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Fair enough, the universal basic income would not work in a number of countries that are either failed states on one side or authoratarian on the other, but muc
by marmot777 10y ago
Fair enough, the universal basic income would not work in a number of countries that are either failed states on one side or authoratarian on the other, but much of civilization, including the developed world, falls in the zone where this program might work and is at least worth testing. I accept your premise that this can't work unless some minimum conditions are met.
Given that, do you toss the whole idea or do you think it could work in places like Kenya and the United States?
- thehardsphere 10y agoI think it could work in places like the United States, if it is implemented correctly. I'm skpetical that a correct implementation will be possible because the incentives that created the haphazard system of poorly designed transfer payments we have today aren't just going to go away. It's too easy for someone to say "Group X needs additional support for Reason Y" and end up with something just as expensive and complex as what we have now. I know, because I've managed to bait people on both the left and the right into doing it for different values of X and Y. By "correct implementation", I mean one that replaces all welfare, social security, and probably some parts of the tax code. Healthcare maybe you can get away with treating separately. I don’t know enough about Kenya to say one way or the other.
- marmot777 10y agoYes, I agree, as part of what makes this program appealing is its simplicity and its relatively un-leaky bucket. That is if I have $2000 available for Bob, it's still pretty damn close to $2000 by the time it reaches his account. As you suggest, it's difficult to imagine this shoehorned in with the tangle of programs administered by multiple agencies.