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Just a bit of quick math[0]: ~323,000,000 total US population 77.2% over the age of 18 ~250,000,000 total over the age of 18 $12,000 per year per adult = $3

Just a bit of quick math[0]: ~323,000,000 total US population 77.2% over the age of 18 ~250,000,000 total over the age of 18 $12,000 per year per adult = $3,000,000,000,000 per year [0] - https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045216 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045216

grecy 9y ago
How much did that recent war cost?
- kolbe 9y ago
  About $500b a year.
deegles 9y ago
Not bad, especially since most of it would go straight back into the economy. People who need the money tend to spend it immediately. I feel it would drive a great de-urbanization, as people try to move places where they could get the most for their UBI.
guaka 9y ago
Trillions. That's what's currently going around in quantitative easing. That's why many are calling for QE for the people. Instead of giving money to financial institutions, give it directly to the people. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing
- chris_va 9y ago
  There is a big difference between loaning $1T once, and getting paid back, versus giving it away every year.
  - zanny 9y ago
    You loan 1T to the poor one year and get paid back 1T from the rich the next from all those poor spending money on goods the rich sell. UBI isn't like defense spending. It isn't a black hole you put tax dollars down and get nothing out. It means tremendous goods demand for the necessities of life that is extremely stable and reliable for businesses to profit off.
    - greedo 9y ago
      Revenue doesn't equal profit, much less the tax on profit.
    - chris_va 9y ago
      No offense, but defense spending is exactly the same as what you describe. It's money that goes to hundreds of thousands of workers that spend it in the economy. Unlike (some) defense spending, UBI doesn't intrinsically create some economic value. Increased stability would indirectly create economic value, but it needs to be more than the face value of the UBI check for it to not lead to gross inflation.
jrowley 9y ago
Presumably, the amount given could be on a sliding scale, where more wealthy people receive less money, but I'm sure there would be challenges to such a system. Personally, I'd love an extra 1k / month, but I rather see that go to a lot of other people before me.
- Guvante 9y ago
  No reason to complicate things. Everyone gets 1k/month and everyone's taxes go up. The hard part is figuring out where to take the money to cover the difference.
nabla9 9y ago
It would not be an extra cost. It's just distributing money differently. Most people would pay $1000 more taxes per month and get it right back as $1000 in BI. The benefit would be that if their income suddenly fluctuates, that $1000 would be there as a baseline.

grecy 9y ago

How much did that recent war cost?

kolbe 9y ago
About $500b a year.

deegles 9y ago

Not bad, especially since most of it would go straight back into the economy. People who need the money tend to spend it immediately. I feel it would drive a great de-urbanization, as people try to move places where they could get the most for their UBI.

guaka 9y ago

Trillions. That's what's currently going around in quantitative easing. That's why many are calling for QE for the people. Instead of giving money to financial institutions, give it directly to the people. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing

chris_va 9y ago
There is a big difference between loaning $1T once, and getting paid back, versus giving it away every year.
- zanny 9y ago
  You loan 1T to the poor one year and get paid back 1T from the rich the next from all those poor spending money on goods the rich sell. UBI isn't like defense spending. It isn't a black hole you put tax dollars down and get nothing out. It means tremendous goods demand for the necessities of life that is extremely stable and reliable for businesses to profit off.
  - greedo 9y ago
    Revenue doesn't equal profit, much less the tax on profit.
  - chris_va 9y ago
    No offense, but defense spending is exactly the same as what you describe. It's money that goes to hundreds of thousands of workers that spend it in the economy. Unlike (some) defense spending, UBI doesn't intrinsically create some economic value. Increased stability would indirectly create economic value, but it needs to be more than the face value of the UBI check for it to not lead to gross inflation.

jrowley 9y ago

Presumably, the amount given could be on a sliding scale, where more wealthy people receive less money, but I'm sure there would be challenges to such a system. Personally, I'd love an extra 1k / month, but I rather see that go to a lot of other people before me.

Guvante 9y ago
No reason to complicate things. Everyone gets 1k/month and everyone's taxes go up. The hard part is figuring out where to take the money to cover the difference.

nabla9 9y ago

It would not be an extra cost. It's just distributing money differently. Most people would pay $1000 more taxes per month and get it right back as $1000 in BI. The benefit would be that if their income suddenly fluctuates, that $1000 would be there as a baseline.