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First, this would never happen here, and if it does, it won't include most (if any) of us. They might call it universal to start out, but in the end, I doubt everyone would get it.
Second, I'm laughing at the folks who talk about how they'd retire because that plus their social security would allow them to retire, or they're already retired and the extra money would allow them to do things they cannot do now.
What makes you think you'd be able to get both if, by some miracle, it did pass? The rules would probably be you're eligible for the larger amount, but cannot have both.
It's galling that we pay into SS our entire working life but our payout is reduced if we work and make a certain amount of money.
The government just doesn't want people as comfortable as our politicians are, so while this is a pipe dream, the notion that retired people could get both is a bigger pipe dream, I think.
You kidding? Between UBI and that big $20/weeek windfall from the tax cut, we should be popping open the Champale and finally buy that chalet on Lake Karachy
take it and wonder what the hell our law makers were thinking, and then wonder how long it would actually last since this country cannot afford the effort.
Odd, since UBI would probably pay some of them more than they make on "disability."
That is not what it is all about. Some people cannot be bought, with strings attached.
Some people are more than willing to jump into being property of others, giving up ALL freedoms and liberties, for others to think for them and force them if they do not comply.
I'd have a couple of questions about how this would work before I could decide.
One of the questions I would have is, would UBI be taxable? (State, Federal, SS, and so on?) Would a UBI tax be taken out of UBI pay (to help self-perpetuate).
How would UBI be calculated? Obviously, $1500 in one area would go a lot farther than $1500 in another area. For example, where I live (Denver), $1500 would cover my mortgage, and there'd be a little bit left, but not much. OTOH, a friend of mine who lives in a small town in Kansas, $1500 would cover probably 80% of her monthly living expenses. I'd think possibly the best way to do it would be some combination of COL where you live and average income where you live (maybe even base it as granular on the ZIP code where you live.)
How much of our regular paychecks be taxed for UBI?
When do you start to qualify for UBI, and when (if ever) do you lose that qualification?
I don't think it's a *bad* idea, per se, but there's things I'd like to see addressed first. For me, it's highly unlikely that I could stop working entirely, but depending on all the factors, maybe cutting down would be an option. That idea does have appeal, I have to admit--I've been working since I was 18 (stint in the Army) and I'm 48 now. The only two 'breaks' I had from working were two six-month stints when my field did a belly flop and layoffs were rampant. I wouldn't mind being able to cut down to, say, 30 hour work weeks (though qualification for health insurance would be another question I'd have). I'd have more time to do things around the house, do lazy Sunday drives throughout the area, maybe travel a bit more--and I would like to do these things while I'm still young and healthy enough to enjoy it, before I full-on retire in my mid-sixties (hopefully). Plus, it'd remove some 'mental stress'--having done rounds with the layoff/unemployment bit, it's always in the back of my mind, "What if my job disappears tomorrow?" I have some savings and there's unemployment, but both would eventually run out. While having a UBI wouldn't *completely* eliminate that concern, it'd take some pressure off. It might make it easier to obtain a lower-paying job, if it came to that. One of the things that drove me nuts when I was unemployed was that I *was* applying for work, such as Walgreen's cashier and such. And I kept getting told, "Well, we can't pay you what you were making at your last job (yes, I'm aware of that), and the minute something opens up in your field, you'll quit." (It's a cashier's job, I'm betting you have a lot of turnover for various reasons.) If I received a UBI and needed to take any sort of job to help pay the bills, maybe that'd help with potential employers, since they'd be thinking, "Well, she gets X amount for UBI, so she might very well be okay with the pay cut."
I also couldn't see quitting work entirely, because when I was unemployed, it was fine for the first two weeks "Yay, I can sleep late! Yay, no more stressing about a possible layoff because it already happened (believe it or not, worrying about a possible layoff is almost worse than it actually happening)" But after two weeks, I was bored and stir-crazy. While part of me looks forward to retirement age, another part of me sits there and thinks, "What am I going to do all day, *every* day?"
It's an interesting idea, I'd just have a lot of questions first.
What's the big deal about UBI? We already have it in this country for the rich and well-to-do, it's called the Trump Tax Cuts. Look at how the Trump Tax Cuts are paid for: heavy borrowing financed by Treasury bonds, adding to the deficit and public debt. Those tax cuts for the rich are "free money" tax subsidies.
If the rich can have their UBI in the form of a tax subsidy, then why not write checks to the little people?
Originally meant to be a supplement, as older age was slowing you down. Not because you quit.
Today, it has to be retirement to pay all your expenses.
I may have a handicap, but I in no way are handicapped.
Make yourself useful! Or get the hell out of the way.
I also couldn't see quitting work entirely, because when I was unemployed, it was fine for the first two weeks "Yay, I can sleep late! Yay, no more stressing about a possible layoff because it already happened (believe it or not, worrying about a possible layoff is almost worse than it actually happening)" But after two weeks, I was bored and stir-crazy. While part of me looks forward to retirement age, another part of me sits there and thinks, "What am I going to do all day, *every* day?"
It's an interesting idea, I'd just have a lot of questions first.
You have nothing interesting to do outside of work? I think work takes up so much of our life that we can become dependent on it psychologically and can't think of other things to do when in reality there is so much out there to learn and experience you couldn't do it all in a million lifetimes.
If I received $1,000 in UBI tomorrow, I would drop one of my clients like a hot potato because I strongly dislike the work I'm doing for them. (I wouldn't really just quit; I'd finish my current contract and then wouldn't renew it.) My life would change because that would free up about six hours per week that I find myself dreading and my income wouldn't really change because of it. If my husband also received $1,000 in UBI, I don't really see him working fewer hours, though. He likes his job and he would miss out on bonuses if he weren't pulling his weight, so it would end up having a negative effect on his job/income. We would likely use that 12K for house projects, vacations, and savings.
I'm kind of laughing over all of the foot stomping and indignation from people who likely send their kids to public schools paid for by those without children, drive on public roads paid for by those who don't drive on those particular roads, use public libraries paid for by those who don't go to the library, call for the fire department paid for by those who will never have a house fire, and will happily collect Social Security and go on Medicare as soon as they are eligible. How is this any different? It would be a social program (just like every single of the ones I've just listed) that everyone would be entitled to.
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