Economy

UbiquiCity is a capitalist oligarchy, much like today’s world with the gloves off. But given a century of rapidly-accelerating network technology and the rise of ubiquitous computing, capitalism itself was bound to undergo some major changes along the way.

No matter how badly everyone wanted their cities to be modernized and made “ubi”, taxes and city budgets in the 21st century were not sufficient to fully finance the development of the required infrastructure. Other modes of financing, such as infrastructure bonds, municipal bonds, government auctions, the privatization of once-public assets and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) were used to generate funds and distribute the risk. Over time these methods transferred more and more actual power away from elected officials, and into the hands of corporations and their shareholders.

That’s who *really* built this city, and while concessions have been made over time to a number of core socially-democratic values – such as the adoption of Universal Basic Income as a safety net against the skyrocketing rates of unemployment caused by automation – the city’s corporate partners still receive and enjoy most of the benefits. Like the owners of any casino, they’re the ones who arrange the deals and set the terms. These terms are always set to their advantage, no matter how slight, and thus their power tends to expand over time.

* Mobile Payment Systems
* Reputation Systems & Offsets
* Points, Rewards, Incentives
* Gamification of labor
* Peer-to-peer Markets

### UBI: Universal Basic Income

Depending on the historical pathway your city took to get here (see *Possible Pasts*), your economy probably includes a Universal Basic Income for each citizen. The funding for this monthly distribution comes from fees paid by member corporations in the city charter, as well as taxes paid by district stakeholders and land owners.

The UBI is enough to cover the costs of basic rent, utilities and food, amounting to 1,000 Credits per month, per adult. Your UBI allotment is automatically transferred to your account on the first day of each month.

Additional income is provided for minors who reside with their parents (500 Credits per minor), although more and more kids these days are sent to live in corporate klatches, both as a money-saving measure and in hopes of ensuring their future employability.

Even given the basic income required for a minimally-sustainable lifestyle, most people still desire material possessions and entertainments that the UBI does not cover. Fortunately, there are ways to exchange labor for other goods and services: see the *Employment* section.

### Three Economies

* Every time you interact with a system, service or vendor, RP may be exchanged.
* Every time you you put something online, RP may fluctuate and CR may be given.
* Every time you interact favorably/responsibly with a city system, CP may be awarded.

#### The Electronic Economy - Credits

Virtual money, in the form of electronic *Credits*, is the norm. Every citizen in the system possesses at least one credit account which is maintained in a public-facing blockchain. These accounts are used for UBI payments, smart contractual obligations and other financial transactions. Many people possess more than one account, and many businesses offer financial service packages which include smart contract chaining, escrow services and investment management, in addition to generic debit and credit management.

Most people either carry or embed a *Credit Key* – an object that both identifies them (i.e. contains their PIDkit) and enables them to interface with their credit and debit accounts. This is one of the prime features of any PDA, of course, but in fact the item may be any type of device: a phone, tablet, piece of jewelry, subcutaneous processor, etc. Whatever form it takes, it's hard for most people to imagine getting by without it.

*Aug Codes often appear on ash urns (scan to learn more about the deceased) and on the shirts of waiters and other service personnel (scan to tip). Beggars and buskers sometimes print Aug Codes and set them out on the street.*

**Solid-State Creds** – Credits may be stored in a variety of devices and formats, some rechargeable, some not. The most common form of “Solid Credit” is the prepaid CredCard, available from stores, malls and ATMs everywhere. These cards can even be used to facilitate trade with the Disconnected, since they do not require any form of identification when spent.

#### The Reputation Economy - RP

A fluctuating integer between 1 and 100, your *Reputation Score* follows you throughout your entire adult life. Your Rep is based on your success in completing jobs, satisfying customers, communicating clearly, managing complaints or issues, and honoring your credit arrangements.

Stored in a massively-distributed blockchain and measured in *Reputation Points*, your current score is often referred to as your “RP” or “Arpies”. Reputation data can be sliced and evaluated by other parties in a variety of ways: as a lifetime average, as a sample of recent transactions, categorized by transaction type, or product type, or down to transactions with a single individual.

**Rep Tokens and Rating**

Each citizen receives 100 *Rep Tokens* per month, which are to be spent in evaluating transactions with others. Spent or not, these time-stamped tokens are removed from your account each month, to be replaced by a new lot of 100. (Thus, your rate of expenditure is also tracked.)

You can spend these virtual tokens to give any person, product or company a “Sat” (a “satisfied” or positive review) or a “Diss” (“dissatisfied” - a negative review), raising or lowering their total RP. Note that the actual amount added or subtracted is based in part on the rater's RP and modified by factors such as task frequency, repeat customer rate, token expenditure rate, rating history, social networks and trends―all calculated by AI.

These ratings are occasionally applied to real-world transactions and may be used, for instance, to gauge the amount of trust the local populace has in a given restaurant or professional, but they are much more important in the online world of trading and gigwork, where goods and services are typically exchanged between people who have no face-to-face contact, and reputation tracking is required to maintain community trust.

Online gigwork and trading hubs actively encourage users to rate each and every transaction, because that data is their chief means of ensuring quality service for their users and vendors.

**Sin-Eaters**

People who will do neg RP stuff for you, in exchange for hard creds or bartered goods.

**Ways to earn RP**

* Volunteer - help out at a local Klatch or hospital or homeless shelter. Clean up litter or graffiti
* Be a police informant or participate in Neighborhood watch type programs.
* Return a dropped PDA. Help some old lady cross the street.
* Purchase RP through lobbying.
* Donate to charity or community groups.

**Ways to use RP**

* Gain access to exclusive establishments: bars, hotels, clubs, schools, restaurants.
* Get priority attention at hospitals or within classrooms or work environments.
* First Responders will prioritize you and your belongings in an emergency situation.
* Have more favorable job interviews, book/art sales, blip viewership.
* Have better seats and reduced waiting times for events.
* If there are limited spaces on a vehicle or limited items for sale, higher RP will give you the priority.

#### The Barter Economy

In Squatter Towns and off the record, people often select some common but useful item they’ll accept as currency. Batteries (in the city) and bullets (in the wilds) are often used for this purpose, and both can be turned into Credits at a scavenge-and-pawn.

### RPs and Transactions

Before engaging in a transaction with an unknown party, people (or their PDAs) will often check the other party's Rep Score to decide whether or not they want to trust this person (and by extension, their products or services). In this simple sense, Reputation works rather like a public credit rating.

Whenever a transaction is finalized on both sides, either party might choose to send some RP to the other by spending Rep Tokens (which may be either positive or negative). In addition, each party may choose to post a public review of the exchange. These reviews may be found on LocalHub and on any of the profession-specific SocNets online.

Every time you interact with a system, service or vendor, RP may be exchanged. Every time you you put something online, RP may fluctuate and CR may be given.

### Outside Economies

In remote rural areas, just as in the Squatter Towns, most people barter among themselves and keep manual accounts of who owes what to whom. In some places they may print paper money or use something else as a standard unit, local to the region.

Some of these people - perhaps even just one person in the whole town or neighborhood - will be a merchant or professional of some kind, and that person will have a PIDkit and an electronic account. They will be able to sell things to others who have electronic accounts, regardless of where the sale takes place. They might move around from city to city, caravan-style, or keep a traditional storefront.

For example: A discon wants to trade a handmade catskin wallet for some food, and finds a merchant who does the deal. The merchant adds the wallet to their inventory and sticks a price tag on it. Note that it has no monetary value yet - it is inventory, but it only has *potential* monetary value at this point. It attains *true* monetary value when someone comes into the store, wants to buy the wallet, and gives the merchant the stated number of electronic credits for it. Note that the only difference between this transaction and a "smart" transaction is that the catskin wallet is a *disconnected item*. It has no NIN (Network Identification Number) because it possesses no RFID chip, so the merchant has to enter the specifics of the transaction personally. Immediately the customer’s account is debited, the merchant’s account is credited, and they are each invited to give the other an RP rating.

#### Tranx Currency Exchange Stations

Serving those select and discreet markets who sometimes need to convert funds from one currency to another, the *Tranx* corporation has a virtual monopoly on the automated “Currency Exchange Stations” found in tubeway stations throughout the city. They take a 10% cut of all transactions, in electronic credits.

Tranx’ main line of business is travel/vacation planning and “adventure management”. The company has ties to the *VacTrain* corporation and possesses a wide variety of business associates in far-flung destination locations.

### Renting Stuff

Nearly anything a company produces can be rented rather than owned; in fact it's a little odd to own a lot of stuff – unless you're rich enough to be into conspicuous consumption. Many things people took as privately-owned possessions in the past – tools, cars, electronic devices – are rented or leased by UbiquiCity inhabitants on an as-needed basis. For most people, sharing and borrowing is economically more effective than private ownership, and uses fewer natural resources.