Supreme Statement from the Kangaroo Congress of Left & Right Vehemency Factions
‘The Universal Survival Income (USI) must be sidelined at all costs because it gives both our societal factions, the Left and the Right, what we want – i.e. the Left get a no-harassment no-stigma Safety Net Income, guaranteed full-employment, the capacity for all to say ‘no’ to employers, a saved environment and universal empowerment yet the Right get freedom, labour market deregulation, vastly reduced non-GST taxes, a happy productive workforce, a massive rise in living standards and an easily balanced government budget – which, since there will no longer be anything to fight about, will drive the extinction of both our factions thereby dooming all our personal vested-interests.’
August 27, 2020
Hi
A conversation follows …
What are you bleating about? Australia isn’t at war.
Are you sure?
Do you mean with China – in a new Cold War?
That aside, Australia is also in the midst of a multi-generational civil war.
A civil war? Are you referring to the Left versus Right polarisation?
In Australia, as damaging and omnipresent as the unnecessary Left/Right class-struggle is, it is predominantly only a war of words because it has been tempered by ‘Universalism’ – i.e. we already have 3 robust versions out of the 4 Universal Empowerment Infrastructure (UEI) cornerstones with the 4th, unfortunately, an inferior Left/Right class-based substitute – that is:
- Universal Liberal Democracy – yes;
- Universal Healthcare – yes;
- Universal Education – yes;
- Universal Survival Income (USI) – no, the substitute, which may be termed ‘The Income Safety Net’ (ISN), consists of economy-wide/industry-wide minimum-wages plus various disempowered-targeted benefits, pensions, allowances and subsidies.
Universalism? Never heard of it.
Universalism recognises that, in nature, society is strongest when there is ‘society before self’ unity of purpose, direction and action.
Thus, in the Universalism paradigm, the intra-societal tug-of-war Left and Right are nonsensical.
And, despite most never having heard of Universalism, let alone understanding it, UEI cornerstones have, nevertheless, naturally evolved because they are prerequisites for a post-Industrial Revolution society achieving the natural goal of:
‘maximising sustainable stability-prosperity’.
‘Sustainable stability-prosperity’?
Yes, consisting of 3 segments – Socio-Econo-Enviro- (SEE) – it can only be holistically achieved via:
Maximising citizens’ earnestness and capacity to, natural-morality, put ‘Society Before Self’.
Society before self – stuff that – why should I care about every other ratbag? – I’m out for number 1 – MNOGA – Make Number One Great Again!
As I was saying, instead of automatically achieving ‘sustainable stability-prosperity’, we are yet to blossom out of the relatively uncivilised 18th century Left/Right paradigm, which explains why our SEE catastrophes have, first, evolved and, second, continue exponentiating.
I didn’t come down in the last shower – you trying to tell me all our problems are self-inflicted and it’s all the Left/Right’s fault?
Specifically, the Left focuses on fairness and compassion, which are proxies for ‘stability’, and the Right focuses on opportunity and freedom, which are proxies for ‘prosperity’.
In this way, framing each other’s policies as ‘wrong’, collectively, they ensure Marx’s predicted, yet unnecessary, ‘perpetual class struggle’ continues.
To complete the Left/Right war (of words) analogy, Centrists duck-and-weave like high-minded diplomats suddenly stuck in the middle of a firefight.
Regarding Universalism, however, via Universal Empowerment, it eclipses the entire Left/Right intra-societal-conflict paradigm such that civility (unity) is, at last, achieved.
Rather grandiose and romanticised, isn’t it? Anyway, getting back to the supposed Aussie Civil War, if not Left versus Right, are you referring to non-indigenous versus indigenous – i.e. BLM and all that hoo-hah?
No, much broader than that, though ‘Closing the Gap’ does cut across it such that, lamentably, the core issue is often erroneously conflated with racism as it is also often erroneously conflated with other forms of snobbery pertaining to class, identity, culture, religion etc.
Okay, what then – time is money and I, like the rest of the readers, haven’t got all day to listen to you waffle-on like the lead-cockatoo at the Back of Beyond Pub?
The Australian Civil War is between the empowered – both Left and Right in combative coalition – and the disempowered – i.e. the marginalised, the persecuted, the trapped and the banished whose Left or Right allegiance is, due to their powerlessness, predominantly immaterial.
Huh, the empowered and disempowered are shooting at each other, are they?
No, but there is enormous unnecessary suffering including injury, illness and death, which is occurring indirectly via government-implemented non-optimal societal-systems.
Aagh, give us a break … alright, I’ll bite – what government-implemented non-optimal societal-doodahs?
As mentioned, in our modern ‘first-world’ Australian society, we already have 3 bona fide versions out of 4 of the ‘sustainable stability-prosperity’-maximising Universal Empowerment Infrastructure’s (UEI) cornerstones; however, The Universal Survival Income’s (USI) absence is the mother of our remaining non-optimal societal-systems.
But, why on crocodile do we need The USI – after all, what’s so wrong with the Income Safety Net (ISN) substitute? It’s good enough, isn’t it?
On the one hand, it’s better than nothing yet, on the other, it’s insidiously destructive – i.e. it alone is sabotaging our ‘sustainable stability-prosperity’ via causing literally all our exponentiating Socio-Econo-Enviro- (SEE) catastrophes.
What? Get a grip mate – you’re sounding unhinged.
Our Income Safety Net’s foundational and principal pillar is macroeconomic-minimum-wages – i.e. economy-wide and industry-wide minimum-wages as opposed to enterprise-specific (microeconomic) minimum-wages.
Oy, you better stop right there while I jam some food for thought down your throat – Australian workers have expended their blood, sweat and tears struggling and fighting their guts out for minimum-wages – so, how can that be the problem?
The history behind macro-minimum-wages is understandable, even admirable, which explains our substantial emotional attachment to them; however, the core problems precipitating their implementation were:
- The need for all citizens to receive their Personal Survival Income (PSI); and,
- Due to the Industrial Revolution, as bartering subsistence-farmers became money-earning machinists, they lost direct control over their PSI – for example, if they were hungry, they no longer had a chook on hand they could butcher.
That is, whereas The USI universally and unconditionally ensures everyone receives their Personal Survival Income (PSI), minimum-wages is only for those currently working.
Moreover, macro-minimum-wages create unemployment – an abnormality we consider normal because, due to our traditionally regulated labour market, we’ve never known anything else.
Also, unemployment created a massive paid-worker/non-paid-worker fissure.
You’re babbling again – what’s wrong with a little unemployment – most have paid-work – I’ve got paid-work?
Since not everyone received their Personal Survival Income (PSI), there arose, what those at the Back of Beyond Pub may call, ‘The Add-On Orgy’ of inefficient gap-ridden means-tested stigma-manufacturing disempowered-targeted benefits, which, in turn, spawns ‘The Side-Issue Orgy’ of environment, social, economic and sovereignty destructive abominations such as:
- ‘Raise the Rate’ (RtR) – i.e. raise the means-testing wastage and the incentive for governments to increase their mental-illness causing harassment (repeat);
- ‘The Job Guarantee’ (JG) – i.e. tax into oblivion the comparatively productive and trash the exchange rate (repeat); and,
- ‘(not so) Modern Monetary Theory’ (MMT) – yes, inflation can be taxed into check but, nevertheless, MMT will systematically unleash government financial ill-discipline and, consequently, inefficiency and corruption.
In sum, The Add-On Orgy, which is supposed to (but doesn’t) guarantee everyone efficiently receives their Personal Survival Income (PSI), and The Side-Issue Orgy, which is supposed to (but won’t) fix all the various own-goal problems can, collectively, be termed ‘The Complexity Orgy’.
Mmm, an orgy of orgies – what could be better?
Well, there are plenty of Left/Right swingers in the Jacuzzi – the social service industry, trade-unions, ‘think’-tanks, journalists, economists, business-people, mental-health experts, industrial relations legalists, politicians, MNOGA’s etc.
‘Complexity swingers’?
That’s one way of putting it.
The problem is, due to our emotional attachment, macro-minimum-wages act as an ‘evolutional block’, which means, unlike the other 3 UEI cornerstones, it cannot, independent of a human narrative, evolve, which means the topic must first be intellectualised so it can then be circulated, accepted and, ultimately, manually-implemented.
Intellectualised? That’s one hell of an up-Kosci barrow-pushing exercise. How’s that likely when the Lefty-and-Righty darlings are each tranced-out baying for each other’s blood?
Perhaps ‘The Dance of Dystopia’ needs detailing.
Starting in the 18th century, the Right advanced prosperity but also persecuted workers in their factories then the Left created minimum wages then the Right created unemployment then the Left created disempowered-targeted benefits then the Right harassed the benefit recipients (unless they were for industry or the wealthy) – for example, called one segment ‘dole-bludgers’ and kept raising the hoops – then, particularly via the Public Service, the Left raised taxes and implemented the inefficient jobs-for-jobs’-sake strategy.
Now, here we are, with the next even more extreme movements imminent.
So, what should we do?
Inclusive within Universalism is the concept of government’s role being to eschew the ad-hoc in favour of universal systems or what, in its fullest-form, may be termed ‘infrastructure’.
Specifically, the optimal ‘sustainable stability-prosperity’ way of universally provisioning Survival Income is via implementing the following 4 universal systems:
- The Universal Survival Income (USI) ($20,000 a year for non-jailed in-country adult citizens and $5,000 for a child’s guardian/s);
- Expand the current gap-ridden 10% GST to a 20% full-breadth GST;
- Deregulate the labour market; and,
- Disband Centrelink and the contracts of ‘employment services providers’.
But, how can we afford this streamlining-USI?
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, our productivity per worker has increased 1000+ fold and is still exponentiating so we can easily ‘afford’ it.
That there is doubt about this is indicative of how inefficient our current – Left hauling one way and Right heaving the other – system is and how much it wastes.
Actually, with Universalism ironing-out the inefficiencies, our prosperity will, at least, double.
Is that surprising when we know we are all multi-dimensionally pulling in different directions – i.e. the MNOGA-obsessed individually, the identity-obsessed by their micro-group and the class-obsessed by their mega-group?
So, with our prosperity doubled, there’s no need to, for instance, worry too much over the current accumulating Covid-19 related national debt.
Fair enough – so the empowered aren’t meaning to hurt the disempowered but are inadvertently doing it through non-optimal societal-systems?
Yes, the empowered are predominantly unaware that, due to our systems, the disempowered are being, first, created and, then, ongoingly attacked.
Furthermore, for the most part, the empowered have no idea we can easily and without sacrifice (bar the emotional disentanglement from macro-minimum-wages and the petty Left/Right concerns over citizens ‘getting something for nothing’, ‘getting it when they are lazy’ or ‘getting it when they are rich’) achieve Universal Empowerment, which will, via vastly increasing society’s ‘sustainable stability-prosperity’, even make the lives of the presently empowered better – i.e. a win-win.
The key is, not to concentrate on artificially ‘Closing the Disempowerment Gap’ but to vanquish disempowerment by implementing natural Universal Empowerment systems.
Thus, Universalism, just as it makes Left and Right redundant, also makes ‘Closing the Gap’ redundant.
Hang-on a jiffy – you’re saying, the disempowered are being continually attacked by society’s own systems, which are acting, autonomously, independent of the empowered – it sounds akin to science fiction, as if robots are attacking the disempowered?
Yes, the disempowered are forced to defend themselves, not so much directly against the empowered (notwithstanding the empowerees’ oft prejudice) but against the empowerees’ systems – for example, even though unemployment is a consequence of macro-minimum-wages, ‘employment service providers’ are paid by the government to harass the unemployed, which is entirely socially acceptable because those without paid-work are widely designated as ‘dole-bludgers’.
So, it’s the empowered, via the systems they have created and are perpetuating, who are the problem? But, how can that be? They’re the good ones. After all, they’re the pillars of our society, the respectable and the ones who deserve to be looked-up to – they have jobs, they work hard and they pay taxes.
‘They’re the lifters not the leaners’.
Yes, but nevertheless, with the empowered (both Leftists and Rightists) the guardians of our disempowerment-systems, in order to save the disempowered, the empowered must first be saved from their Left/Right paradigm.
Alright, smarty pants, if no one recognises there’s a war, let alone that The USI will deliver peace, how are we going to get The USI – i.e. who’s going to advocate for it?
Medic-charities.
Medic-charities – what the frisbee is a medic-charity?
Medic-charities are those select 1-percenter charities who don’t just give but who focus on transporting themselves to the frontline and ongoingly engaging with the long-term disempowered.
These invariably Christian medic-charities consist of a particularly special group of compassionate, brave, stoic, humble, patient, committed, practical and talented humans who go to where the battle is being waged and set up ‘field-hospitals’ to tend the, variously, wounded, ill and dying.
They give respite to the disempowered, which allows the disempowered to continue their wretched struggle against society’s systems.
But these medic-charities are too busy to focus on agitating for The USI and, when working, it is critical they are in the moment totally focusing on directly assisting the disempowered individuals physically standing, sitting or lying in front of them.
True – alas, amongst the empowered, they are perhaps unique in understanding that disempowerment’s existence is not the choice of the person suffering it but a choice of the empowered.
Moreover, they are enormously respected and have enormous credibility amongst the empowered such that, if they resolutely knock, even the most empowered of the empowered will open their castle fortresses and, in good faith, listen to them.
Isn’t there another way? Can’t others do it?
Humanity’s future depends on The USI because it is its absence that is causing our exponentiating Socio-Econo-Enviro- (SEE) calamities, which impact the disempowered most, yet it’s as though there is a conspiracy of silence as:
- No journalist let alone media outlet deeply analyses it (‘same old same old’);
- No political party, which are all invariably Left/Right manifestations, has The USI as its signature policy;
- Not a single well-known businessperson let alone business organisation is overtly considering it, even though they will benefit from labour market deregulation and lower non-GST taxes;
- Not a single trade-union is advancing it, even though it will do more for workers and their families than all the previous two-hundred plus years of add-on ‘fair work’ legislation put together;
- No think-tank is advocating it;
- No elder statesperson has yet got their head around it; and
- Not even a single charity is promoting it, even though … (let’s not start with this).
So, there is no alternative – medic-charities, in addition to their other duties, must also, at least until there is traction, disproportionately pick-up and carry this load.
But their skills are working with the disempowered – they’re not politicians.
Once again, true; however, their greatest potential gift to the disempowered is this indirect one of assisting in eradicating our disempowerment-creating-systems.
As they certainly know, ‘pre-emption is better than treatment or even cure’.
So, they can either, exclusively, keep doing what they are doing, which no matter their commitment and undoubted talents will not hold-back the rising disempowerment tsunami, or they can also prioritise a little time and find a way to simultaneously advance The USI.
After all, a recurrent theme of history is people, no matter the toll of their existing responsibilities, accepting the duty of exiting their comfort-zone rut and taking on the for-the-era-relevant ‘society before self’ challenge.
What, a few aid-worker medics who, currently, are as quiet as a mouse on this issue and probably don’t want to be political, are going to change all the vested-interests?
That’s right.
But, even if that’s theoretically possible, why would they bother?
Because they, more than anyone, see the disempowered as people who are suffering and doing so unnecessarily;
because they are perpetually exposed to the damage being done;
because they are the real ‘get-your-hands-dirty’ deal;
because they know when one is bootless, one cannot ‘pull oneself up by one’s bootlaces’;
because they, more than anyone, recognise more of the same Band-Aiding resources – if that were even possible – still won’t cut it;
because they understand, it doesn’t matter how many wounds are patched up, how many ill ‘recover’ or how many deaths are prevented (or, occur), that won’t stop the war;
because, demonstrably, no one cares more than them and, in many cases, they care more about the disempowered than they do about themselves, which means they’re not afraid of ‘sticking their necks out’ or risking ‘making a fool of themselves’ if it may help;
because, in their soul, they know society is dilly-daddling and we need a Big Picture solution;
because The USI is the ultimate one-off set-and-forget empowerment policy;
because working toward ending Australia’s Civil War is far simpler than what they’re already doing;
because it is precisely their incredible ‘no matter what it takes’ power that, on this issue, is most required;
because the window to potential change – though not gaping – has, for 260 years, never been more open;
because with multi-dimensional Socio-Econo-Enviro- (SEE) apocalypse approaching, if not now, in many respects, it will nigh be too late;
because ‘society before self’ is the behaviouralisation of universal love;
because The USI is the ultimate ‘love over hate’ infrastructure;
because Jesus – whether the son of God or not – was political; and,
because, if not them then who?
Alright alright already – take a breath or ten – … specifically, who are needed?
Specifically, people like The Wayside Chapel Pastor & CEO Jon Owen who, as well as being a national treasure, also writes weekly letters that are gems – below is an example – The CDO has suggested he put them together as ‘for sale’ yearbooks – what’s your opinion?
…
August 20, 2020
Dear Inner Circle,
There are two things that ruin intimate relationships. The first is too much distance, and the second is not enough distance. How many times have good relationships ended with the pronouncement, “We just drifted apart”? What could be easier than drifting apart in a world where the pressure to survive, study, work, pay the bills, rent and mortgage plus raise the kids and so much more, keeps us preoccupied and busy solving problems while creating problems for the person who was once the love of our lives?
There is a point of no return and to reverse the drift, we must make time, especially for conversation. But intimacy is killed just as completely when we are too close. Others can be so close that we no longer see them. They can become like the inside of the eyelid. You know it’s there, but you don’t see it or feel it unless there is a serious problem. It’s hard to see those who are closest to us. Sometimes we must increase the distance in order to see them again. Husbands and wives need their own friends and their own hobbies, not to the point that the distance is too great, but to provide enough distance to make a relationship possible. The hardest people to love are those who are closest, mostly because we can’t see them; we tend to see only our own version of who they are. We’re looking into our heads not at the person as they are in front of us. Intimacy requires constant adjustment, a constant movement away from, and back into closeness again. In this age of painful social distancing, perhaps there is an opportunity for us to step back and see the real person again. To see afresh, behold them in wonder, free of our own interpretations and our own constructed ideals and images. This is a chance to heal relationships. Perhaps now we have room to see that mostly what annoyed us, are qualities that we least like in ourselves? Use this season to adjust your distance and the lense with which you see the people you know and love. You may be the one that is surprised.
Our volunteers are missing Wayside’s community life as much as our staff and visitors. I regularly bump into volunteers in the street who ask hopefully about when some semblance of normality will return. It’s lovely when these connections take place and they often come with stories that are little gems that I probably would have missed in ordinary times. One young volunteer who has been married for just over a year, told me that she’d been out with friends and arriving home around 2am. Not far from her house, she came across a dog who had sadly been run over. This young woman adores animals and so she stopped the car, put on her hazard lights and froze in a mix of panic and grief. She phoned her husband who’d been long asleep and tearfully told him about the dog on the road. When he arrived, she’d already anticipated making contact with the owners and then worried that they would think that she’d been the one who’d flattened their beloved dog. The husband examined the deceased animal and came back to the car. “I love you” he said, “but I’m not moving that dead possum off the road.” The care that our volunteers put towards all other beings, great and small, should never be underestimated!
I wanted to let you all know that Wayside’s Op Shops have now gone online! As you know many of our usual operations and fundraising streams have been suspended in recent times due to physical distancing requirements including our physical op shops. If you are looking for a way to support us, you can now buy eclectic, affordable, and ethical fashion online at thewaysidechapelopshop.com knowing that every dollar spent will be going back to Wayside Chapel to help support the people in our community who need it most.
Finally, a dear old fellow who has devoted his life to the discipline of drinking alcohol was hanging around the front of Wayside today. Our staff encourage people not to hang around in these crazy COVID days but I hadn’t seen this fellow in a couple of years and so I greeted him warmly only to have him yell at me. “Stay away from me! At least two metres”. I lowered my face mask and suddenly he recognised me. I was impressed by his vigilance, but wondered just how many people with dark skin, wearing a Wayside jumper look like me around here? It was a nice encounter all the same.
Thanks for being part of our Inner Circle,
Jon
Jon Owen
Pastor & CEO
Wayside Chapel
…
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In the next Universalist instalment: a template for a potential ‘Sustainable Stability-Prosperity Maximising’ political party.
Thank you.
Best regards
Paul Ross
Founder
The Universal Empowerment Organisation (UEO) Australia
The Citizen’s Dividend Organisation (CDO) Australia
https://citizens-dividend.org/
https://www.facebook.com/paul.ross.798
https://twitter.com/paulross2
Humanity is being confronted by a perfect storm of Socio-Econo-Enviro- (SEE) Catastrophes including:
1. Social:
a. Internal: mental illness, domestic violence, drug & alcohol abuse etc.
b. External: our weaknesses boost Democracy’s enemies, which is currently enhancing international rivalry such as with China, Russia, North Korea and Iran;
2. Economic: absolute poverty, relative income inequality, unemployment, homelessness etc.; and,
3. Environmental: ecosystem destruction, species extinction, human population explosion, plastic islands, climate change etc.
Hypothesis: This is due to a single foundational ‘Society-Individual Interface’ contradiction whose deleterious effects are cascading through every facet of society.
The relevant contradiction is the partial absence of the natural-morality-derived ‘Universal Empowerment Infrastructure’ (UEI), which consists of the four cornerstones:
- Universal Liberal Democracy – [In Australia] Yes;
- Universal Healthcare – Yes;
- Universal Education – Yes;
- Universal Basic/Survival Income (UBI/USI) – No, not yet.
The Socio-Econo-Environment-Harmonising Universal Survival Income (USI):It’s not that it is the solution;
It’s that its absence is the problem.
The Taxpayer-to-Citizen-Transfer [Note: Unlike the Current System, this is not a ‘cost’ but a ‘transfer’.]Around $20,000 per year x 18 million (non-incarcerated in-country adult Australian citizens) + $5,000 x 4.5 million (children) = $386 billion (2018 figures).
This may be achieved by:
1. Reallocating $150 billion of the $175 billion Social Services budget (yes, we are already spending half of what we need), which still leaves $25 billion to top up pensions and disability payments;
2. Abolishment of the Tax-Free Threshold ($35 billion); and,
3. Insertion of a 20% full-breadth GST (no – it’s not regressive if the disempowered are net beneficiaries; also, the wealthy and multinationals’ capacity to avoid a GST is particularly limited), which results in $200 billion minus $60 billion (from the current 10% gap-ridden GST) equaling an additional $140 billion.
In addition to this $325 billion total, there will be massive human-capital, efficiency, societal-involvement and trust gains, which means, not only is the USI easily afforded, we will be, at least, twice as prosperous such that it will amount to a win-win-win in which all community segments – the wealthy; the middle-class; and, the currently disempowered – all win.
In the process, the economy will also be transformed from an ‘environment-destroying jobs-for-jobs’-sake’ ‘own-goal’ one to ‘an efficient production of goods and services we desire’ one.
Then, there is the massive permeating benefit of achieving full-employment.
That is, with everyone both taken care of and invested with the freedom to say ‘no’ to an employer plus the rectification of the present social-status premium on paid-work over unpaid-work, which will dissipate the stigma of not having paid-work, this means there will be a massive flow of power to the disempowered and working classes, which will result in a workers’ paradise.
Yet, this workers’ paradise will enable significant labour-market deregulation (i.e. everyone is already being looked after so, while we may continue to feel an emotional attachment to, for instance, economy-wide minimum-wages, in practice, there will no longer be a need for them).
And, this means our (pre-Covid-19) 5.7 million volunteers can get paid something and our young, elderly, relatively unskilled, disabled, unpaid-carers, 600,000+ unemployed and 1.1 million+ underemployed can, if they desire, get paid-work (or, more work) and, generally, there is full-employment such that ‘anyone who, at the going rate, wants a job, can get one’.
In addition, the USI will eradicate the current welfare-to-paid-work distortion where there is a disincentive to acquire paid-work because, in doing so, one loses one’s welfare.
Furthermore, full-employment will result in wages and conditions being bid-up.
And yet, business, as well as benefiting from deregulation, rather than having to tolerate the current crop of unhappy conscripts, will benefit from an army of volunteer workers, which given, with regard to morale and productivity, ‘one bad apple spoils the barrel’, will deliver massive productivity efficiencies.
This means our tradables’ sector – especially manufacturing – will roar back to life.
The Citizen’s Dividend Organisation’s Commitment (August 1, 2019):
1. Short-term (interim) – At the 2022 Australian Federal Election (unlike in 2019), at least one registered political party will have the USI as its signature policy such that the USI is an election issue; and,
2. Medium-term (end) – At the 2025 Australian Federal Election, the winner has a mandate for the implementation of a USI, which it then prosecutes.
Without The Universal Survival Income (USI),
It’s Impossible to Save the Environment.