Utopian Payment Model Rocks
This chapter explains why the Utopian Payment Model is significantly better than all existing implementations of the idea of "the society helping its citizens" combined. Note that the Utopian Payment Model was designed to assist in paying for essentials where needed. But, the benefits go well beyond just providing the assistance.
Here is an outline of what you will find in the following sections:
The Utopian Payment Model "Supports and Empowers" every citizen individually. This means that for any citizen who is having a malfunctioning relationship with their employer or spouse or parents, that problematic relationship does not impact the citizen's financial means to support themselves in at least the essentials. They can abandon the relationship without worrying about paying for essentials.
The Utopian Payment Model provides citizens with "Freedom from Anxieties" associated with the numerous financial adversities a citizen could potentially face. The Utopian Payment Model renders poverty powerless. This is illustrated with several examples.
If a citizen faces some adversity and financial distress due to that adversity, then all that still does not impact their ability to procure essentials. All that matters is that they need financial help for essentials, and that help is given. The Utopian Payment Model is "The Ultimate Insurance" against financial adversity, regardless of the cause of the adversity.
Finally, we discuss how the presence of the Utopian Payment Model enables citizens in their "Pursuit of Good Life and Happiness".
Supports and Empowers
Currently, some employers provide their employees pensions and others don't. Someone working for an employer who does not provide a pension can feel envious or jealous of those whose employer provides such pensions. We may even consider it unfair that they get this benefit, but we don't. With the Utopian Payment Model applied for all essentials, our pain associated with this unfairness and jealousy is greatly reduced. Not having that pension does not adversely impact our future.
In a life-partner relationship, if one of the partners is abusive, the other partner can easily say "I'm done with you!" without having to think about the financial consequences of such a decision because essentials are always affordable for all. No one would feel trapped in such relationships for fear of the financial consequences of getting out of that relationship.
If an employer is mistreating us, we can simply say "I Quit!"; we can afford to; we don't have to wait around till we find the next job. If our manager is making unreasonable demands, we can say "That's unreasonable, I Quit!". If our manager is not fair in dealing with all his or her employees, those who think they have been unfairly treated can quit, as they do not have to worry about how they are going to provide for essentials till they find the next job. Even if our manager is not unreasonable, but we don't like him or her, we can say "I quit, we are not a good fit!"
The presence of the Utopian Payment Model compels employers to treat employees well or else they risk losing their employees and as a consequence harm their own business. That is because an employee can simply quit without having a fear of the consequences of lost wages and hence scarcity of wealth and all its ill effects. It puts an end to wage slavery, employer abuse and unfair treatment of employees. The Utopian Payment Model alone is capable of eliminating many undesirable aspects of the employer-employee relationship.
Freedom From Anxieties
The Utopian Payment Model gives citizens significant freedom from anxiety. Here are some examples:
Anxiety related to losing one's life partner is reduced from a financial perspective, as essentials are secure at all times.
Anxiety related to losing one's financial supporter is reduced or eliminated as essentials are secure at all times. It is reduced if the financial supporter is currently very generous or wealthy. It is eliminated if the financial supporter is very miserly or not wealthy.
Anxiety related to making wrong financial decisions and having lasting effects on finances is eliminated because essentials are secure at all times.
Anxiety related to financial misfortune is eliminated because essentials are secure at all times.
Anxiety related to an inability to work and earn money if one gets disabled is eliminated because essentials are secure at all times.
Anxiety related to getting fired or getting laid off is eliminated because essentials are secure at all times.
Even if a person stays unemployed for a prolonged period of time, the person will not have trouble satisfying his or her own essential needs. There is no anxiety related to a possibility of a prolonged period of unemployment for any citizen.
Because the Utopian Payment Model pays for only the essentials for those who have very little wealth, it still ensures that all these people retain their desire to work and earn money to provide for other comforts, conveniences and luxuries.
When people have retirement savings more than needed for essentials, then they will manage to have a better than minimum acceptable standard of living even in retirement. People can take risk with their investments and even if such risk taking produces adverse results, it will still not jeopardize their minimal standard of living in retirement. Anxiety related to having insufficient savings for retirement is eliminated because essentials are secure even in retirement.
The Utopian Payment Model takes away the pain associated with lack of wealth. The Utopian Payment Model renders poverty powerless.
The Ultimate Insurance
The Utopian Payment Model does not ask why you have less than average wealth before it helps you. It does not ask that question even after it provides the help. It just helps those who need help.
One may have very little wealth due to any number of reasons. But the end result of that scarcity of wealth is a reduction in quality of life below a level that most people would not choose for themselves. Utopian Payment Model helps pay for all essentials when wealth becomes scarce for any of the following reasons: ill health, accidents, loss of provider of a family, loss of employment, loss of ability, intrinsic inability, old age, etc. This help is not limited to the reasons that we can think about. It can deal with any such reason that we have not thought about explicitly.
Implementing the Utopian Payment Model makes the system of providing financial assistance fair. This is because its criteria is lack of wealth; not the reason for lack of wealth. It helps every person who is in need of such help, regardless of what prior events led to the scarcity of wealth.
Implementing the Utopian Payment Model immensely simplifies social systems that provide financial assistance.
As we progress closer towards Utopia, we will realize that everything can be classified as essential and the cumulative limit to paying for them using the Utopian Payment Model is half of all the spending of someone with average amount of wealth, with 2 exceptions. These exceptions are healthcare and education, for which there are no limits. The limit for everything else would be half of average spending, rather than the entire average spending, to distinguish between needs and wants at a very broad level. This way, society does not need to pass a subjective judgment on what is an essential need and what is not an essential need and what is a want; at the same time, it makes individuals responsible in satisfying their needs and wants to the best of their abilities; and yet provides assistance to those who need it.
Thus, the Utopian Payment Model is the ultimate insurance against financial adversity, regardless of the cause of the adversity. Utopian Payment Model is the insurance against poverty regardless of its causes.
Pursuit of Good Life and Happiness
With most anxieties eliminated or reduced and with essentials secured for all, life does not remain a struggle for survival; life does not remain an endeavor to merely support oneself.
People don't have to spend enormous time and effort creating a "backup plan" for the future. The Utopian Payment Model ensures that every citizen can satisfy his or her essential needs even when they do not have wealth. This reduces the intensity and urgency of accumulating wealth. One of the reasons why people focus on money and get greedy is because they are trying to satisfy their future needs and wants. A citizen does not have to be greedy in order to satisfy future needs.
People can do the things they like. Money stops being the main criteria in choosing a profession. People don't have to take safe bets with their professions and careers.
Choosing the initial career path poorly does not set a person back in a negative territory. It merely places the person back to a neutral situation where his or her essential needs are never in jeopardy. From such a neutral position, the person can start afresh, take efforts, make better choices and have a good life and happiness.
Elimination of all these anxieties frees our mind to focus on what would be our own good life. One can strive for it, one can take risks because we know that our society provides us with a safety net that assures us access to all essentials.
People can truly attempt to be the best they can. People can follow their dreams and passions. They can take risks and be adventurous.
People can ponder about the good life that they would like to have.
Everyone can truly pursue happiness.