basic needs

the hypothetical contract with the citizens in this economic system would be that all basic needs are provided for, plus a basic level of luxuries, in return for a minimum number of hours worked.  i envisage that certain groups of people would be exempt (or partially exempt) - perhaps full-time students up to the age of 21, people with disabilities, pensioners would slowly be scaled down, parents with dependant children (need to start working at least part-time when kids are at school).  need to be pretty stringent with these categories to make sure nobody gets a free ride.  unemployment wouldn't exist as businesses are less focused on profit, citizens need a qualifying job to obtain their basic needs, if they can't find anything they would be obligated to take training / education to assist in getting a qualifying job, or otherwise will be forced into an unpleasant / unpopular job.  keep in mind, it would be far easier to start a business in the new system, so there would be an abundance of options.

the citizen contract, or bill of rights, would need to be clearly defined in terms of what needs are covered.  i envisage luxuries (even basic luxuries that they qualify for by working the minimum quota of hours) would be set locally via local politicians, effectively based on how much is being produced, with the citizens able to elect the politician who best matches their demand for luxuries offset by what minimum quota of hours they wish to work.  this would allow for citizens to relocate to regions with preferable luxury / work hour levels if they prefer.

the basic needs that would be guaranteed would need to be adequate to negate the normal urge to hoard resources to provide for future uncertainty.  if citizens don't trust that all needs will be covered, and don't have the ability to save for the future, probably a revolution would be in the air.  therefore, what basic needs should be enshrined in the bill of rights?

in my opinion, the following should be the minimum:
- food, i would suggest adequate calories to maintain good health;
- clean water for drinking, probably a minimum per person per day as with food;
- shelter, again a minimum area per person in 'good' condition;
- electricity, once again, minimum per person per day, any additional to be charged;
- medical and dental, fully covered for essential services, but cosmetic, any 'optional' procedures not covered;
- education, probably 12 years up to high school certificate;
- police and national defence;

that seems adequate to me in terms of specified minimum standards for all qualifying citizens.  higher standards of all the above could be agreed to on a regional basis, based on the politicians elected by the citizens, but clearly any increased goods / services need to actually be produced, which would require more minimum hours worked by all citizens.

and just to differentiate this from communism - there is private property, there are elections.  there is no money, hours serve as a defacto currency that is more resistant to manipulation and can't be hoarded due to an expiry date, there are no taxes (there are defacto taxes in that goods and services are provided by an 'agent' of the government), goods and services are provided by private companies / businesses, anything covered under the above minimums is rebated back to the citizen.  prices (set in hours) is determined by free markets, anyone can effectively start a business by demonstrating demand for the product / service.  the citizens are free to choose what goods and services, thereby still retaining the signalling mechanism of free markets.  auditors will provide the system with the necessary discipline and enforcement to ensure no rorting and also to apply efficiency benchmarks and cull businesses that miss the benchmark.

areas that i still need to explore / explain - housing, debt, research, infrastructure.