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From another commenter... > Universal basic income is an old libertarian idea. It's greatest advocate is probably Milton Friedman. It's seen as more equitable
by pknopf 8y ago
From another commenter...
> Universal basic income is an old libertarian idea. It's greatest advocate is probably Milton Friedman. It's seen as more equitable than welfare programs, which libertarians view as too highly regulated and thus an infringement on individual freedom. That's the libertarian argument against welfare. You add that to the libertarian argument for welfare (that people can't be truly free if they're having to pay for things like health emergencies, etc) and you invariably conclude that the way to maximize individual freedoms is to provide a universal basic income, if you're going to have any kind of welfare program
- danyboii 8y agoI don't think he ever supported a UBI. He supported a Negative Income Tax which is different.
- tathougies 8y agoIt depends on how you taxonomize terms. Negative Income Tax (which is what Friedman supports) is a type of UBI. As I've said elsewhere in this chain, the policies being proposed today are not really what the libertarians had in mind, since they co-exist with other forms of welfare, which libertarians would be wholeheartedly against. That being said, it's not surprising why the economist would run a story on this... it is still a libertarian idea. Also, the comment quoted above was made by me... the same guy you responded to, ha! :)