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>The only real question, IMO, is if we can afford it. Sure we can, if we want to. We've got the resources, we just don't have the desire to distribute them. 4
by wu-ikkyu 9y ago
>The only real question, IMO, is if we can afford it.
Sure we can, if we want to. We've got the resources, we just don't have the desire to distribute them.
40% of food is goes wasted[1] and there are ~23 year-round vacant homes in the US for every homeless person[2] in the US.
[1]http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/22/40-of-u-s-food-wasted-report-says/ http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/22/40-of-u-s-food-wasted-r...
[2]https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/22335/are-there-24-empty-houses-available-per-homeless-person-in-the-usa#22336 https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/22335/are-there...
- darawk 9y agoFood/Housing are not UBI, though. UBI isn't about providing necessities, it's about providing cash at a level that one can provide the necessities for themselves.
- wu-ikkyu 9y agoWhy does a UBI have to be cash based?
- darawk 9y agoIn principle, it doesn't have to be. But cash is theoretically the most efficient. Individuals know better than anyone else what they need at any given time. Giving them cash allows them to effectively manage their needs, and invest in their own development better than government could.
- wu-ikkyu 9y agoBut as you said, providing for our basic needs (food, water, shelter) does not seem to be achievable in terms of cash. Why is it that an arbitrary shortage of 1's and 0's in a computer somewhere is keeping us from achieving the end goal of UBI, which is to efficiently distribute the existing surplus of goods needed for survival that go wasted every year?