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If I had basic income and health insurance back in the day I would have NEVER left college. I might have repaired friend's cars or researched and written books but I would have not used my time and energy to make some business owner money. I would have kept the money for myself.
but you are still yet to really address the way in which this will be funded?
where is all the money going to come from?
Funding? Who needs funding?
Let's see . . . 300 million people, $150/week, . . . comes to a mere $2.34 trillion/year.
Add the costs of running the program, . . . now we're at $4 trillion.
So 4 trillion, divided by 175 million adults - oops, wait, the poorer half can't pay, so make that 88 million adults - that's an average of $45,455/taxpayer.
All very rough figures, of course. And I'm sure Gates and Buffett would be willing to put up a couple billion each. So Gates, Buffett, and eight of their rich friends each contribute 5 billion, and we can subtract 50 billion from our 4 trillion. Now we've got the average tax down to . . . $44,886.
Wait. I forgot to include health care, military spending, repaying national debt (or the interest, anyway), . . .
Now if we all got a basic income for not working, what would actually stop us from taking the money and just chilling out on a beach in Thailand?
You could use the money that is used for social programs like welfare, unemployment. food stamps. Please don't give me this crap about we do not have enough money. Did you even read what I put? I said the basic income is for food, transportation, rent so if they went to Thailand they would have to give up one of those things.
Now if we all got a basic income for not working, what would actually stop us from taking the money and just chilling out on a beach in Thailand?
Maybe there's a residency requirement. I'm still wondering about the citizenship/immigration status requirements. What about those who are in prison? In mental hospitals? Or in regular hospitals, where their basic needs are being met already? I think they'd have to temporarily lose the benefit.
The handicapped would need extra, so you couldn't cut all existing social spending. Maybe that could be covered under healthcare.
Another thing to think of: if everyone had $X/month to spend on rent, rents would go up by about $X/month. They'd charge it because they could, just like college tuition skyrocketed when the generous student loans were handed out.
The system we have now attempts to provide for the basic needs of those who cannot or will not provide for themselves, and there is not enough money even for that.
I do think that a basic income would encourage some people content with just the minimums to not work. However, I dont neccessarily think thats a bad thing.
Currently, there is a glut of workers for limited jobs. That makes the requirements for each job higher, and wages lower, than would be otherwise achieved. Millions of people are on some kind of assistance, but few are on enough assistance to completely cover all expenses. So they are forced to compete in the labor market. In order to compete in the labor market, they need a college degree, which is driving the cost of a college degree up, and it goes on and on.
So, what if, instead of having all these programs, that require a whole bunch of beauracracy and administration, we just send everyone a check? To send 114 million households a check for 20k, it would take about 2.3 trillion dollars. If you put some sort of cap on who can get it, say, households making more than 80k cannot get the 20k, it would reduce the cost by about 25% or so.
You could completely cut out SS, federal pensions, Medicare, Medicaid, and other welfare programs to offset that cost. Those cuts would almost completely offset the cost without any adjustments in the current tax system.
What other positives would we get out of it?
1. Involuntary poverty would be eradicated
2. Countless dollars that end up in the beauracracies of the current systems would end up in peoples hands who would spend the money. This would create more demand.
3. Millions of households would decide to take the minimum. Millions of households with two working adults would drop to just 1. That would reduce the number of people in the workforce.
4. With the reduction in people in the workforce, wages will go up for people who are working, and requirements will go down to get those jobs.
5. With reduced requirements, and higher wages, and a minimal safety net, everybody and their brother would not be pressured in to going to college. This would lower the student debt overhang and help with the underemployment problems.
I think, one way or another, we are going to have to head in this direction. The need for human labor is going to continuously dwindle until the point where robots are building, maintaining and designing themselves, and taking care of nearly every task. What happens when there is no room in the labor force for 90% of us?
Indeed what happens when the leisure class is expanded to include most of us not because we are rich enough not to work but because machines are doing the work? What will the wealth based leisure class think if all the fixed income riff-raff start showing up at the elite’s favorite bars and clubs?
Another way of looking at a guaranteed income (indexed for inflation) is it is a way of paying people not to compete for jobs. The strivers would love the decreased competition.
I was just reading an article about surveillance drones. This is expected to grow into an 11 billion dollar market. I see a great increase in the need for drone monitor/operators and repair people as soon as your local police departments start using these little gems.
I do think that a basic income would encourage some people content with just the minimums to not work. However, I dont neccessarily think thats a bad thing.
Currently, there is a glut of workers for limited jobs. That makes the requirements for each job higher, and wages lower, than would be otherwise achieved. Millions of people are on some kind of assistance, but few are on enough assistance to completely cover all expenses. So they are forced to compete in the labor market. In order to compete in the labor market, they need a college degree, which is driving the cost of a college degree up, and it goes on and on.
So, what if, instead of having all these programs, that require a whole bunch of beauracracy and administration, we just send everyone a check? To send 114 million households a check for 20k, it would take about 2.3 trillion dollars. If you put some sort of cap on who can get it, say, households making more than 80k cannot get the 20k, it would reduce the cost by about 25% or so.
You could completely cut out SS, federal pensions, Medicare, Medicaid, and other welfare programs to offset that cost. Those cuts would almost completely offset the cost without any adjustments in the current tax system.
What other positives would we get out of it?
1. Involuntary poverty would be eradicated
2. Countless dollars that end up in the beauracracies of the current systems would end up in peoples hands who would spend the money. This would create more demand.
3. Millions of households would decide to take the minimum. Millions of households with two working adults would drop to just 1. That would reduce the number of people in the workforce.
4. With the reduction in people in the workforce, wages will go up for people who are working, and requirements will go down to get those jobs.
5. With reduced requirements, and higher wages, and a minimal safety net, everybody and their brother would not be pressured in to going to college. This would lower the student debt overhang and help with the underemployment problems.
I think, one way or another, we are going to have to head in this direction. The need for human labor is going to continuously dwindle until the point where robots are building, maintaining and designing themselves, and taking care of nearly every task. What happens when there is no room in the labor force for 90% of us?
More things to work out:
Is this a one-time check or an annual one?
Will those in places with a very high COL get the same as those in places with a low COL?
What constitutes a household? Would roommates sharing a house have to share the check? Would families with two houses get two checks? Would a 20-year-old living with his mother be part of her household? What if he's 35? If his gf moved in, how many now? And if they had a baby? If a family takes in Great-grandma, will she lose her money? Two sisters living together, each with a teenaged daughter, each of whom has a baby? An unmarried couple has a child but live apart. Two households? But if they live together, one? What if they live together as roommates but aren't "together"? Can a couple separate just in time to receive two checks, and reconcile as soon as the checks arrive? The actual number of households would be much higher than your estimate once money is attached.
What will be the safety net for those who squander their check within a couple months and can't buy food for the rest of the year? Will their children be taken from them?
How much say will the government have in how the money is spent?
How will you cover the actual difference between the $20,000 and the needs of those depending on the system? You're saying, take the money that is providing for X people and spread it out among more people but in a different form, and somehow it will become more money.
Apart from armed revolution, how would you get rid of federal pensions? Aren't those who are looking forward to the pensions the same ones making the decisions?
And a disagreement on the cost of college: The main reason for the increase in the cost of college is the availability of student loans.
I wonder: What will people do with all their time? Where will they get the satisfaction that comes from working?
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