Of course not. I don't think it's politically viable to implement basic income the way I've sketched. Wealth tax of 1% probably wouldn't go over very well eithe

Of course not. I don't think it's politically viable to implement basic income the way I've sketched. Wealth tax of 1% probably wouldn't go over very well either. If the net worth of the nation doubles twice more, though, it's a different question. It's far from impossible that this, or a similar situation which would benefit greatly from an UBI, occurs over the next 50 years. We're on the right order of magnitude, which is as close as I feel confident estimating things without detailed knowledge of the tax system and social programs of the US. I could make a better guess for Norway, but even there it's sketchy because a lot of the non-social support programs that would become cheaper with basic income (e.g. student loans, support for artists) aren't part of the official social security numbers. There's also a lot of "number massaging" you can do to greatly increase the number, not least of which being to pay support only for adults.