> I think that you have really misunderstood me. I believe in a social safety net, but a modest one. I also think that a modest universal basic income would be

> I think that you have really misunderstood me. I believe in a social safety net, but a modest one. I also think that a modest universal basic income would be better than what we have now since people can also work and get a combined income. My comment isn't addressed at you as a person (whom I have no way of evaluating), but at the general appeals for "equality of opportunity vs outcome", which seem largely blind to systemic and structural inequalities that actively negate equality of opportunity today. Your (or my) personal efforts are sort of negligible to those larger issues. > Also, re: unfairness to African Americans in the housing market: absolutely true. I don’t know what I can do about that right now. That's the point. If the massive injustices whose effects echo through generations aren't addressed, then the marginal and even well-intentioned efforts will have limited effect. It took something the size of the New Deal to restructure American society in the aftermath of inequities of the Gilded Age and the Great Depression, and I doubt anything short of that type of effort will change the picture today. In the worst case, we could we end up with a society that relies on charity for its safety net (which at scale often comes with social/cultural/religious conditions attached). I also realize that for many that is a desired outcome, not something to be avoided. If we do a UBI but then strip other public supports for low and no-income people, it would likely do more harm than good, as there is no politically feasible UBI that is going to provide an acceptable minimum standard of living that includes healthcare, public safety, housing, and education for everyone, regardless of race or ethnicity. If people are struggling to stay housed and fed - which will likely happen if their benefits are stripped in favor of a UBI - they aren't suddenly going to pursue personal (and national) productivity-increasing self-improvement as proponents of that approach posit. They are going to figure out how to just survive another day, hurting others in their own community if necessary, which is often the case already today.