I think that we should use the Basic Job to provide all the valuable government services that left wing types want to provide by overpaying public sector unions

I think that we should use the Basic Job to provide all the valuable government services that left wing types want to provide by overpaying public sector unions. E.g., child care for working women, infrastructure, that kind of thing. We could probably make it revenue neutral if we replaced overpaid unionized public sector workers with basic jobbers at $7.25/hour. But yes, even the system you describe would be better than a basic income. It would cost a lot less money because very few people would participate in it. The problem with the soviet system was not the basic job. It was the lack of anything else.