4 ms·

Most of the population is already 100% dependent on the government.

• coldtea 5y ago
  Nowhere near that level
  • totony 5y ago
    It provides water, electricity (most places), garbage collection, sewer, law, police, food safety, etc. Having them give a small sum every month isn't that big of a change
    • coldtea 5y ago
      It's the difference between depending on state-run functions common to most/every state, like some state utility companies, policing, courts, food safety, etc, versus depending on the state for your very livelihood. Only Ayn Rand fans would consider those things "the same".
    • gentleman11 5y ago
      The tax rate being roughly 30% give or take means that those things cost most people less than a third of their incomes. They still pay for them and are mostly independent. Universal income means that 100% of the system depends on the government and their broad rules about who gets what with no possibility of nuance I’m not talking about a small supplemental ubi btw, I mean a future where it’s most peoples primary income stream
      • totony 5y ago
        I get where you are coming from but even then, a large portion of the population already depends on government directly for their income (7-8%) + all the government contractors, etc. Plus the government decides if a lot of business live or die (import tax, regulations, etc.) That's not including all the obtuse tax laws that affect people's income to a huge degree (see the recent article on how billionaires get around to not paying taxes). It's hard to argue most people are not already mostly dependent on the whims of the government for their income (although imo the utilities the government provides are more important than the income).