6 ms·

I like the idea of a Universal Basic Income but running the numbers is eye opening: £1,500 ~= $2,274 $2,274/person/mo * 12 mo/yr * 300,000,000 people = $8,186

I like the idea of a Universal Basic Income but running the numbers is eye opening: £1,500 ~= $2,274 $2,274/person/mo * 12 mo/yr * 300,000,000 people = $8,186,400,000,000/yr. $8 trillion a year to provide that level of UBI to all 300,000,000ish Americans. Not an inconsequential amount of money!

dman 11y ago
But if you combine that with a progressive tax rate wont the government take large swathes of that back in the form of taxes?
- kamaal 11y ago
  How much would that be? 40%? That still close to $5 trillion. How will willingly pay $5 trillion of taxes after all the hard work only to watch everybody else living of their work for free?
  - bryanlarsen 11y ago
    Subtract 2 - 3 trillion worth of welfare, unemployment benefits, the minimum wage, social security, etc and it suddenly starts looking feasible. Expensive, yes, but feasible.
    - kamaal 11y ago
      Please help me understand this. You promise to pay someone $x, but you will only pay $x-90%(say $y) The person receiving $y is actually getting it from the very taxes they pay. So essentially what you are giving them is a tax discount. Except in cases where a person makes $0, for which you have social security anyway. So this is basically a tax discount? You could simply say based on their income some a% of tax discount will be offered every year.
- ConceptJunkie 11y ago
  The GDP is something like $14 trillion. We're talking about 60% of the GDP being redistributed. That will work really well... especially when the GDP drops by about a third, which will surely happen.
  - dllthomas 11y ago
    "We're talking about 60% of the GDP being redistributed." When assessing the amount being redistributed, much of what's paid in UBI should be netted against what's collected to pay the UBI. That is, if I am receiving $27k/yr in UBI, but paying $30k/yr in increased taxes toward the UBI, really only $3k/yr is being "redistributed" from me. This is still going to be a substantial sum, but quite a bit less than "people * UBI amount". Please don't take this as my asserting that I think $27k/yr would be sustainable in the US - for the record, I don't.

dman 11y ago

But if you combine that with a progressive tax rate wont the government take large swathes of that back in the form of taxes?

kamaal 11y ago
How much would that be? 40%? That still close to $5 trillion. How will willingly pay $5 trillion of taxes after all the hard work only to watch everybody else living of their work for free?
- bryanlarsen 11y ago
  Subtract 2 - 3 trillion worth of welfare, unemployment benefits, the minimum wage, social security, etc and it suddenly starts looking feasible. Expensive, yes, but feasible.
  - kamaal 11y ago
    Please help me understand this. You promise to pay someone $x, but you will only pay $x-90%(say $y) The person receiving $y is actually getting it from the very taxes they pay. So essentially what you are giving them is a tax discount. Except in cases where a person makes $0, for which you have social security anyway. So this is basically a tax discount? You could simply say based on their income some a% of tax discount will be offered every year.
ConceptJunkie 11y ago
The GDP is something like $14 trillion. We're talking about 60% of the GDP being redistributed. That will work really well... especially when the GDP drops by about a third, which will surely happen.
- dllthomas 11y ago
  "We're talking about 60% of the GDP being redistributed." When assessing the amount being redistributed, much of what's paid in UBI should be netted against what's collected to pay the UBI. That is, if I am receiving $27k/yr in UBI, but paying $30k/yr in increased taxes toward the UBI, really only $3k/yr is being "redistributed" from me. This is still going to be a substantial sum, but quite a bit less than "people * UBI amount". Please don't take this as my asserting that I think $27k/yr would be sustainable in the US - for the record, I don't.