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Their goods will cost more, but they'll also have more income, both from employers paying more for labor and from the direct payments from UBI. And even if the

Their goods will cost more, but they'll also have more income, both from employers paying more for labor and from the direct payments from UBI. And even if the benefits are entirely "inflated away" in aggregate (which is extremely dubious given that UBI produces real economic value in terms of stability), that's just the aggregate effect. To take an extreme example, if the Fed prints 1,000,000 exadollars and distributes them equally, then yeah it's pure inflation, but it also massively redistributes wealth to the point where everyone is practically identical. Hopefully that example demonstrates that the effect isn't zero even if it's just "inflating itself away." Finally, I object to treating this question in pure economic terms. We shouldn't be overly concerned with optimizing aggregate economic outcomes for society. Those at the top end can more than afford to give up some wealth, and those at the bottom are struggling to a heartbreaking degree. The utility function of holding wealth is not linear and if you're interested in increasing everyone's well-being then that's a fact you have to address.

jhncls 5y ago
How will printing money lead to redistributing wealth? The wealthy will still have their properties, their stocks, their personal connections, their education, ... . When the water level rises, all boats will rise together.
- Boxxed 5y ago
  Because the proportions change. OP used exadollars in his/her example to show that giving money equally to everyone evens things out.
  - babesh 5y ago
    Governments don’t generally do it that way. Usually they just seize assets. That is because if you print exadollars then either the assets rise in value in proportion or beyond a certain point, implode, making the country as a whole poorer. That is because companies can no longer make money. Suppliers demand more anticipating further inflation. You then need to pass it on but may not be able to pass it on fast enough. Cycle builds upon itself. Pretty soon, your currency is completely devalued and there is a robust underground economy. You run into shortages for essentials and have to introduce price controls. The poor get poorer. The rich get poorer. Good job. Lebanon. Venezuela. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/money-credit-debt-ray-dalio https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/money-credit-debt-ray-dalio

jhncls 5y ago

How will printing money lead to redistributing wealth? The wealthy will still have their properties, their stocks, their personal connections, their education, ... . When the water level rises, all boats will rise together.

Boxxed 5y ago
Because the proportions change. OP used exadollars in his/her example to show that giving money equally to everyone evens things out.
- babesh 5y ago
  Governments don’t generally do it that way. Usually they just seize assets. That is because if you print exadollars then either the assets rise in value in proportion or beyond a certain point, implode, making the country as a whole poorer. That is because companies can no longer make money. Suppliers demand more anticipating further inflation. You then need to pass it on but may not be able to pass it on fast enough. Cycle builds upon itself. Pretty soon, your currency is completely devalued and there is a robust underground economy. You run into shortages for essentials and have to introduce price controls. The poor get poorer. The rich get poorer. Good job. Lebanon. Venezuela. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/money-credit-debt-ray-dalio https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/money-credit-debt-ray-dalio