> if the government could provide something like a universal basic income for unemployed people when the economy was flatlining, could they not afford it during

> if the government could provide something like a universal basic income for unemployed people when the economy was flatlining, could they not afford it during boom times What happened when the government started writing stimulus checks? Assets inflated greatly. Meme coins became a thing and scammy crypto currencies and JPEGs shot up. Some people were paid more in benefits than they made working prolonging inflation. About 68% of unemployed workers received benefits that were greater than their lost earnings [0]. Pretty soon the stock market was about 20% higher than it was pre-covid. If you were to ask economists or anyone with a basic grasp of reality how the stock market should react with a global pandemic and shutdown, most would say it should adjust down, not shoot up 20% from pre-pandemic levels. It was obviously the money printing. To be fair, the money printing wasn't 100% given to people directly, but nearly $2 trillion was income assistance and direct payment [1] and other measures had similar effects in that they resulted in money in people's pocket, more than they had lost. That money fueled the asset bubble. Fast forward a few years, and the result was double digit inflation that we're still working through. Not a resounding win as the dem-socialists would have you believe. > "Could we have a Zohran in San Francisco?” I'm pretty sure San Fransisco has many of the same policies Zohran promotes like rent control and soft on crime like social workers rather than police, drug legalization and acceptance of "minor" shoplifting. They also have some of the highest tax rates in the country. Combined city and county sales tax rate is 8.625% + an additional 12.3% for CA [2] The article mentions free buses and tax on vacant properties, but is that the biggest problem? Bus fares? I feel like this whole post is an incredible exercise in gaslighting. [0] https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/many-americans-are-getting-more-money-from-unemployment-than-they-were-from-their-jobs/ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/many-americans-are-gett... [1] https://www.covidmoneytracker.org/ https://www.covidmoneytracker.org/ [2] https://cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/rates.aspx https://cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/rates.aspx