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UBI isn't socialism. The incentive for productivity under UBI is called capitalism, and it means that the people who want to live more than slightly above the p

UBI isn't socialism. The incentive for productivity under UBI is called capitalism, and it means that the people who want to live more than slightly above the poverty level will continue to work, and the people who want to get rich will continue to innovate and start companies. There are plausible (though obviously untested) arguments that UBI will increase innovation by getting people out of bullshit jobs and enabling entrepreneurs to pay their bills until their companies are profitable.

gwright 6y ago
And what about the people who don't want their earnings to be taxed to pay for people who can work but choose not to? To be fair I don't think UBI is unique in this problem. Even traditional assistance programs struggle with this problem. It would be wonderful if we had some mechanisms that helped people become self-sufficient but that seems to be a very much unsolved problem. I don't think UBI will be much better at this but the argument that it could be more efficient (i.e. provide the same level of support to more people at the same cost when compared to traditional assistance packages) is what continues to intrigue me about UBI.
RockIslandLine 6y ago
"will increase innovation by getting people out of bullshit jobs and enabling entrepreneurs to pay their bills until their companies are profitable." I think that relies on a definition of "innovation" that is not proper. What does "innovation" mean? We already have restaurants. If you open another restaurant have you done anything innovative at all? Most likely not. You're not going to develop the next generation of microchip in your basement. Multibillion dollar industrial plants are beyond the means of an individual who depends on UBI. So what kind of new development are you likely to actually create?
rorykoehler 6y ago
Precisely. There is no way I could live he life I want on €1200/month.

gwright 6y ago

And what about the people who don't want their earnings to be taxed to pay for people who can work but choose not to? To be fair I don't think UBI is unique in this problem. Even traditional assistance programs struggle with this problem. It would be wonderful if we had some mechanisms that helped people become self-sufficient but that seems to be a very much unsolved problem. I don't think UBI will be much better at this but the argument that it could be more efficient (i.e. provide the same level of support to more people at the same cost when compared to traditional assistance packages) is what continues to intrigue me about UBI.

RockIslandLine 6y ago

"will increase innovation by getting people out of bullshit jobs and enabling entrepreneurs to pay their bills until their companies are profitable." I think that relies on a definition of "innovation" that is not proper. What does "innovation" mean? We already have restaurants. If you open another restaurant have you done anything innovative at all? Most likely not. You're not going to develop the next generation of microchip in your basement. Multibillion dollar industrial plants are beyond the means of an individual who depends on UBI. So what kind of new development are you likely to actually create?

rorykoehler 6y ago

Precisely. There is no way I could live he life I want on €1200/month.