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If they can afford it, could we? Might it be cheaper than the current system?
It really isn't a matter of affording it. It is really a matter of, would we even want it?
The article states a common question regarding the measure, "If you were guaranteed income regardless of if you worked, then would you work?"
I think you could easily recognize that a considerable amount of Americans would probably not care to work, if they were guaranteed an income of even $1500 a month. And really, that probably includes myself.
Furthermore, we have to look at children. For each child a person has, would they get an additional allotment from the government? If so, how much? And would that incentivize low-income people to have a larger number of children, so they could increase the amount of money they got from the government?
It is a nice gesture, but the actual outcome of a basic income, would be complete destruction.
It depends how the system is structured. Some countries already do this (Qatar is one example - citizens get a stipend of sorts that comes from the country's oil/gas profits), and my sense is that some kind of "negative income tax" or "universal basic income" will be implemented as the percentage of people in the workforce continues to fall. Especially if the pace of automation picks up, and more jobs are eliminated.
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I think you could easily recognize that a considerable amount of Americans would probably not care to work, if they were guaranteed an income of even $1500 a month. And really, that probably includes myself.
That wouldn't necessarily be an economic problem, though. It would increase the bargaining power/market value of individual labor, which would raise wages. We still see "tough" or "unpleasant" jobs being filled in places like oil/gas fields - just at a higher rate of pay. There is a lot of economic "deadwood" in the workforce right now - that's something we don't like to talk about - people whose removal from the workplace would actually raise productivity, and if a basic income could facilitate that, that would be a GDP booster.
Ship all the liberals to Switzerland and they can live in the utopia they so desire.
I'm sure it'd be for citizens only, and getting Swiss citizenship (as opposed to some kind of residency) is not that easy unless you have way more money than would qualify for a universal income scheme.
But the thing is, universal basic income is not a liberal idea. It is supported by some liberals, but its main proponents in the 1970's were economists like Milton Friedman who felt that cash transfers made more economic sense than some patchwork of restricted-category welfare schemes. His plan was to offer a tax credit to everyone in an amount somewhat below the annual minimum wage. If you owe less in taxes than your credit, you'd get the balance refunded in cash.
Minimum income schemes also show up a lot in the "social credit" movement, which has a strong contingent of supporters in the "alternative" or "populist" right.
From where will the Government get the money? Will the income tax rates go up to 65% or so to pay for this?
Remember, the Government only has money if the people give it to them. How much are YOU willing to pay to ensure that everybody has a Basic Living Stipend (BLS)?
Don't get me wrong, I love the idea! $2700 per month would be about a $700 increase over what I am now getting from Social Security and Military Retirement combined! $3000 per month would be even better! But, I am realistic enough to know that it can't work. Given the choice between working 40 hours per week, at $30 per hour, and paying about 2/3 of it in taxes, or getting $2700 per month for doing nothing, what do you think most people will do? I just do not believe that 75% of the population living off the taxes paid by 25% of the population is sustainable.
Nice dream, but I don't believe it can work!
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