this post was submitted on 05 Oct 2026
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Showerthoughts
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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.
Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:
- Both “200” and “160” are 2 minutes in microwave math
- When you’re a kid, you don’t realize you’re also watching your mom and dad grow up.
- More dreams have been destroyed by alarm clocks than anything else
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That would require that it come with UBI, which... seems doubtful at best...
I don't even think UBI is a solution. It's basically a cast system with extra steps. What we need is violent nationalization of any company with more than a handful of employees. We won't get what we need though.
Capitalism is already a caste system. UBI would just ensure the lowest rungs don't starve or lack housing/healthcare/other essentials.
Not sure how you're connecting "UBI → caste system," so you'll need to show your work on that one.
If we can fix our government so that it actually works for the people instead of the corporations, then I'd say we should nationalize every publicly-traded company, install price controls, use the revenue to fund UBI, civic infrastructure, and social assistance programs; and then balance the sheets so that each company barely breaks even without extracting any profits. That can all be done without violence.
Your "violent nationalization" sounds poorly thought out. How do you go from "violence → nationalization"? I don't really see a logical progression from A to B.
And what about C, as in, what comes after that? Okay, you nationalized the companies. Now what, who controls it? The government? What happens if people keep electing corrupt officials? And what benefit will nationalization do if you're against UBI anyway?
And that's all without even touching on the vagueness of "any company with more than a handful of employees." How do you define that? An LLC with 6 or more employees? That could include most mom&pop shops. So you just want to murder old people and take their livelihoods, entrust it to the state, and what, profit?
I mean violent both because violence would probably be needed and because it would need to be done at great speed.
Currently, there's a clear path to go from poverty to middle class. It's easier for some depending right now but not an impossibility. If jobs become a luxury, there won't be a middle class.
Rapid job loss + UBI doesn't lead to anything except rich people lording over the rest of us. Granted that's already the case, but UBI doesn't solve much currently. We have welfare to take care of the bottom rungs, we need to level the playing field so there isn't much rungs about it.
No, clearly, I don't mean mom&pop shops. It would be more apt to go with profits I guess, past a certain level, you get a medal and your company gets nationalized.
That's basically what I'm trying to say, but UBI alone is basically a bandage that hides the wound and stops a minimum of bleeding. Imo, it's more of a trap then anything else. Something to pacify the masses once it gets bad so the rich can keep their game going.
Rapid job loss with no UBI leads to the same thing but worse. I'm not saying we should rely on their generosity. The government should tax the fuck out of them and find an equitable way to distribute the UBI, because ultimately those funds are just what the wealthy oligarchs extracted from society to begin with.
We do? Where do you live, the Nordics? My country doesn't currently take care of the bottom rungs at all...
And UBI would be one piece of that, I'm not saying it alone would solve everything. But if the job market shrinks because corpos automate everything and lay off the majority of their employees, then UBI will become not only necessary but also feasible in a way that it wasn't pre-automation.
I'm not suggesting it as a standalone stopgap measure. It should certainly be one part of a more comprehensive reformation of how the economy is structured. But if they're going to replace all the jobs with machines, then they're going to need to guarantee everyone a livelihood or else "pacifying the masses" will be the least of our worries, unless you mean it in the more euphemistic and gruesome sense...
Ya I get you and all. It's mostly that UBI can be used by the mega rich to stay in power and keep pilfering. It's much harder to do with the other options. The state owning all big businesses would naturally lead to UBI if major job losses occur but the same isn't true the other way around. There's a very real chance UBI leads straight to dystopia.
Welfare isn't working because it was never protected and never tied to inflation. The same will most likely be done with UBI. They just have to wait and cause inflation to turn UBI into "barely enough", just so they can buy bigger boats. I see it as a trap is all.
It's so easy for people to take the check and thank them, just to find themselves subsisting 10 years later. I legit think there is danger in it.