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PaperclipPerfector  7d ago (text post)   2515 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 11, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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That depends on whether you are asking "How much can we afford to guarantee everyone as a minimum?" or "How little can we get away with guaranteeing everyone as a minimum?".

If you are asking the former, and increasing it as society produces more and automation advances, such that people can expect that the minimum 20-30 years from now will be less unpleasant, you might have statistically-significantly more than a snowball's chance in hell of it working.

If you are asking the latter, you will signal that you would let them starve to death if you thought you could get away with it, and it will not end well for you.

For this was the sin of thy sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness were in her and her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. --Ezekiel 16:49

The men of Sodom had abundant creature comforts, with little toil, for themselves; but refused to share those benefits with their neighbours.

The mills of G-d grind slow, but they grind exceeding small.

I'd like to make it clear that I don't endorse this idea. It's more of a question of what happens when the system starts to break to the point that a sizable portion of the population can no longer engage with it.

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