4 ms·

>which was actually realistic, would've given out $1000 per month. I am not from the US, would it be realistic to live on 1k USD a month?

by La1n 6y ago

extrapickles 6y ago
That amount would likely require universal health care to make it comfortable to live off of. You would still not be able to afford decent housing in a major city though, as you would have to split a studio apartment with several people.
- Ekaros 6y ago
  With UBI I always question should it even afford a decent housing in major city. Or is it more reasonable to expect it to pay for decent housing(a flat) and basic living expenses including food, clothing and other necessities in some town with reasonable basic services?
  - carabiner 6y ago
    Huge swaths (40% or so?) of the US live outside of big cities. It's just inconceivable that every one of them is seriously deprived and miserable doing so. They have friends, hobbies, lives that they can do outside of dense urban areas.
  - extrapickles 6y ago
    You should be able to afford major city if you are able to split the fixed costs of living with someone. Its more likely that people on UBI without any supplemental income would live in a suburb of the major city. A true UBI would make abuse of low wage workers difficult as they can easily leave the job without worrying about being able to eat.
burlesona 6y ago
That would get you pretty far outside of the biggest cities. It wouldn’t make for a glamorous life, but it would be enough that at minimum you wouldn’t have to worry about food and housing. For context, during the recession I managed to survive one year of severe underemployment, living in Houston, on an income of less than $20k for the year. Things were tight, and I had no savings at the end of that year, so I’m glad it didn’t last any longer. But if I imagine having that same experience with an extra $1k/mo in baseline income, it would have gone from “stressful” to “not where I want to be, but okay.”
bogwog 6y ago
Yes, especially with room mates, family, a spouse, etc. (if you split the bill of course) And again, that's only from the UBI. If you have even a crappy part-time minimum-wage job, your quality of life would increase by quite a lot.
dfgdghdf 6y ago
A big advantage of UBI is that it allows a smooth transition from living only on UBI into better paid employment because you don't lose the income once you start working. A long term study would reveal if this lowers unemployement overall. Is it enough to live on? Well I think that depends on expectations, but it is a start and it is certainly better than nothing.

>which was actually realistic, would've given out $1000 per month. I am not from the US, would it be realistic to live on 1k USD a month?

by La1n 6y ago

>which was actually realistic, would've given out $1000 per month. I am not from the US, would it be realistic to live on 1k USD a month?

extrapickles 6y ago

That amount would likely require universal health care to make it comfortable to live off of. You would still not be able to afford decent housing in a major city though, as you would have to split a studio apartment with several people.

Ekaros 6y ago
With UBI I always question should it even afford a decent housing in major city. Or is it more reasonable to expect it to pay for decent housing(a flat) and basic living expenses including food, clothing and other necessities in some town with reasonable basic services?
- carabiner 6y ago
  Huge swaths (40% or so?) of the US live outside of big cities. It's just inconceivable that every one of them is seriously deprived and miserable doing so. They have friends, hobbies, lives that they can do outside of dense urban areas.
- extrapickles 6y ago
  You should be able to afford major city if you are able to split the fixed costs of living with someone. Its more likely that people on UBI without any supplemental income would live in a suburb of the major city. A true UBI would make abuse of low wage workers difficult as they can easily leave the job without worrying about being able to eat.

burlesona 6y ago

That would get you pretty far outside of the biggest cities. It wouldn’t make for a glamorous life, but it would be enough that at minimum you wouldn’t have to worry about food and housing. For context, during the recession I managed to survive one year of severe underemployment, living in Houston, on an income of less than $20k for the year. Things were tight, and I had no savings at the end of that year, so I’m glad it didn’t last any longer. But if I imagine having that same experience with an extra $1k/mo in baseline income, it would have gone from “stressful” to “not where I want to be, but okay.”

bogwog 6y ago

Yes, especially with room mates, family, a spouse, etc. (if you split the bill of course) And again, that's only from the UBI. If you have even a crappy part-time minimum-wage job, your quality of life would increase by quite a lot.

dfgdghdf 6y ago

A big advantage of UBI is that it allows a smooth transition from living only on UBI into better paid employment because you don't lose the income once you start working. A long term study would reveal if this lowers unemployement overall. Is it enough to live on? Well I think that depends on expectations, but it is a start and it is certainly better than nothing.