6 ms·

Why doesn’t that happen today?

mrkurt 7y ago
Moving is expensive and disruptive.
burkaman 7y ago
Because moving itself is expensive, and you can't just move and automatically have a new job. With basic income, you can afford to move, and don't have to worry too much about the time you'll spend looking for a new job.
dx87 7y ago
Because there isn't much work if you live there. If you had UBI though, that wouldn't matter, so you could just live in a rural area for cheap.
- BurningFrog 7y ago
  This of course directly contradicts the claim that people will keep working with UBI.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - saint_fiasco 7y ago
    If they like their current house they'll work hard to pay for it. If they can't find a job or don't like their current home that much they can use their UBI to move and make room for a more productive citizen to move into the city. This makes the allocation of housing more efficient.
eru 7y ago
It does. But perhaps at a lower rate? Years ago, the Great Recession slowed that migration a lot.
sp332 7y ago
Because moving to places with lower cost of living, to speak extremely broadly of course, means less income compared to cost of living, meaning a lower standard of living. But with a guaranteed income, a lower cost of living would always mean a benefit to standard of living.
- jsonne 7y ago
  This is true in theory but not in practice in my experience. I presently live in one of the bottom 5 states in terms of population density and there are multiple manufacturing plants that require no experience, are paying 60k+ for new hires, and are in extremely low COL areas. By the way, they can't find enough people to apply and are having to aggressively advertise to fill entry-level spots. I think the issue is more information asymmetry. If people knew the jobs existed and knew what they paid I'm sure at least some % would be willing to move, but no one discloses that out of that gate, unfortunately.
  - wolco 7y ago
    I think the other problem is what happens next. Without the nexus of a city you are stuck at that place or the 4 or 5 similiar places. Good or bad variety can offer more.
  - danans 7y ago
    People are not exclusively driven by economics, nor are they immune to economics. For a lot of people, moving to a place with lower COL would mean giving up community and family in their high COL areas. Those networks provide a lot of security that doesn't appear on the books. These are quality of life trade-offs that are different for everyone. Of course, the younger or more flexible you are, areas like yours might be a good opportunity, but it's not a obvious win for every entry level job aspirant.
jsjddbbwj 7y ago
Because jobs and services are in big cities.
ctdonath 7y ago
Because relocating requires a tremendous effort: new housing, job, occupation, acquaintances, etc. Because a lot of that cheap land is cheap for a reason: low/no data service, harsh weather, insufficient community. Because "basic income" is free: the whole point of UBI is a basic income which one can get by on - non-zero effort to work at all withers against the prospect of being comfortable doing nothing; there is no imperative incentive to work.

Moving is expensive and disruptive.

Because moving itself is expensive, and you can't just move and automatically have a new job. With basic income, you can afford to move, and don't have to worry too much about the time you'll spend looking for a new job.

dx87 7y ago

Because there isn't much work if you live there. If you had UBI though, that wouldn't matter, so you could just live in a rural area for cheap.

BurningFrog 7y ago
This of course directly contradicts the claim that people will keep working with UBI.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- saint_fiasco 7y ago
  If they like their current house they'll work hard to pay for it. If they can't find a job or don't like their current home that much they can use their UBI to move and make room for a more productive citizen to move into the city. This makes the allocation of housing more efficient.

eru 7y ago

It does. But perhaps at a lower rate? Years ago, the Great Recession slowed that migration a lot.

sp332 7y ago

Because moving to places with lower cost of living, to speak extremely broadly of course, means less income compared to cost of living, meaning a lower standard of living. But with a guaranteed income, a lower cost of living would always mean a benefit to standard of living.

jsonne 7y ago
This is true in theory but not in practice in my experience. I presently live in one of the bottom 5 states in terms of population density and there are multiple manufacturing plants that require no experience, are paying 60k+ for new hires, and are in extremely low COL areas. By the way, they can't find enough people to apply and are having to aggressively advertise to fill entry-level spots. I think the issue is more information asymmetry. If people knew the jobs existed and knew what they paid I'm sure at least some % would be willing to move, but no one discloses that out of that gate, unfortunately.
- wolco 7y ago
  I think the other problem is what happens next. Without the nexus of a city you are stuck at that place or the 4 or 5 similiar places. Good or bad variety can offer more.
- danans 7y ago
  People are not exclusively driven by economics, nor are they immune to economics. For a lot of people, moving to a place with lower COL would mean giving up community and family in their high COL areas. Those networks provide a lot of security that doesn't appear on the books. These are quality of life trade-offs that are different for everyone. Of course, the younger or more flexible you are, areas like yours might be a good opportunity, but it's not a obvious win for every entry level job aspirant.

jsjddbbwj 7y ago

Because jobs and services are in big cities.

ctdonath 7y ago

Because relocating requires a tremendous effort: new housing, job, occupation, acquaintances, etc. Because a lot of that cheap land is cheap for a reason: low/no data service, harsh weather, insufficient community. Because "basic income" is free: the whole point of UBI is a basic income which one can get by on - non-zero effort to work at all withers against the prospect of being comfortable doing nothing; there is no imperative incentive to work.