I think that what you describe is a good thing, when you look at the complete picture. GBI could (should?) function, effectively, like a negative income tax --

I think that what you describe is a good thing, when you look at the complete picture. GBI could (should?) function, effectively, like a negative income tax -- below a certain income level the government pays you. Above that level, you earn nothing from the government, because you're making more than some specific threshold already (probably at least 1.5x GBI, preferably higher [1]). So yes, it would discourage people from going to a new country for fun and lounging around there and not working. People who want to move to a new country should do it because there's a job for them in that new country, and if it doesn't pay above the GBI threshold, then yes, they should probably stay home. If you're a consultant who can work from anywhere, and you make more than the cutoff (which I would hope!), then GBI is similarly irrelevant. GBI for a backup income while you're starting a company is also something to think about: Where would the US prefer that you start a company? Here, of course. So I think that GBI encouraging people to work in the country is absolutely appropriate. Finally, GBI could be provided to US citizens and permanent residents who spend more than X% of their time in the country. If that's 51%, then you could spend nearly six months in another country getting situated before GBI would cut off, which should be more than enough time to pick up a job there. Even if it only paid you for 2-3 months of living abroad, that's not bad for a paid vacation and/or job hunt. [1] This may be obvious to most; apologies in advance. If you phase out GBI at a 1:1 rate with what you earn, as in, if you earn $10, you get $10 less GBI, then taking a job that paid less than GBI would earn you nothing (unless you're being paid under the table, but let's assume we don't want to encourage people to cheat). EDIT: My math was wrong. The idea is that you set the marginal tax rates such that every dollar you earn earns you more money, but that by the time your income is at some arbitrary level, you're paying more than GBI in taxes. Figuring out the exact rate curve is left as an exercise for the reader. ;)