Go back to school?

回學校讀書？

Not work at all? What would you do?

完全不工作？你會做什麼？

This concept is called a universal basic income or UBI

這個概念叫做無條件基本收入或UBI

And it's nothing less than the most ambitious social policy of our times

在我們這個時代，沒有比這個更有野心的社會政策了

in 2017, basic income is gaining momentum around the world

在2017年，基本收入在全世界的聲勢獲得增長

First trials are ongoing or on their way

第一次的嘗試正在進行中

and a growing number of countries are considering UBI as an alternative to welfare

越來越多的國家在考慮用UBI作為社會福利的代替品

How would it work and what are the key arguments for and against?

它是如何運作的，而它關鍵的贊成與反對論點又是什麼？

Right now people can't really agree. What universal basic income is or should be

目前人們對於無條件基本收入是什麼或是該不該還沒有達成一致

Some want to use it to eliminate welfare and Cupp bureaucracy

某些人想要用它來消除社會福利與減除官僚主義

Others want it as a free extra for existing programs, or even want it to be so high that work itself becomes optional

其他人則想要它成為現有計畫的免費附帶,甚至想要它變得這麼高，工作本身成為一個可有可無的選項

For this video we'll talk mostly about the minimum basic income

在這個影片裡面，我們大部分會談最低基本收入

enough money to be above the poverty line

位於貧窮線上的足夠金錢

in the US this means about $1,000 a month or $12,000 a year

在美國，這表示每個月需要1000或一年12,000美金

The money would not be taxed and you could do whatever you wanted with it in

這些錢不會被抽稅. 你可以拿它來想幹什麼就做什麼

In this scenario UBI is a way of transferring the wealth of a society

在這個情境下，UBI是一種社會財富傳遞的方式

while still keeping the free market intact

同時依然保持自由市場的完整

But if we hand out free money will people just spend it on booze and stop working?

但是若我們奉上免費金錢，人們是否會就這樣把錢拿去買酒並停止工作？

A 2013 study by the World Bank

世界銀行在2013年的一份研究中

specifically examined if poor people waste their handouts on tobacco and alcohol if they receive it in the form of cash

特別調查若是窮人是否會把以現金形式收到的救濟品花在菸酒上

The clear answer, no they don't. The opposite is true

答案很清楚，他們並沒有這樣.事情正好相反.

Other studies have shown that the richer you are, the more drugs and alcohol you consume

其他研究顯示你越有錢，越會花在毒品跟酒精上

The lazy and drunk poor person is a stereotype rather than reality

又懶又醉的窮人是一種刻板印象，而非事實

What about laziness?

那懶惰呢？

Universal basic income test runs done in Canada in the 1970s showed that around

1970年代在加拿大執行完成的無條件基本收入測試

1% of the recipients stopped working, mostly to take care of their kids

顯示大約有1%受測者停止工作，大部分去照顧他們的孩子

On average people reduced their working hours by less than 10%

平均來說，人們減少了10%以內的工作時數

The extra time was used to achieve goals like going back to school or looking for better jobs

多出來的時間被用來達成像是回學校上課，或是尋找更好的工作之類的目標

But if laziness and drugs are not a huge deal, Why doesn't our current welfare state solve poverty

但若是懶惰與毒品不是大問題，為什麼我們目前的社會福利沒有解決貧窮？

Welfare or unemployment programs often come with a lot of strings attached

社會福利或是失業救濟計畫通常會伴隨許多條件

Like taking part in courses,

像是參與課程

Applying to a certain number of jobs a month or accepting any kind of job offer

在一個月內申請一定數量的工作，或是接受任何種類的工作機會

no matter if it's a good fit, or what it pays

不管它合不合適，也不管它的薪水

Besides the loss of personal freedom, these conditions are often a huge waste of time and only served to make the unemployment statistics

除了失去個人自由以外，這些條件通常浪費很多時間 只是為了讓失業統計數據

Seem less bad

不要那麼難看

Often your time would be much better spent looking for the right job

通常你的時間要該用來花在找正確的工作

continuing education or starting a business

繼續學業或者是創業

Another unwanted side effect of many welfare programs is that they trap people in poverty and promote passive behavior

許多社福計畫的另外一個不想要的負面影響是他們把人們困在貧窮當中，而且鼓勵消極的行為

Imagine a benefit of $1,000 each month

想像每個月有1000元的救濟金

in a lot of programs if you earn a single dollar extra the whole thing is taken away

在大多數計劃裡，如果你多賺了一塊錢，那麼整份社會福利都會被拿掉

If you take a job, that's paying $1200 you might not only lose your benefits,

如果你找了一份工作付你1200元，那麼你可能不只失去你的救濟金

but because of your taxes and another costs like transportation

還因為你的稅金以及其他花費，像是通勤

You might end up having less money than before

最終你的錢甚至比之前還少

So if you actively try to better your situation, and your total income is not improving or even a shrinking

所以如果你很積極地試著改進你的情況，但是你的總收入不但沒有增加，甚至可能縮水

welfare can create a ceiling that traps people in poverty

社會福利會建立一個天花板，把人們關在貧窮當中

and rewards passive behavior

並鼓勵消極的行為

A basic income can never be cut and therefore getting a job and additional income would always make your financial situation better

基本收入永遠不會被中斷，因此找到新工作以及額外的收入都一定會增進你的財務狀況

Work is always rewarded

工作永遠都有收穫

instead of a ceiling it creates a floor from which people can lift themselves up

取代天花板，它創造了一個地板讓人們可以自立自足

But even if UBI is the better model, is it economically feasible?

但就算UBI是一個比較好的模型，它在經濟上是可行的嗎？

What about inflation?

通貨膨脹要怎麼辦？

Won't prices just rise making everything just like it was before?

物價不會變高而讓一切都變得徒勞無功嗎？

Since the money is not being created by magic or printers it needs to be transferred from somewhere

因為錢不是無中生有的，也不是印表機印一印就好，而是必須從某個地方轉換而來

It's more of a shift of funds than the creation of new ones

它更多是資金的轉移，而不是創造新的資金

Hence; no inflation

因此，沒有通貨膨脹

Ok, but how do we pay for it?

好，但我們如何支付？

There's no right answer here because the world is too diverse

這沒有正確答案因為這世界太多樣化

How well-off the country is, what the local values are,

國家的富裕程度，當地的價值觀是什麼

Are things like high taxes or cutting the defence budget politically acceptable or not?

像高稅收或削减國防預算之類的事情在政治上是可以接受的嗎？

How much welfare state is already in place and is it effective?

現行有多少社會福利，以及其成效如何？

Each country has its own individual path to a UBI

每個國家有自己個別通往UBI的途徑

The easiest way to pay for a UBI is to end all welfare and use the free funds to finance it

要為UBI支付，最簡單的方法，就是中止所有社會福利，然後使用釋放出來的資金來挹注它

Not only would this make a number of government agencies disappear, which in itself saves money, it would also eliminate a lot of bureaucracy

這不只會讓許多政府機構消失，本身就可以省下不少錢，它也可以消滅許多官僚作業

on the other hand cutting them could leave many people worse off than before

另外一方面，中斷它們會讓許多人比以前過得更糟

If the goal is to have a foundation for everybody there still need to be programs of some sort because just like countries,

如果目標是讓每個人都有一個基礎，那依然需要某些形式的計畫

People are not the same

因為就像國家，不是人人都相同

The second way - higher taxes especially for the very wealthy

第二種方法 - 收更多的稅，特別是對於那些非常有錢的人

In the US for example there's been a lot of economic growth but most of the benefits from it have gone to the richest few percent

例如在美國，有很多的經濟成長，但是大部分的利益都落在最有錢的少數人

the wealth gap is rapidly widening

貧富差距越來越大

and many argue that it might be time to distribute the spoils more evenly to preserve the social peace

而且有許多人認為也許是時候重新更公平地分配利益以保持社會安定

There could be taxes on financial transactions, capital, land value, carbon, or even robots

可能會在財務移轉，資本，土地價值，碳，或甚至是機器人上加稅

But UBI is not necessarily expensive

但是UBI並不一定很貴

According to a recent study

根據最近的研究

a UBI of $1,000 per month in the US

在美國一份每個月1000元的UBI

Could actually grow the GDP by 12% over eight years

其實可以在8年內提高12%的GDP

because it would enable poor people to spend more and increase overall demand

因為他會促使窮人花費更多，而增加整體需求

What about the people who do the dirty work?

那些做辛苦工作的人要怎麼辦？

Who will work in the fields, crawl through sewers, or lift pianos?

誰會想要在田裡工作，清理下水道或是扛鋼琴？

If you don't need to for survival, will people still do hard boring and unfulfilling labor?

你果你不需要求生，那人們還會做困難無聊無法讓人滿足的勞動嗎？

UBI might give them enough leverage to demand better pay and working conditions

UBI也許會給他們足夠的力量要求更好的待遇以及工作條件

a study calculated that every extra dollar going to wage earners would add about $1.21 to the national economy

一份研究計算出，每個受薪階級多賺1元，就會為國家經濟增加1.21元

While every extra dollar going to high-income Americans would add only 39 cents

而每流進高收入美國人一元，只會增加39分

There would still be very rich and poor people

還是會有非常有錢跟非常窮的人

but we could eliminate fear, suffering, and existential panic for a significant part of the population

但我們可以消除大部分人口的恐懼，苦難以及存在主義恐慌

Making poor citizens better off could be a smart economic tactic

讓貧窮的市民過得更好會是一個聰明的經濟策略

For some this isn't enough. They want a UBI large enough to live a middle-class existence

對某些人來說這還不夠，他們希望UBI大到能過中產階級的生活

If we set the financial obstacle aside, this idea fundamentally challenges, how our society is constructed

如果我們把財務障礙擺在一邊，這個想法根本上地挑戰了我們的社會是如何建構的

By earning money, you earn the possibility to take part in society this determines your status and options

透過賺錢，你獲得了參與這個社會的可能性，這決定了你的狀態與選擇

But it also forces many people into spending huge chunks of their time on things they don't care about

但是它也強迫許多人花上他們大部分的時間在他們並不關心的事情上

in 2016 only 33% of US employees were engaged at work

在2016年，只有33%的美國員工樂於工作

16% were actively miserable and the remaining 51% were only physically present

16%感到痛苦不堪而剩下的51%根本心不在焉

Would 67% of people stop working if they could?

這67%的人如果他們可以的話，會停止工作嗎？

It would be unfair to portray work as just a chore

把工作描述成在做雜務是不公平的

work gives us something to do. It challenges us

工作讓我們有事可做，它挑戰我們

it motivates us to improve, it forces us to engage

它督促我們進步， 強迫我們與人接觸

Many find friends or partners at work, we work for social status wealth and our place in the world

許多人在工作時找到朋友或是夥伴，我們為了社會地位，財富與我們在世界上的位置而工作

We're looking for something to do with our lives and for many people work gives them meaning

我們都在為我們的生命尋找某些事情來做，而對某些人來說，工作給了他們意義

There are other concerns with UBI

UBI還有其他的考量

If all welfare programs were exchanged for one single payment, this gives the government a lot of leverage

如果所有的社會福利計畫都換成了單一支付，這給了政府非常大的影響力

individual programs are easier to attack or cut than a multitude

個別的計畫比起多樣的計畫比較容易被攻擊或中斷

or populist smite promise drastic changes to the UBI to get into power

或是民粹主義者會承諾大幅改變UBI以取得權力

and a universal basic income doesn't tackle all problems when it comes to equality

而且說到平等，無條件基本收入沒有解決所有的問題

Rents for example

例如租房子

while $1,000 might be great in the countryside, it's not a lot for expensive metropolitan areas

儘管1000塊錢在鄉下很不錯，但是在昂貴的都市地區卻不怎麼樣

which could lead to poor people moving outwards and the difference between rich and poor

這會導致窮人越搬越遠而使貧富差距

becoming even more extreme

變得更加極端

and of course, for some people, the concept of work itself not being essential for survival is appalling

而且當然，對某些人來說，工作本身的概念已經不是生存所必要的這件事非常駭人聽聞

Conclusion

結論

So is the universal basic income a good idea? The honest answer is that we don't know yet

所以無條件基本收入是一個好辦法嗎？說老實話，我們還不知道

There needs to be a lot more research more and bigger test runs

還需要更多的研究以及更大的實際測試

We need to think about what kind of UBI we want and what we're prepared to give up to pay for it

我們必須思考我們想要哪一種的UBI，我們準備要用什麼來支付它

The potential is huge. It might be the most promising model to sustainably eliminate poverty

這個可能性是很巨大的。它可能是最有希望可以永續消除貧窮的模型

It might seriously reduce the amount of desperation in the world and make us all much less stressed out

它可能真能減少這世上的絕望，讓我們輕鬆點

This video was made possible by a

這部影片之所以成為可能是藉由你，

Universal basic income provided by you, our viewers

我們的觀看者，提供的無條件基本收入

Ten thousand people around the world gift us a monthly income on patreon.com/Kurzgesagt

這世界上有一萬人每個月在petreon.com/Kurzgesagt上獎勵我們收入

You enable us to pay salaries and buy new hardware you enable us to make more videos

你讓我們能付薪水，還有買新的硬體，能做更多的影片

And you enable us to spend more time on them

，讓我們能花更多的時間在它們上面

Kurzgesagt would truly not be what it is today without your help

沒有你就沒有今日的我們

You help us stay independent, and you give us the freedom to put quality before quantity

你幫助我們獨立運作給我們自由去注重品質不是數量

Thank you so much

謝謝