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I agree. UBI is such a fascinating idea, but much like communism it feels like an extreme that will never work in practice. Everyone gets an extra $1000/month.
by 013a 9y ago
I agree. UBI is such a fascinating idea, but much like communism it feels like an extreme that will never work in practice.
Everyone gets an extra $1000/month. Great. That's extra money flowing into an economy which absolutely affects supply/demand for the things everyone needs (food, shelter). Food might be fine because there's a lot of competition, but landlords? Rental prices are almost completely set by market demand, not cost of service.
Its possible UBI could help sidestep this by allowing more people to purchase homes, but housing supply is constrained in many urban areas today; adding more capital to that market will increase prices. Granted, this isn't as bad a thing as money entering the renter markets, because that money just goes to build more developments and eat up more land that could be owned by people to build equity instead of corporations. But its still something to keep in mind.
- dragonwriter 9y ago> Everyone gets an extra $1000/month. Great. That's extra money flowing into an economy No, it's not, in most proposals, since it's funded by a combination of new taxes and displacing other spending programs. If you fund it by printing money, sure, it's new money, but that's not what is usually proposed with UBI.
- AaronM 9y agoIf those new taxes primarily target the rich and large corporations it would be, since a disproportionate amount of money they earn is not being spent.
- skybrian 9y agoYes, housing prices are constrained in some urban areas and there increased income would tend to go towards increases in rent. But there's more competition from low cost areas if people have an income that's not tied to a job. Take a look at social security to see how this plays out. Why do you think so many retirees move to Florida?