4 ms·
I'm curious what HN readers think the yearly UBI would be (in US dollars) if it were actually implemented?
by cantastoria 11y ago
I'm curious what HN readers think the yearly UBI would be (in US dollars) if it were actually implemented?
- logfromblammo 11y agoI'd guess about $10400, paid at $200 per week to the head of a household, plus an additional $75 per full dependent. That works out as follows: Household Size | Annual UBI | 2014 Poverty ---------------+------------+------------- 1 | $10,400 | $11,670 2 | $14,300 | $15,730 3 | $18,200 | $19,790 4 | $22,100 | $23,850 5 | $26,000 | $27,910 6 | $29,900 | $31,970 7 | $33,800 | $36,030 8 | $37,700 | $40,090 That's a compromise. The UBI is less than poverty level, so that the conservatives can say that no one is getting a free ride, and people will still need to work to get by. But it's still around 90% of poverty line, so that the liberals can say that the government is still providing a great safety net. There are 123M households in the US, for a population of 319M, so the total cost would be $200 * 123M + $75 * ( 319M - 123M ) per week, which is $39.3G, or $2.1 trillion per year. The U.S. had official income of $3 trillion in 2014, so UBI would cost about 68% of the federal budget.
- civilian 11y agoLike $3000 a month? Not enough to live in a major city, but you should be comfortable living somewhere in the US. Major city livin' is in short supply and is thus a luxury--- we'll never be able to have a high enough UBI for us all to live in NYC.