian government
set up a commission
01:07:06.583 --> 01:07:09.875
to come up with ideas
to eradicate poverty.
01:07:09.875 --> 01:07:11.291
And like the Johnson commission,
01:07:11.291 --> 01:07:16.083
the Namibian NAMTAX Consortium
recommended the implementation
01:07:16.083 --> 01:07:18.750
of an unconditional
basic income.
01:07:18.750 --> 01:07:23.542
The government took no further
action concerning the matter.
01:07:23.542 --> 01:07:24.542
But others did.
01:07:24.542 --> 01:07:27.667
In 2008, the Lutheran
bishop of Namibia,
01:07:27.667 --> 01:07:31.834
Zephania Kameeta, initiated
a basic income experiment
01:07:31.834 --> 01:07:35.458
in the village of Otjivero
as a pilot project.
01:07:35.458 --> 01:07:36.834
Namibia is a rich country
01:07:36.834 --> 01:07:39.458
and everybody
is acknowledging that.
01:07:39.458 --> 01:07:43.291
In 2015, the newly elected
Namibian president
01:07:43.291 --> 01:07:48.333
appointed Bishop Kameeta
Minister for Poverty Eradication
01:07:48.333 --> 01:07:49.750
and Social Welfare.
01:07:49.750 --> 01:07:56.959
So, let not only some
but all the Namibians benefit
01:07:56.959 --> 01:08:01.041
from the wealth
which is in this country.
01:08:01.041 --> 01:08:03.792
(truck zooming)
01:08:09.417 --> 01:08:12.875
(children playing)
01:08:53.667 --> 01:08:56.875
(bell ringing)
01:09:19.750 --> 01:09:23.083
(bell ringing)
01:11:13.250 --> 01:11:16.917
But years, we paid
to the Basic Income Grant.
01:11:16.917 --> 01:11:20.417
Showed very well that
the Basic Income Grant
01:11:20.417 --> 01:11:24.667
would change many
lives in Namibia
01:11:24.667 --> 01:11:30.125
and improve the living
condition of our people.
01:11:31.999 --> 01:11:35.667
I remember when we went
in 2007, they were scared
01:11:35.667 --> 01:11:39.125
to meet us because
they felt they were dirty,
01:11:39.125 --> 01:11:43.750
they were not clean,
and they were nothing.
01:11:43.750 --> 01:11:46.083
You have experienced
during your stay there
01:11:46.083 --> 01:11:48.458
that these people
can stand before crowds
01:11:48.458 --> 01:11:51.667
and say what
they want to say.
01:11:51.667 --> 01:11:56.417
So the idea of when
you give money to people,
01:11:56.417 --> 01:12:02.458
you make people lazy,
it\'\'s simply not true.
01:12:02.750 --> 01:12:05.917
Villagers like baker,
Katrina Africana,
01:12:05.917 --> 01:12:06.834
who moved to Otjivero
01:12:06.834 --> 01:12:09.291
only after the start
of the experiment,
01:12:09.291 --> 01:12:11.959
were not eligible for
the Basic Income Grant.
01:12:11.959 --> 01:12:15.999
But even so, she benefitted
because of Otjivero\'\'s
01:12:15.999 --> 01:12:17.458
increased purchasing power.
01:12:17.458 --> 01:12:20.208
Within the first year
of the experiment,
01:12:20.208 --> 01:12:22.709
employment rose
by 25 percent.
01:12:22.709 --> 01:12:24.250
The average income
in Otjivero,
01:12:24.250 --> 01:12:28.500
excluding the Basic Income
Grant, rose by one third.
01:12:28.500 --> 01:12:30.709
Including the
Basic Income Grant,
01:12:30.709 --> 01:12:33.083
the average income
almost doubled.
01:12:33.083 --> 01:12:35.125
Wages increased by 19 percent,
01:12:35.125 --> 01:12:40.000
and revenue from
self-employment quadrupled.
01:13:05.959 --> 01:13:07.625
(banging)
01:13:07.625 --> 01:13:09.834
(scraping)
01:13:25.999 --> 01:13:30.417
With the present government,
I\'\'ve got a lot of hope
01:13:30.417 --> 01:13:34.083
that the Basic Income Grant
will be implemented.
01:13:34.083 --> 01:13:39.875
The very fact that the present
president appointed me
01:13:39.875 --> 01:13:44.083
as a Minister for Poverty
and Education and Social Welfare
01:13:44.083 --> 01:13:48.041
says a lot and it give hopes.
01:13:48.041 --> 01:13:50.500
♪
01:13:50.500 --> 01:13:55.125
Come, let\'\'s travel
into the future.
01:13:55.875 --> 01:13:58.625
What will we see?
01:13:58.625 --> 01:14:01.667
♪
01:14:01.667 --> 01:14:03.458
In the next half century,
01:14:03.458 --> 01:14:07.166
people will see as well as hear
around the world.
01:14:07.166 --> 01:14:10.750
Pocket-sized radio instruments
will enable individuals
01:14:10.750 --> 01:14:14.583
to communicate
with anyone anywhere.
01:14:14.583 --> 01:14:19.834
Newspapers, magazines,
mail, and messages
01:14:19.834 --> 01:14:23.500
will be sent through the air
at lightning speed
01:14:23.500 --> 01:14:26.750
and reproduced in the home.
01:14:26.750 --> 01:14:35.417
♪
01:14:35.417 --> 01:14:39.750
All arguments for and all
remaining prejudices against
01:14:39.750 --> 01:14:41.542
an unconditional basic income
01:14:41.542 --> 01:14:43.375
increasingly lost
their relevance
01:14:43.375 --> 01:14:47.125
at the beginning
of the 21st century
01:14:47.125 --> 01:14:49.500
because this was
a time in human history
01:14:49.500 --> 01:14:52.667
that in its significance
is only comparable
01:14:52.667 --> 01:14:54.583
to the Neolithic Revolution.
01:14:54.583 --> 01:14:58.834
Some 10,000 years ago,
hunter-gatherers settled down,
01:14:58.834 --> 01:15:02.667
became farmers,
and invented private property.
01:15:02.667 --> 01:15:06.417
A paradise of abundance
ceased to exist.
01:15:06.417 --> 01:15:09.625
Now in the 21st century,
humanity had developed
01:15:09.625 --> 01:15:14.208
technologies so powerful
that they enabled the return
01:15:14.208 --> 01:15:15.834
of such a paradise.
01:15:15.834 --> 01:15:19.709
The work was done
by machines and robots.
01:15:19.709 --> 01:15:21.583
♪
01:15:21.583 --> 01:15:23.041
Two questions remained:
01:15:23.041 --> 01:15:27.208
Who owns the resources
and who owns the robots?
01:15:27.208 --> 01:15:28.959
IBM machines
can do the work.
01:15:28.959 --> 01:15:31.166
So that people
have time to think.
01:15:31.166 --> 01:15:33.333
That\'\'s what
they\'\'re best at.
01:15:33.333 --> 01:15:35.083
Machines should work.
01:15:35.083 --> 01:15:36.999
People should think.
01:15:36.999 --> 01:15:38.792
-Machines...
-...should work.
01:15:38.792 --> 01:15:39.999
-People...
-...should think.
01:15:39.999 --> 01:15:42.417
Machines should work,
people should think.
01:15:42.417 --> 01:15:48.166
The great problem that we not
only don\'\'t know how to solve,
01:15:48.166 --> 01:15:52.417
we don\'\'t even understand what
the problem will look like,
01:15:52.417 --> 01:15:58.792
is the replacement of human
beings by computers and robots,
01:15:58.792 --> 01:16:01.083
which is going to go on
on a huge scale,
01:16:01.083 --> 01:16:02.709
qualitatively
different from anything
01:16:02.709 --> 01:16:04.417
that\'\'s happened
previously in history.
01:16:04.417 --> 01:16:07.500
And we\'\'re not talking
about the elimination
01:16:07.500 --> 01:16:08.625
of certain low-scale jobs.
01:16:08.625 --> 01:16:12.999
We\'\'re talking about jobs
that are now white collar jobs
01:16:12.999 --> 01:16:15.166
requiring a college degree
01:16:15.166 --> 01:16:17.625
that computers are going
to be able to do better.
01:16:17.625 --> 01:16:19.917
There, Miss, you see,
the heterodynes are feeding back
01:16:19.917 --> 01:16:21.250
into the stimulus-reaction
activators
01:16:21.250 --> 01:16:23.667
causing non-synapse of the
motor-control resistor units.
01:16:23.667 --> 01:16:25.458
From now on,
I don\'\'t think there\'\'ll be
01:16:25.458 --> 01:16:27.583
the slightest trouble
with your robot.
01:16:27.583 --> 01:16:30.208
Every day in our
homes and offices,
01:16:30.208 --> 01:16:31.834
as well as in our motor cars,
01:16:31.834 --> 01:16:33.875
hundreds of these
little robots are doing
01:16:33.875 --> 01:16:35.792
more things for us
than we realize.
01:16:35.792 --> 01:16:38.500
Science fiction has
kind of conditioned us
01:16:38.500 --> 01:16:40.750
to think of robots
in certain ways.
01:16:40.750 --> 01:16:43.959
The idea of basic income
dawned on Marshall Brain
01:16:43.959 --> 01:16:45.750
as he was writing
about different ways
01:16:45.750 --> 01:16:48.959
to solve the problem of
robotics and automation
01:16:48.959 --> 01:16:49.999
taking away jobs.
01:16:49.999 --> 01:16:54.458
So R2-D2 is definitely
a robot to human beings
01:16:54.458 --> 01:16:57.291
and C-3PO is a humanoid robot,
01:16:57.291 --> 01:17:00.999
and that is how we sort
of intrinsically think
01:17:00.999 --> 01:17:03.834
about what a robot should look
like and what it should be.
01:17:03.834 --> 01:17:06.709
But robots are
currently around us
01:17:06.709 --> 01:17:07.999
in many different
forms already.
01:17:07.999 --> 01:17:13.417
So an ATM machine is
a robot that gives us money
01:17:13.417 --> 01:17:17.542
and, you know, helps us not have
to use a bank teller anymore.
01:17:17.542 --> 01:17:20.166
A automated gas pump
is a robot.
01:17:20.166 --> 01:17:24.375
A check-out line at a grocery
store, that\'\'s a robot.
01:18:03.375 --> 01:18:06.000
♪
01:18:06.000 --> 01:18:09.000
It didn\'\'t take long for
artificial intelligence
01:18:09.000 --> 01:18:13.959
to rival human beings
in every imaginable field.
01:18:13.959 --> 01:18:18.583
According to a study
at Oxford University in 2013,
01:18:18.583 --> 01:18:21.375
almost 47 percent
of all jobs
01:18:21.375 --> 01:18:24.375
were under threat
of being automated.
01:18:24.375 --> 01:18:26.625
♪
01:18:26.625 --> 01:18:28.875
Within the following
twenty years,
01:18:28.875 --> 01:18:31.667
those jobs were indeed gone.
01:18:31.667 --> 01:18:34.000
♪
01:18:34.000 --> 01:18:37.125
Humans have always
underestimated the power
01:18:37.125 --> 01:18:38.291
of exponential growth,
01:18:38.291 --> 01:18:40.417
and at the beginning
of the 21st century,
01:18:40.417 --> 01:18:45.291
information technology started
to evolve exponentially.
01:18:45.291 --> 01:18:46.500
A little over
three years ago,
01:18:46.500 --> 01:18:49.333
the folks at IBM came
to us with a proposal
01:18:49.333 --> 01:18:50.583
that they considered to be
01:18:50.583 --> 01:18:53.125
the next grand challenge
in computing.
01:18:53.125 --> 01:18:56.792
Ladies and gentlemen,
this is Watson.
01:18:56.792 --> 01:18:59.667
(applause)
01:19:00.125 --> 01:19:02.834
Computers will
never play Jeopardy!
01:19:02.834 --> 01:19:03.875
You have to know too much,
01:19:03.875 --> 01:19:06.333
the questions
are all convoluted.
01:19:06.333 --> 01:19:08.417
You have to get to
the buzzer really fast.
01:19:08.417 --> 01:19:10.875
You have to be able to know
a lot of the nuances
01:19:10.875 --> 01:19:13.750
of the English language
and idioms and all this stuff.
01:19:13.750 --> 01:19:17.875
All right, enough background,
let\'\'s play Jeopardy!
01:19:17.875 --> 01:19:20.583
So if you\'\'re ready,
make your first choice.
01:19:20.583 --> 01:19:22.291
Olympic oddities for $400.
01:19:22.291 --> 01:19:27.000
It just seemed impossible,
and then one day IBM announced
01:19:27.000 --> 01:19:28.999
that it had started
the research
01:19:28.999 --> 01:19:31.041
to build a Jeopardy!
playing computer,
01:19:31.041 --> 01:19:33.250
and then just
a couple years later,
01:19:33.250 --> 01:19:35.667
a computer beat
the best human players.
01:19:35.667 --> 01:19:40.208
Not by a little bit,
but just totally decimated them.
01:19:44.458 --> 01:19:45.458
-Watson.
-What is stick?
01:19:45.458 --> 01:19:48.750
Stick is right, and with that
you add to your lead,
01:19:48.750 --> 01:19:50.834
you\'\'re at $5,200,
01:19:50.834 --> 01:19:52.208
Brad is next with $1,000,
01:19:52.208 --> 01:19:53.166
Ken on the board with $200,
01:19:53.166 --> 01:19:56.792
and we are going
to take this break.
01:20:07.750 --> 01:20:09.333
And off we go.
01:20:09.333 --> 01:20:09.959
(beeping)
01:20:09.959 --> 01:20:15.000
Palos Verdes High School\'\'s
dune buggy left turn.
01:20:37.625 --> 01:20:39.709
Good try, guys.
01:20:51.875 --> 01:21:02.083
♪
01:21:10.333 --> 01:21:13.166
When do you think will be
the time when we don\'\'t need
01:21:13.166 --> 01:21:15.125
taxi drivers anymore
in New York?
01:21:15.125 --> 01:21:19.000
The minute the software
is available.
01:21:19.458 --> 01:21:21.250
I think the car is ready.
01:21:21.250 --> 01:21:22.959
I think it\'\'s the future.
01:21:22.959 --> 01:21:25.917
They will make it work.
01:21:25.917 --> 01:21:29.000
They have to,
it\'\'s inevitable.
01:21:29.208 --> 01:21:33.041
It speaks 80 languages,
that\'\'s fabulous.
01:21:33.041 --> 01:21:35.417
What will
the taxi drivers do then?
01:21:35.417 --> 01:21:39.583
This is a city where people
are very resilient.
01:21:39.583 --> 01:21:41.792
Every time they close
a window or a door,
01:21:41.792 --> 01:21:43.875
there\'\'s something else
that opens up.
01:21:43.875 --> 01:21:46.500
Maybe the roof
will blow open.
01:21:48.959 --> 01:21:50.917
Green.
01:22:39.125 --> 01:22:42.959
Truck drivers and cab drivers
and FedEx drivers,
01:22:42.959 --> 01:22:44.166
those kind of folks,
01:22:44.166 --> 01:22:46.250
that\'\'s maybe
three million people.
01:22:46.250 --> 01:22:49.375
Those are gonna be
early jobs that are lost.
01:22:49.375 --> 01:22:52.667
It\'\'s easy to imagine
a lot of construction jobs,
01:22:52.667 --> 01:22:54.583
especially as vision
systems come online.
01:22:54.583 --> 01:22:59.125
And then you can imagine
robotic roofers and, you know,
01:22:59.125 --> 01:23:01.166
brick layers
and things like that
01:23:01.166 --> 01:23:03.917
happening
in the near future.
01:23:03.917 --> 01:23:05.417
Those are not...
01:23:05.417 --> 01:23:07.999
intellectually challenging jobs,
they just aren\'\'t.
01:23:07.999 --> 01:23:10.125
So we\'\'ll see a lot
of automation there,
01:23:10.125 --> 01:23:13.959
but surprisingly at
the intellectual level,
01:23:13.959 --> 01:23:18.208
technologies like Watson
have huge applicability
01:23:18.208 --> 01:23:21.709
in areas like
the law and medicine
01:23:21.709 --> 01:23:23.834
and accounting
analysis and so on,
01:23:23.834 --> 01:23:25.625
so you\'\'ll see
automation happening
01:23:25.625 --> 01:23:29.166
in those areas as well
and taking out high-end jobs
01:23:29.166 --> 01:23:30.709
that we might not expect
01:23:30.709 --> 01:23:33.417
because it turns out
they\'\'re easy to solve
01:23:33.417 --> 01:23:36.041
with technology like Watson.
01:23:36.041 --> 01:23:46.291
♪
01:23:57.750 --> 01:24:00.625
Technology is
and always has been a tool.
01:24:00.625 --> 01:24:03.542
We have more powerful tools
now than ever before,
01:24:03.542 --> 01:24:06.166
which means we have
more power to determine
01:24:06.166 --> 01:24:07.208
what our future
is going to be.
01:24:07.208 --> 01:24:09.959
We should never forget that,
that ultimately the choice
01:24:09.959 --> 01:24:12.291
is in our hands
and it\'\'s gonna be the choice
01:24:12.291 --> 01:24:15.291
of the politicians
and the people who elect them,
01:24:15.291 --> 01:24:16.834
and the people
who influence them--
01:24:16.834 --> 01:24:19.166
many of them
at Davos this week.
01:24:19.166 --> 01:24:21.875
So let\'\'s just remember that
ultimately it\'\'s our choice
01:24:21.875 --> 01:24:23.709
and not something that
happens to us externally.
01:24:23.709 --> 01:24:28.417
So you\'\'re saying we can
detach our work and income?
01:24:28.417 --> 01:24:31.458
That could be
a possibility, yeah.
01:24:31.458 --> 01:24:32.083
Really?
01:24:32.083 --> 01:24:34.500
That\'\'s a new,
that\'\'s a new paradise.
01:24:34.500 --> 01:24:36.834
Yeah, in the sense
that you don\'\'t have to--
01:24:36.834 --> 01:24:40.000
you don\'\'t have to work
to get a basic income,
01:24:40.000 --> 01:24:41.458
so that\'\'s one of the ideas.
01:24:41.458 --> 01:24:44.875
And you\'\'ll work
because you like work,
01:24:44.875 --> 01:24:48.792
not because it\'\'s
a necessity to earn a living.
01:24:50.875 --> 01:24:54.834
Would you have done anything
differently in your life
01:24:54.834 --> 01:24:58.458
if money weren\'\'t an issue?
01:24:59.417 --> 01:25:02.625
I would have liked
to be a senator.
01:25:02.625 --> 01:25:06.917
Yes...an honest
senator for a change.
01:25:06.917 --> 01:25:09.500
I would have, yes.
01:25:09.500 --> 01:25:11.959
I would love to help people,
01:25:11.959 --> 01:25:15.667
listen to their daily hardships
01:25:15.667 --> 01:25:17.542
and make it better.
01:25:17.542 --> 01:25:20.500
(traffic noises)
01:26:22.125 --> 01:26:24.667
It\'\'s a kind of
a market-based approach
01:26:24.667 --> 01:26:27.792
to giving everybody
some non-labor income,
01:26:27.792 --> 01:26:30.917
make everybody
a genuine owner of wealth
01:26:30.917 --> 01:26:34.667
that sort of morally
belongs to everybody,
01:26:34.667 --> 01:26:35.999
but not yet legally.
01:26:35.999 --> 01:26:38.999
So I\'\'m saying let\'\'s
legalize common wealth.
01:26:38.999 --> 01:26:41.709
We all could go on
perpetual vacation.
01:26:41.709 --> 01:26:44.583
If you think about it,
if robots are doing all the work
01:26:44.583 --> 01:26:45.709
and producing
all the products
01:26:45.709 --> 01:26:48.500
and doing everything
the economy needs,
01:26:48.500 --> 01:26:54.208
then humans necessarily are free
to do whatever they want.
01:26:54.542 --> 01:26:55.917
What will I do?
01:26:55.917 --> 01:26:57.709
I want to live.
01:26:58.250 --> 01:27:00.458
This is the 24th century.
01:27:00.458 --> 01:27:03.417
Material needs
no longer exist.
01:27:05.000 --> 01:27:07.625
Then what\'\'s the challenge?
01:27:08.625 --> 01:27:13.125
The challenge, Mr. Offenhouse,
is to improve yourself.
01:27:13.125 --> 01:27:15.834
To enrich yourself.
01:27:16.500 --> 01:27:18.125
Enjoy it.
01:27:18.291 --> 01:27:20.709
And don\'\'t worry,
you don\'\'t have to wait
01:27:20.709 --> 01:27:22.667
300 years for this to happen.
01:27:22.667 --> 01:27:25.208
The future is already there.
01:27:25.208 --> 01:27:34.041
♪
01:27:34.041 --> 01:27:42.083
♪ As I was walking,
now, they tried to stop me ♪
01:27:42.083 --> 01:27:43.000
♪
01:27:43.000 --> 01:27:47.000
♪ They put up
a sign that said ♪
01:27:47.000 --> 01:27:51.375
♪ Oh, it said
private property ♪
01:27:51.375 --> 01:27:52.709
♪
01:27:52.709 --> 01:27:56.792
♪ Well, on the back side,
01:27:56.792 --> 01:28:01.750
you know it said nothing ♪
01:28:01.750 --> 01:28:06.166
♪ So, it must be that side
01:28:06.166 --> 01:28:09.375
was made for you and me ♪
01:28:09.375 --> 01:28:19.625
♪
01:28:25.542 --> 01:28:29.500
♪ One bright sunny morning,
01:28:29.500 --> 01:28:34.583
well, in the shadow
of a steeple ♪
01:28:34.583 --> 01:28:39.417
♪ Down by the
welfare office,
01:28:39.417 --> 01:28:43.417
I saw my people ♪
01:28:43.417 --> 01:28:48.709
♪ You know, now,
they stood hungry ♪
01:28:48.709 --> 01:28:53.166
♪ I stood wondering ♪
01:28:53.166 --> 01:28:57.959
♪ I was wondering if this land
01:28:57.959 --> 01:29:03.500
was made for you and me ♪
01:29:03.500 --> 01:29:06.083
♪ This land is your land ♪
01:29:06.083 --> 01:29:08.583
♪
01:29:08.583 --> 01:29:12.542
♪ This land is my land ♪
01:29:12.542 --> 01:29:16.625
♪ From Riverside, California ♪
01:29:16.625 --> 01:29:20.834
♪ Oh, to Staten Island ♪
01:29:20.834 --> 01:29:25.166
♪ Well, on down
to Augusta, Georgia ♪
01:29:25.166 --> 01:29:29.291
♪ Oh, don\'\'t forget
to say Philadelphia ♪
01:29:29.291 --> 01:29:34.041
♪ Oh, we moving on
down to Mississippi ♪
01:29:34.041 --> 01:29:36.875
♪ Oh, Houston, Texas ♪
01:29:36.875 --> 01:29:40.417
♪ L.A., yeah, you know,
01:29:40.417 --> 01:29:43.999
this land is your land ♪
01:29:43.999 --> 01:29:48.375
♪ Ah, this land is my land ♪
01:29:48.375 --> 01:29:51.375
♪ Oh, this land
is your land ♪
01:29:51.375 --> 01:29:56.959
♪ You\'\'ve got to believe,
oh, it\'\'s my land ♪
01:29:56.959 --> 01:30:01.125
♪ Ah, hmmm ♪
01:30:01.125 --> 01:30:06.333
♪ Ooh, this land was made
for you and me, yeah ♪
01:30:06.625 --> 01:30:10.583
♪ Oh, this land was made
for you and me ♪
01:30:10.583 --> 01:30:14.625
♪ Ah, this land,
this land is your land ♪
01:30:14.625 --> 01:30:20.500
♪ Ah, this land,
this land is my land ♪