Automation . Republicans and corporate Democrats who support corporate policies like free trade . <| sep |> I ' m about to get really immature with this comment the sky is sparkly . <| sep |> I ' ll take the ditto ! <| sep |> Some thoughts for OP , based on what I ' ve read in the comments wondering what you ' d think . What about a tiered systemThose who continue to work in the positions which cannot be automated maybe education and healthcare , for example have the ultimate freedom , very high pay , and access to the best of luxuries . Those who choose not to work or do anything productive at all , maybe just live off TV and games get the most basic income to supply their absolute needs , and a tiny entertainment allowance that they might use to either frequently spend on tastier food , going to the theatern or by saving up for a vacation once a year . Then you have individuals in the middle . For each item of art produced which is purchased or deemed worthyto avoid people submitting literal trash and claiming art , they gain access to another luxury item or benefit . Maybe there are other options other than artsuch as sports or volunteering , or helping to raise orphans which would gain these incentives . So you now have a spectrum , and there are incentives for those who don ' t want to work but wish to still be productive in society . The more they produce , the more benefits they gain . My most controversial thoughts would be the right to vote or have children . If one wishes to be a literal drain on society without any sort of production or contribution , then maybe they would have to take birth control to receive their income . If they were to wish to change and become a contributing member , they would no longer be required to take the birth control . Similarly , there should be a certain level of production before being able to vote , in order to further incentivize production and avoid the minority of workers from having their advantages removed . Voting and reproduction become rights which must be earned in a postproductive society as opposed to our modern capitalist democratic yet still meritocratic society . I don ' t think its that horrible to think that the couch potatoes shouldn ' t pass on their aspirations to their children , unless we progress to a society where children are raised as a societal group separate from a nuclear family . Maybe those last ideas are way too revolutionary , but so is basic income they both exist in a distant future where society is apparently completely different . Yeah it reeks of 1984 or Brave New World , but maybe there is a certain requisite level of dystopia that is necessary but we don ' t understand it yet because the future will be built upon such different and unimaginable standards and needs compared to present day . Of course maybe my thoughts are for a future hundreds of years away I am a fan of scifi so thats just my perception of the future . For what its worth I think BI is a good idea in theory , but on a large scale not realistically obtainablelike communism as the amount of automation necessary would require so many resources that our planet can ' t provide without a massive reduction in population .