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I see UBI as a means to make life more affordable. Assuming price stasis across introduction of UBI, can't a family just use the extra money to help pay rent/mo

I see UBI as a means to make life more affordable. Assuming price stasis across introduction of UBI, can't a family just use the extra money to help pay rent/mortgage costs? Ultimately, cost of living is one of the big differences between first-world society and the rest of the world. UBI is a way to share the fruits of productivity of the first world among its common classes, effectively reducing their net monthly expenses.

DoreenMichele 9y ago
There are a number of problems with UBI. The largest issue is that tech giants say they want to create a UBI because many jobs are going away permanently. These jobs pay like $20k to $50k annually. Proposed UBI is usually $10k. The most generous figure I have seen (from Sam Altman) is $18k. Then the rest of the article talks in glowing terms about how lovely it will be for underpaid workers to have this extra money. These articles never actually explore what life would be like if your $50k job disappears, you are doomed to only get $10k UBI and have no hope of getting another job. Another issue is that we have a serious, long standing shortage of affordable housing. We tore down about 80% of SROs in a couple of decades and never replaced them. Average size of new housing has more than doubled since the 1950s. If you do nothing to address the issue of affordable housing, then UBI solves nothing. My fear is that tech giants focusing on UBI means that restructuring work to better distribute it, addressing the need to fix health care and affordable housing will all get ignored because UBI is supposed to be some panacea. But it's not. It is basically rich people imagining they can solve this by cutting a check. They can't. That doesn't work. If there simply isn't affordable, basic housing, UBI won't get you off the street.
- thriftwy 9y ago
  If you're on UBI you don't need affordable housing because the huge array of very cheap housing in currently non-desirable areas. The kind that is described in the article. Some of those will probably pay you for moving in. And then you have whole day to yourself to figure out additional income on top of UBI.
jopsen 9y ago
Is UBI anything but a pipe dream in the US? (I'm sure it's possible in some European countries in a few years) But maybe the US should just try fix mental health, regressive taxes, low minimum wages, high housing costs, cruel prisons, and health care. Then move on to decent unemployment benefits, day care, maternity leave and maybe in some far fetched future you can talk about UBI. Today UBI in the US seems like wishful thinking. You have lots of low hanging fruit you could fix first. The idea of helping people who needs help isn't controversial, maybe try that first?
- asfdsfggtfd 9y ago
  > Then move on to decent unemployment benefits, day care, maternity leave and maybe in some far fetched future you can talk about UBI. One point in favour of UBI is that it could replace all of these individual benefits.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - cannonedhamster 9y ago
    UBI would need to be dramatically higher than 10k a year to cover healthcare.
    - specialist 9y ago
      "Medicare for All" is a prerequisite for UBI.
      - thriftwy 9y ago
        I'm actually not sure about that. Many people could spend their share more wisely than if it is thrown into the mouth of healthcare machine. If healthcare is allowed to eat into UBI it will quickly find a way to consume it completely.
        9y ago

DoreenMichele 9y ago

There are a number of problems with UBI. The largest issue is that tech giants say they want to create a UBI because many jobs are going away permanently. These jobs pay like $20k to $50k annually. Proposed UBI is usually $10k. The most generous figure I have seen (from Sam Altman) is $18k. Then the rest of the article talks in glowing terms about how lovely it will be for underpaid workers to have this extra money. These articles never actually explore what life would be like if your $50k job disappears, you are doomed to only get $10k UBI and have no hope of getting another job. Another issue is that we have a serious, long standing shortage of affordable housing. We tore down about 80% of SROs in a couple of decades and never replaced them. Average size of new housing has more than doubled since the 1950s. If you do nothing to address the issue of affordable housing, then UBI solves nothing. My fear is that tech giants focusing on UBI means that restructuring work to better distribute it, addressing the need to fix health care and affordable housing will all get ignored because UBI is supposed to be some panacea. But it's not. It is basically rich people imagining they can solve this by cutting a check. They can't. That doesn't work. If there simply isn't affordable, basic housing, UBI won't get you off the street.

thriftwy 9y ago
If you're on UBI you don't need affordable housing because the huge array of very cheap housing in currently non-desirable areas. The kind that is described in the article. Some of those will probably pay you for moving in. And then you have whole day to yourself to figure out additional income on top of UBI.

jopsen 9y ago

Is UBI anything but a pipe dream in the US? (I'm sure it's possible in some European countries in a few years) But maybe the US should just try fix mental health, regressive taxes, low minimum wages, high housing costs, cruel prisons, and health care. Then move on to decent unemployment benefits, day care, maternity leave and maybe in some far fetched future you can talk about UBI. Today UBI in the US seems like wishful thinking. You have lots of low hanging fruit you could fix first. The idea of helping people who needs help isn't controversial, maybe try that first?

asfdsfggtfd 9y ago
> Then move on to decent unemployment benefits, day care, maternity leave and maybe in some far fetched future you can talk about UBI. One point in favour of UBI is that it could replace all of these individual benefits.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- cannonedhamster 9y ago
  UBI would need to be dramatically higher than 10k a year to cover healthcare.
  - specialist 9y ago
    "Medicare for All" is a prerequisite for UBI.
    - thriftwy 9y ago
      I'm actually not sure about that. Many people could spend their share more wisely than if it is thrown into the mouth of healthcare machine. If healthcare is allowed to eat into UBI it will quickly find a way to consume it completely.
      - 9y ago