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Minimum-wage jobs would by necessity then need to pay more That's the opposite of what's being proposed: the minimum income comes from the government, not empl
by panic 10y ago
Minimum-wage jobs would by necessity then need to pay more
That's the opposite of what's being proposed: the minimum income comes from the government, not employers. Minimum income can replace minimum wage.
For example, say I'm a landlord. If everyone all of a sudden had an additional "base" income, why wouldn't I increase my rents to absorb at least a portion of that? Then, only people who had a job would still be able to afford to rent from me, while those on the basic income would be unable to afford it. I'm not out either way.
Sure, but now that you've raised the price, there's an opportunity to undercut you that didn't exist before. The result ultimately depends on the supply and demand of housing. Just think of it like a bunch of slightly-richer people moving into the neighborhood. Prices will rise, but not enough to take all the new residents' extra money.
- empressplay 10y agoThis would only work in places where supply exceeded demand. In a landlords' market there is no reason to compete. All the same people who could afford to rent from you before can still afford to rent from you now, you're just charging them more.
- AlisdairO 10y agoBasic income could have the effect of flattening out demand rather - at the moment, people are forced to cluster close to where the work is available. If I want to just live on basic income, why not go somewhere more affordable?
- empressplay 10y ago...and all of a sudden these places that were previously unattractive are now attractive, and housing that previously had no demand now does. The point I'm trying to make is that it's not as simple as some might like to think.
- AlisdairO 10y agoI take your point, but if we remove the requirement for jobs to be present, a much larger range of locations become reasonable to live in. A broader range of acceptable locations spread amongst the same population is clearly likely to decrease overall competition for a given property.
- panic 10y agoImagine two cities, Fortyville and Hundredsixton. In Fortyville, people make an average of $40,000 a year, while in Hundredsixton, the mean annual income is $160,000. Would you expect the average rent for a room in Hundredsixton to be $10,000/month higher than the average rent in Fortyville? That isn't what happens in practice; rent doesn't go up one-to-one with income.