Super Polling Center: Guaranteed Basic Income

[Maxwell]

I'll let this go for a few days. I want to get a pulse on this issue. I also broke it down by partisan lines.

[TNF]

Labor - Yes

[Marokai Backbeat]

Undecided. Lean yes in concept, the details get iffy though. Certainly supportive of the intent.

[Napoleon]

Undecided. Lean yes in concept, the details get iffy though. Certainly supportive of the intent.

[windjammer]

Labor - Yes

[PJ]

Undecided, but it seems odd that 45% of the electorate is "other."

[Maxwell]

Undecided, but it seems odd that 45% of the electorate is "other."

It's a mix of independents, smaller parties, and Liberals, who still have numbers, but are a fading group that are, by large part, very inactive. So Other makes sense when we talk about polls.

[DemPGH]

Labor: Yes, absolutely.

[PJ]

Edit: could you change my vote to yes?

[Maxwell]

Edit: could you change my vote to yes?

I have noted in my excel doc of this poll

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

The idea of it? Sure. Actually implementing it as this government wants to do it? I'm not so sure. They are making huge assumptions that simply "taxing the rich" will work and this deficit will merely be temporary. Do you know that the rich have loads of ways to avoid taxes? And I wholeheartedly oppose an increase in the death tax, which shouldn't exist anyway.

Yes, I am a right winger still when it comes to some things.

[Napoleon]

The idea of it? Sure. Actually implementing it as this government wants to do it? I'm not so sure. They are making huge assumptions that simply "taxing the rich" will work and this deficit will merely be temporary. Do you know that the rich have loads of ways to avoid taxes? And I wholeheartedly oppose an increase in the death tax, which shouldn't exist anyway.

Yes, I am a right winger still when it comes to some things.

See we can agree on things. I wouldn't say opposjng the estate tax is right wing.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

The idea of it? Sure. Actually implementing it as this government wants to do it? I'm not so sure. They are making huge assumptions that simply "taxing the rich" will work and this deficit will merely be temporary. Do you know that the rich have loads of ways to avoid taxes? And I wholeheartedly oppose an increase in the death tax, which shouldn't exist anyway.

Yes, I am a right winger still when it comes to some things.

See we can agree on things. I wouldn't say opposjng the estate tax is right wing.

Yes, yes we can.

And you're right, opposing the estate tax is not right wing to me. I think it's just common sense.

[Napoleon]

The idea of it? Sure. Actually implementing it as this government wants to do it? I'm not so sure. They are making huge assumptions that simply "taxing the rich" will work and this deficit will merely be temporary. Do you know that the rich have loads of ways to avoid taxes? And I wholeheartedly oppose an increase in the death tax, which shouldn't exist anyway.

Yes, I am a right winger still when it comes to some things.

See we can agree on things. I wouldn't say opposjng the estate tax is right wing.

Yes, yes we can.

And you're right, opposing the estate tax is not right wing to me. I think it's just common sense.

The thing is, I don't think that we need to raise taxes too much to pay for this. I mean, the Right is organizing against what is basically a skeleton proposal. The details need filled in. There will be cuts, and there should be. That's the only way this can work. I guess my problem is the reactionary "don't care what's in it or what it will change" attitude that simply wants to score political points.

I worked really hard as Senator and President to pursue policies that would relieve us of our budget problems, and while the economic events caused by the NM-AM have raised unemployment and added to the deficit, right now the budget problems really aren't too bad. If you have any suggestions, drop 'em by me and I will gladly try to make them work.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

This has been my concern... I fully support some kind of basic income. But I'm really, really uncomfortable about that kind of financial weight, without a clear way to pay for it.

If I was elected to the Senate, I wouldn't vote for it until a clear funding mechanism is outlined. My issue is, if we put too much pressure on upper-end tax rates and the estate taxes, surely that just encourages the wealthy to find ways to avoid them? Not that I'm too worried about the very wealthy...

....OMG... I'm a right-winger now... apparently.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Yes, I do--Labor

Keep in mind this is a "basic" income.  We're not talking 2 week government funded trips to Cabo every year for every Atlasian.  We're talking basic creature comforts and a minimum standard of living that is definitely affordable for the largest economy on the planet.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

If you have any suggestions, drop 'em by me and I will gladly try to make them work.

I will look more closely at it when I have time, and if I come up with anything, I will let you know. I will be honest and say I haven't really paid much attention to senate business since I left office, as part of my retirement, of course, but this whole thing was brought to my attention so I figured it was time to educate myself..

If we all remember our laffer curve from economics class, we should know that we can really only tax the rich so much before it will be counterproductive. Like Napoleon said, I think cuts need to be made. Which cuts? I don't know. I am not going to worry about it too much because I am not in the senate and am not running for a seat.

But we are, correct me if I am wrong, talking about a $1.5 trillion program. That's not something we can simply say "well we can just pass that along to the rich and be fine!"

Right wingers abound in this thread, clearly. Welcome to the club, Polnut

[Napoleon]

We have to remember that the GM is like the CBO. Its not like he's telling us exactly what will happen. That was a projection and funding mechanisms have not been added to the bill nor have cuts. Everyone needs to calm down.

[Sec. of State Superique]

LOL, Liberal become Others...

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

It all depends on the structuring.

[hawkeye59]

Definitely. It's a great idea.

[Goldwater]

It all depends on the structuring.

^^^^^

This.

[Supersonic]

Of course not.