re: #132 Jack Burton, Gunner on Death Star of David

That’s basically the cyberpunk future extended out to a few hundred years high-tech dystopia.

Or as the saying in the Cyberpunk genre goes: High-tech, Low-Life. The only good thing about Earth in the Expanse is Universal Basic Income.

Except it’s not an income, it’s Basic Assistance. You get guaranteed housing in the form of shared rooms in gov’t housing, you get guaranteed food in the form of bland-tasting protein paste and enriched rice, you get guaranteed medical care in the form of minimal care at gov’t health clinics, and you get guaranteed clothing that’s made from recycled paper. There’s no guaranteed income at all.

Yeah, theoretically you won’t starve to death, freeze to death, or watch your body rot from a preventable disease. But you also have no real agency, you’ve no real future, and your only options besides the job lottery is either joining the UN Navy or getting a job as virtual slave working in The Belt.