what would a normal day be like under this new economic system i am imagining? i feel i should stress, this is all just a thought bubble - totally untried, not researched, not even discussed with anyone as it is so outside my normal opinions and lifestyle. so it might as well be a SF novel, lets give it some characters and have a walk in the shoes for a while.
lets call him Jimmy. wakes up, alarm clock made by a private company, furniture, bedsheets, clothes, all made by companies and provided for free where there was a want or a need. not necessarily as wide a range available as under capitalism, although there would be some options due to free competition. turns on the lights, showers, shaves, all still provided by private companies for no charge. as jimmy works his quota of hours every week, he qualifies for all his basic needs met, plus luxuries allocated based on extra hours worked at a qualifying company, or for hours traded with others, or just on a first come first served basis.
goes to a local dining hall for breakfast and coffee - why not, there is no money as such, just 'hours'. (preparing breaky is a pain in the ass, i personally am all for not needing a kitchen at all - a little kitchenette for snacks and drinks is adequate for my needs even under capitalism). there is more than enough labour, due to many of the former occupations performed under capitalism not actually benefiting anyone and therefore being discontinued. so there is a waitress, barista, cook, kitchenhand, all working at this qualifying dining hall to fulfil (or partially fulfil, perhaps they have several part-time jobs, if they prefer) their quota of hours. kitchenhand - pretty unsavoury job, the position couldn't be filled until the company scaled the hours up by 10%. therefore, with the quota currently being 30 hours a week (set locally, depending on the needs of the local community, as expressed via local elections. difficult to just vote yourself less hours, if that means a corresponding reduction in the living standards due to less goods and services being produced), the kitchenhand only has to work 27.3 hours to reach minimum quota.
jimmy has his breakfast, charges it to his 'ample citizen' card - basic calories cost nothing, additional calories and the coffee reduce the surplus balance accrued from working the minimum quota (ie minimum quota allows for a certain level of luxuries), working over time, from trading his hours. being time for work, he hops in a vacant street car and directs it to the widget factory. there are private cars, but only for people who are passionate about cars. most people just use the street cars (anyone can use, then leave on the street for the next user) or the mass transit system for going to densely developed areas where street cars can't enter. being basic transport, it is provided by a private company but there is no charge to the citizens of ample.
he clocks on at the widget factory - working hours are as flexible as the companies and the citizens want to be. if citizens don't like the conditions, they can look around for an alternate qualifying job. likewise, if the citizen isn't pulling their weight, subject to certain minimum standards they can be shown the door. the company needs to maintain a certain level of efficiency as well as demonstrated demand for their product / service, else they lose their certification at the regular audits. hours are also negotiated on an ongoing basis, with both parties free to end the relationship if agreement can't be reached. again, reduced hours would need to be able to be justified by reference to a market rate for that role and benchmark efficiency level, or the auditors would step in.
jimmy doesn't mind the work, doesn't love it. it isn't difficult, there isn't high demand / low supply for widget makers, therefore he works the standard quota of 30 hours a week. the remainder of his time, he could train for a different role. he could get an education. he could be working on his own business, trying to get the business plan in place and the resources required all together in an attempt to get it certified by the auditors and thereby leave the widget factory to be boss of his own company. but tonight, it is football. big game, against the arch-rivals.
jimmy loves his football, allocating an hour's work a week to the league, which along with allocations from all the other fans allows the players to play full-time without needing to work at a qualifying company. again, that depends on individual negotiations between the league / teams / players / admin etc, to find an arrangement acceptable to everyone. ultimately, if the football loses its fan-base, they will stop allocating the hours, so everyone involved in the football is very customer focused. the players in particular are humbled by the knowledge they don't need to work due to the generosity of their fellow citizens. there are no millionaire players, they can't hoard an unreasonable amount of 'hours', they can just play the game they enjoy so much, and try maximise the entertainment for the watching citizens.
similarly, jimmy likes a local artist - half an hour a month allocated to her, so that she can produce more art. he has a piece hanging on the wall of his apartment. loves his mother too - a full hour a week to her, although she is nearing retirement age, at which point her hours will be scaled down from 100% at age 60, to 0% when she reaches age 65. in total, he works 32.1 or so hours a week, plus extra when he is 'saving' for a specific item or luxury. surplus balances must be used or they expire.
Jimmy has a business in mind, he would like to get off the ground (mainly as i think it is conceptually critical to see how this would work - thanks Jimmy). recent years have seen good supply of all the essential goods and services, it has been a long time since the auditors had to suspend any luxury markets and prioritise the essentials. so there is a good chance the auditors will certify his luxury business, so long as he has done the ground work well.
he has been training in massage techniques for several years, and feels it is a service where demand exceeds supply (resulting in scaled up hours counting to the quota for existing businesses). his proposal identifies the ongoing resources it would require, he has obtained the initial required infrastructure and stock (using his surplus hours, forgoing other wants due to his keen desire to start this business). he has put the proposed service up on the market board, strong demand has been registered on the site, and he has been privately servicing these customers in his spare time (they transfer some surplus hours to him as payment for the service). in effect, the business is already up and running, the auditor certification would just allow him to make it his 'full-time' job (ie hours worked qualifying for his minimum quota, and therefore no need to be making widgets any longer). his business plan also includes specific systems and records he would need to keep in order to obtain and keep certification from the auditors.
so a full day for jimmy - from the factory straight to the game (they lost, damn those arch-rivals....), followed by dinner at another dining hall with significant other (thai green curry - he used some surplus hours to pay for both dinners, the basic calories for his partner charged allocated to their own account, his partner paid for the beers), and then back to his apartment to continue working on his business plan.
he drifts off to sleep, contemplating how happy his life is (except for the football) and how lucky he is to live
in ampleland (too much? probably so....).
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