• yeahiknow3@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    4 hours ago

    Being an artist is a thankless mostly unpaid labor that enriches Irish culture.

    Why wouldn’t we incentivize those capable of being artists (not exactly a ubiquitous disposition) for some pitiful sum of money if they’re willing?

    Even amazing writers and musicians can barely scrape a living. Yet we love having Irish authors don’t we? Painters, likewise; poets, doubly so.

    No matter how much capitalists pretend that artistic talent falls from the sky like mana for the rest of us to enjoy, it isn’t actually free. It takes tens of thousands of hours of effort to become something resembling an artist. It costs time and it costs money. Someone is already paying that price.

  • Miles O'Brien@startrek.website
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    5 hours ago

    Account less than a month old and posting uplifting news, while being salty about said news in the comments.

    I smell astroturf.

  • Reygle@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    That’s honestly pretty neat, assuming these artists are more useful to society than my idiotic “artist” sister. I’m interested to see how it plays out over the long term, and what it could mean for other places considering a universal basic income.

    • Beep@lemmus.orgOP
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      10 hours ago

      We as a society always have to care of the unemployed, aka artists.

      • The Octonaut@mander.xyz
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        5 hours ago

        The scheme literally measurably turned a profit for the state, effectively turned un/under-employment into a net asset for the country. And paying for those “unemployed miners” you’re worried about. Y’know, in Ireland’s vast mines.

        https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-culture-communications-and-sport/press-releases/basic-income-for-the-arts-pilot-produced-over-100-million-in-social-and-economic-benefits/

        Ireland’s massive tourism industry is strongly reliant on our culture and arts, which obviously took a massive hit during Covid. Keeping people performing in the arts during dry spells rather than seeking work (underground?) retains and develops those skills rather than having them be lost and our culture eroded by global media.

        I’m sure you like Irish culture and dislike global media, right?

      • ameancow@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        Yah actually, why the fuck not.

        We have more than the capability with our distributed work and economic systems. I get fuck-all back from my tax money and hard work to support fucking BILLIONAIRES, I think I much rather my wasted income go towards helping my community and people struggling to make ends meet.

        Cynical fucks all want a Star Trek utopia but don’t want to actually put in effort and sacrifice to get there.

      • HobbitFoot @thelemmy.club
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        7 hours ago

        I don’t look at it is taking care of the unemployed.

        Ireland has punched above its weight for centuries in producing cultural works. This is Ireland investing in its arts community directly by having its struggling artists be able to spend more time making art instead of other jobs.

        A thriving arts scene creates prestige for the country, provides amenities to the local population, and increases tourism.

        • ameancow@lemmy.world
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          5 hours ago

          A lot of people who can’t be bothered to learn anything about viewing or creating art deeply resent people who can do art or people who do appreciate art. This whole post was to attack art and artists because OP and his alts are bitter trolls.

      • Korhaka@sopuli.xyz
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        10 hours ago

        What about all the other unemployed people? Why are artists more deserving than miners and factory workers?

        • Beep@lemmus.orgOP
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          10 hours ago

          Because they call themselves a name(Artists), that is why as a society we need to care for them.

          Unemployed miners and factory workers are just normal boring unemployed.

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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      39 minutes ago

      Or the disabled, or the just poor and untalented.

      Basic income is the darling of policy wonks of all kinds. Doing it just for already-successful artists is a bit random.

    • ameancow@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      I did 10 years as a professional artist, it was the hardest I ever worked in my life, and in the end I gave it up because despite winning awards and having collectors around the world after becoming very good at it, it is very hard to manage and maintain an actual art business in a world that doesn’t take art very seriously, especially with rising costs of things like healthcare and general goods needed to produce work.

      This isn’t a question if Ireland’s policy makes you feel good or bad, it’s a question whether or not you think there should be art in the world at all and what you’re willing to accept or change or pay to have that world with actual art in it.

      • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz
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        4 hours ago

        Art is a skill that takes time and dedication to cultivate, and often at least a seed of talent to boot.

        I can’t just wake up one morning and say “I’m an artist now” anymore than I can wake up and say “I’m a doctor today.”

        • yeahiknow3@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          4 hours ago

          That’s the point. People want to simultaneously pretend that art is the trivial purview of effete dilettantes but also that supporting artists is unfair since it would take too much sacrifice and effort for any random person to become an artist.

          • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz
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            4 hours ago

            I see. Yeah, that makes sense.

            I view arts and humanities as occupying the top of Maslow’s hierarchy. A healthy arts and humanities scene is a sign that society is flourishing. Someone who can pursue those as careers instead of hobbies is self-actualized.

            I think public patronage of the arts and humanities is ultimately a good thing, and should happen in addition to all the other, more basic needs. Food, housing, and utilities should be prioritized, and the jobs that provide those things. Then healthcare, education, social work, public servants, parks & rec, etc.

            Arts and humanities shouldn’t be neglected, but the fabric of society should be built from the ground up to support a healthy arts scene.

            • yeahiknow3@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              4 hours ago

              Yeah, plus we’ve achieved the economic conditions where everyone’s basic needs can be met. That they are not is a deliberate and vincible evil.

              • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz
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                3 hours ago

                I agree. I think a good starting place would be assessing the cost of living by region or district, and then anyone who makes below that amount should receive a supplementary allowance (funded by the wealthy, of course. If they were paying people fairly then nobody would be making below the cost of living).

                Other things should be in the purview of public goods, of course. For countries that don’t already have it, healthcare and education should be top priorities. They should be seen as investments in a healthy society, not as merely handouts to individuals.

                Eventually food should be produced and distributed by public (state-owned) entities, at-cost rather than for-profit. But that’s a longer-term goal that needs careful planning and implementation, so pushing too hard for it too soon could derail progress on other priorities like healthcare, education, and guaranteed basic income.

      • ameancow@lemmy.world
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        4 hours ago

        About as much as I made on my best weeks doing art professionally for close to 10 years, despite having won awards and secured collectors around the world.

        I worked harder than I ever had in my life to keep that business running, and eventually closed shop because it’s too much work for too little pay or respect.

        Ironic since I’m quite sure most of the sock-puppets and astroturfers baiting this post and whinging about “factory workers” are literal kids who have never actually worked a day in their life.