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In UBI discussions there is always this idea, which they even state in the article, that it "a means of unleashing the population’s creative potential". But I a
by ecshafer 3y ago
In UBI discussions there is always this idea, which they even state in the article, that it "a means of unleashing the population’s creative potential". But I always have to look at this idea as not rooted in reality. Maybe some people would have their creativity unleashed, but a far larger amount would just burn all day on tiktok or on drugs given enough free money to meet their needs.
This is before the effects of a hugely disastrous increase in taxes on the middle class (who is the one's that are realistically most harmed by high taxes) and rampant zimbabwe style inflation take hold.
If you want to raise the lowest, you need ownership in something, not just giving things away for free. When people are given free rent, they trash the place since they don't care about. Free money they will just burn it on whatever. But people that own homes, people that own business, people with assets care about them and will raise up the community. If you're going to give a trillion dollars away, instead of giving it as free money to be eaten up by landlords and entertainment companies. It would be better to spend a trillion dollars building homes or condos and giving people them or giving bonds or shares in businesses so people have wealth.
But UBI will never work, imo itll lead to the Earth in The Expanse, where people "on basic" are just in abject poverty with low desire for work, and a ruined economy where jobs are extremely scarce.
- mdekkers 3y agoYou make a lot of random assertions here and speak with confidence about what is and isn’t feasible, yet your only point of reference appears to be a sci-fi novel. Perhaps you can bring some facts to the discussion?
- ecshafer 3y agoThe only “studies” on this are small scale experiments of giving a small group of people some extra money. The experiment of “give everyone in the country money for free to live on” hasn’t really been done. Maybe the closest was Covid, and people just ordered takeout, bought tvs, and watched YouTube, it didn’t unleash creativity.
- fsflover 3y agoThere is no need to unleash creativity of 100% of population. Change always comes from the few of us.
- mdekkers 3y agoYou could have a look at some of the Scandinavian countries. It’s not “full UBI” but it isn’t far off either. I think you will find that much of what you are expressing concerns about isn’t really happening at any kind of meaningful scale.