Universal Basic Income (California...of course...)

[holmes168]

Timely thread- I’m in Stockton this week to visit one of my terminals. It’s a rough, high crime area and most people in the office have been hit with some type of violence. I get what they are trying to do with UBI- don’t think it will work, but they have serious problems here that are hard to solve. It’s as dangerous as any city in America.

[RoyGBiv]

What would happen if you give lots of people a bunch of free money?
Prices would rise.

It's difficult to express in polite words how bad an idea this is.... On par with "common sense gun control".

[Totem Polar]

Finland to end basic income trial after two years | World news | The Guardian
Notes: It's the Grauniad, and the "sample pool" was small enough not to qualify as UBI.

"We should have had extra time and more money to achieve reliable results.”

Not a verdict on UBI, but man, have I heard that tune sung before. Just saying. #cliches

[WobblyPossum]

The point raised that if the government just give everyone more money, prices of goods and services will increase commensurately is an interesting one. I can’t think of a reason why that WOULDN’T be the case. Has there been any research on that? If the costs of goods and services increased to cancel out any increase in income from UBI, that would negate the whole premise.


–————————————————
My posts only represent my opinion and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or official policies of my employer. Obvious spelling errors are likely the result of an iPhone keyboard.

[RoyGBiv]

The point raised that if the government just give everyone more money, prices of goods and services will increase commensurately is an interesting one. I can’t think of a reason why that WOULDN’T be the case. Has there been any research on that? If the costs of goods and services increased to cancel out any increase in income from UBI, that would negate the whole premise.


–————————————————
My posts only represent my opinion and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or official policies of my employer. Obvious spelling errors are likely the result of an iPhone keyboard.

Healthcare?

If I'm a landlord and my tenants are suddenly getting an extra $500/month for doing nothing other than being poor, am I going to leave the rent unchanged?
Anyone who reads this and thinks "Well, only a douche-bag would raise the rent" doesn't live in the real world.

What happened to housing prices when the government forced interest rates to remain artificially low for 10+ years?
Give free money to home buyers, housing prices go up.

And so on..

[OlongJohnson]

Don't have time to listen to it and verify right now, but I think this is the one I want to post.

[jeep45238]

Haven’t read the whole thing, but ya know, using this to replace all other benefit programs that hand out money would really streamline things and make keeping people honest easier. 1 source vs. many and all.

[Drang]

Haven’t read the whole thing, but ya know, using this to replace all other benefit programs that hand out money would really streamline things and make keeping people honest easier. 1 source vs. many and all.

That's the reason many "on the right" support the idea. The same (or less!) amount of money would be being spent, it would just be more efficient.

Right. An efficient government welfare program.

[jeep45238]

I’m not going to get into if it’s the right or wrong thing to do - I hate politics vehemently. It’s a simple observation, no more, no less.

[Joe in PNG]

In my lifelong experience*, the old saw about poverty being a mental disease is very very true. You could give a lot of the poor people a million dollars, and they would manage to wind up in worse poverty with a multimillion dollar debt- check the experiences of the typical lotto winner.

A UBI might help a few get out of a rough patch, but I'm going to venture that most of those on the dole won't take advantage of this to better themselves. Why should they? All the assistance and free stuff they've been given in the past hasn't helped either.

*I've been around poverty, and have worked for and with various public and private programs to end poverty my whole entire life. I've got a large number of friends, acquaintances, and relatives that are super poor despite all help.