Gonna have to disagree with you. I think your view is a bit pessimistic. > Who gets to decide what level of shelter is "good enough for basic"? Who decides wha

Gonna have to disagree with you. I think your view is a bit pessimistic. > Who gets to decide what level of shelter is "good enough for basic"? Who decides what quality of t-shirt is "good enough"? Who decides which level of Ramen is "good enough"? > No offense, but the idea in your book sounds a lot closer to "prison" than Basic Income. You don't have a choice in prison. In prison, you eat what they feed you, live where they tell you, wear what they give you, and if you don't want those, then you get nothing at all. You DO have a choice in this "basic" world. In a "basic" world, you get those things no matter what. The government picks it, sure, but they say "This is what you get at a minimum. If you want more, here's a path to contribute to society, and society will compensate you with money, and you can use that money to buy nicer stuff." It's not an either/or proposition. It's both.