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To some extent, but it seems to me that money is a short term incentive. It sounds great when you have have no money or other prospects but if you realize that

To some extent, but it seems to me that money is a short term incentive. It sounds great when you have have no money or other prospects but if you realize that the job providing greater financial reward is a soul crushing experience it might not be enough to keep you there. Your actions after that might depend on your circumstances and need for financial security.. but if there exists a guaranteed net of basic income, a lot of people, especially younger people with no kids or dependants might be more inclined to go back to the drawing board and re-invent their professional lives. Eventually there comes a need to encourage a culture of ambitiousness and desire for individual progress that is based on more than financial reward.

aninhumer 11y ago
But don't forget, with Basic Income an employer is able to offer a higher overall income without increasing their costs. Maybe your soul crushing job isn't worth it for $20k, but it might be for $30k. Or you might be willing to work half as long for $20k. Also, since the cost of quitting becomes much lower, there's a much stronger incentive for employers to provide a decent workplace. And that might not even mean any extra costs. They could just treat employees with more respect than they needed to when you were desperate. Basic Income means you end up with a real market for labour, instead of a bunch of desperate people taking whatever they can get.
- ghaff 11y ago
  Or the opposite effect. It's at least plausible that with the sort of minimal basic income levels that are worth theorizing about as a practical matter (say, $8K/yr), you're going to have people willing to work that job for $10K or whatever to get them up to a level where they can afford some minimal level of "luxuries." It's been at leas theorized that a UBI scheme would end up being a subsidy for low-wage employers.

aninhumer 11y ago

But don't forget, with Basic Income an employer is able to offer a higher overall income without increasing their costs. Maybe your soul crushing job isn't worth it for $20k, but it might be for $30k. Or you might be willing to work half as long for $20k. Also, since the cost of quitting becomes much lower, there's a much stronger incentive for employers to provide a decent workplace. And that might not even mean any extra costs. They could just treat employees with more respect than they needed to when you were desperate. Basic Income means you end up with a real market for labour, instead of a bunch of desperate people taking whatever they can get.

ghaff 11y ago
Or the opposite effect. It's at least plausible that with the sort of minimal basic income levels that are worth theorizing about as a practical matter (say, $8K/yr), you're going to have people willing to work that job for $10K or whatever to get them up to a level where they can afford some minimal level of "luxuries." It's been at leas theorized that a UBI scheme would end up being a subsidy for low-wage employers.