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I would suspect that for a lot of people their debts (particularly mortgage debt) would grow with their income leaving them unable to just quit and fall back on

I would suspect that for a lot of people their debts (particularly mortgage debt) would grow with their income leaving them unable to just quit and fall back on UBI.

bryondowd 9y ago
Only around 40% of Americans have a mortgage, with a large chunk of those being people who earn upper middle class money and are therefore probably more stable in their career with more leverage against employer abuse. Most other common debts (credit cards) don't have the kind of consequences that would prevent you from missing a few months of payments if necessary. So, while this might be a concern for a subset of the population, it probably still stands that this would benefit most of the people most often preyed upon by shady employment practices.
- closeparen 9y ago
  Replace mortgage with rent. If leaving your job isn't well timed with lease expiration (giving you the opportunity to move somewhere cheaper) then UBI lower than rent isn't going to help much.
  - stickfigure 9y ago
    On the other hand, if UBI is constant across geography, it provides an incentive for the underemployed to move somewhere cheaper. It might take some of the pressure off housing in popular cities.
    - closeparen 9y ago
      Many would call this "the destruction of marginalized communities" and try to stop it.
      - bryondowd 9y ago
        I'm pretty sure that if you replace what's in quotes there, you could make that statement for literally any proposal to do something ever made.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
  - bryondowd 9y ago
    Breaking a lease doesn't have nearly as severe consequences as defaulting a mortgage. Most cases they just keep your deposit, if they know they aren't likely to be able to get anything more from you, because you have no assets. So yeah, if it's important, you could ditch the job and the rental and move somewhere you can afford on UBI.
    - closeparen 9y ago
      Do reputable landlords rent to people who have broken leases recently? Do they even pass job background checks that include credit history? I can peacefully exit my lease by paying an extra month's rent as a termination fee, but if I abandoned the apartment and couldn't come up with the termination fee, I'm pretty sure it would be the same, or a little worse, than being in default on any other debt.

I would suspect that for a lot of people their debts (particularly mortgage debt) would grow with their income leaving them unable to just quit and fall back on UBI.

bryondowd 9y ago

Only around 40% of Americans have a mortgage, with a large chunk of those being people who earn upper middle class money and are therefore probably more stable in their career with more leverage against employer abuse. Most other common debts (credit cards) don't have the kind of consequences that would prevent you from missing a few months of payments if necessary. So, while this might be a concern for a subset of the population, it probably still stands that this would benefit most of the people most often preyed upon by shady employment practices.

closeparen 9y ago
Replace mortgage with rent. If leaving your job isn't well timed with lease expiration (giving you the opportunity to move somewhere cheaper) then UBI lower than rent isn't going to help much.
- stickfigure 9y ago
  On the other hand, if UBI is constant across geography, it provides an incentive for the underemployed to move somewhere cheaper. It might take some of the pressure off housing in popular cities.
  - closeparen 9y ago
    Many would call this "the destruction of marginalized communities" and try to stop it.
    - bryondowd 9y ago
      I'm pretty sure that if you replace what's in quotes there, you could make that statement for literally any proposal to do something ever made.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
- bryondowd 9y ago
  Breaking a lease doesn't have nearly as severe consequences as defaulting a mortgage. Most cases they just keep your deposit, if they know they aren't likely to be able to get anything more from you, because you have no assets. So yeah, if it's important, you could ditch the job and the rental and move somewhere you can afford on UBI.
  - closeparen 9y ago
    Do reputable landlords rent to people who have broken leases recently? Do they even pass job background checks that include credit history? I can peacefully exit my lease by paying an extra month's rent as a termination fee, but if I abandoned the apartment and couldn't come up with the termination fee, I'm pretty sure it would be the same, or a little worse, than being in default on any other debt.