Friday, March 17, 2017

Some items I consider basic human rights, each discussed in six words or less:

Some items I consider basic human rights, each discussed in six words or less:
-- automatic optional taxes completed by IRS
-- national bank accounts for all
-- free health care for all
-- voting rights for all
-- minimum basic income for all
-- free wireless internet for all
-- free nexus 5's for all
-- unabridged right to travel
-- free universal state ID for all

What would you add to this list? What on hear does not seem like a basic human right?

20 comments:

  1. Why the nexus 5 specifically?

    I might add death with dignity.

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  2. Kimberley Lam That's probably way too specific. Its the phone in my pocket, mine is verginig on three years old, blah.

    Basically, I mean to say that we can't be guaranteed the best phone, but we sure as shit should be guaranteed a phone that gets the job done. Where "the job" is broadly defined.

    That's a good one too add, for sure!

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  3. Clean water for all
    Sufficient nutritous food for all

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  4. Free childcare for all
    Free education for all
    Free basic nutrition along with the above

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  5. Safety from oppression
    Safety from the elements

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  6. On wi-fi and a terminal to use it, the Betan Bill of Rights asserts "the right of a citizen to freely access public information will not be abridged."

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  7. Tony Lower-Basch Is that real or fiction? Google is not being helpful.

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  8. It's fiction, from Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga.

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  9. Tony Lower-Basch Is Beguilement a good place to start in the series?

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  10. Nahhh... start with Barrayar, then figure out whether you like it enough to solicit further recommendations.

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  11. Amazon Prime free 2-day delivery.

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  12. William: Sam might have been suggesting a method for getting immediate access to the book we were discussing, rather than a fundamental human right. Context makes it unclear.

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  13. William Nichols -- I'll speak in favor of reading anything by Bujold. Really.

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  14. Is it any stranger than pre-filled taxes or a nexus 5?

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  15. Sam Zeitlin: To my mind very different, yes. Pre-filled taxes speaks to equalizing participation in supporting civic society (particularly in saying that access to a fair accounting should not be something contingent upon having the resources to do that accounting yourself). Access to the information ecology in some form (whether Nexus X or some future, presumably far superior, terminal) is a basic requirement to equalize access to education, civic action, and economic opportunity. I'm not sure what sort of similar category you see free consumer shipping falling into, but I'd be happy to listen.

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  16. Sam Zeitlin As said, Nexus 5 is probably overly specific. In particular, a pretty good means of accessing and using the internet. I doubt I need to speak to the powers and capabilities we get from using our phones, and I want this for everyone.

    Pre-filled taxes -- it'd actually be cheaper for everyone if the IRS did it, and they want to. They can't because Intuit. I'd like to see all of these mandatory things made to require as little of my time as possible, and think doing so is fundamental to the point of a government.

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