There are good arguments on all sides of the big questions – in Linz as anywhere. Here are the main points of dispute, and room for your view.
An unconditional basic income gives everyone security and freedom, without bureaucracy and without stigma.
Free basic services – housing, mobility, health, education – are more targeted and cheaper than money for everyone.
Whoever replaces work with machines saves payroll levies; an automation levy keeps the welfare state’s funding stable.
A robot tax slows investment and productivity – and companies move to where it doesn’t apply.
When machines become more productive, the remaining work can be shared among more people – with more time for everyone.
Shorter hours at the same pay make labour more expensive and worsen the skills shortage that still exists today.
Unseal, plant, open up: urban space for people instead of cars and storage.
Land is scarce and valuable; it should be kept for housing and new businesses.
If a few companies capture the gains from AI, everyone needs a stake – through sovereign funds, employee shares or a citizens' dividend.
State stakes in technology firms slow innovation and shift decisions into politics; competition and fair taxation work better.
People find meaning in family, care, art, volunteering and learning – paid work is only one source among many.
Work gives structure to the day, contacts, recognition and the sense of being needed. Research since Marienthal shows this – money alone does not replace it.
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