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I used to wonder what would happen if everyone in the UK got £1m given to them as a one off payment. We'd all be millionaires but poor as each other.
by martin-adams 13y ago
I used to wonder what would happen if everyone in the UK got £1m given to them as a one off payment. We'd all be millionaires but poor as each other.
- witek 13y agoEmigrate? I guess that could be the problem with universal income as well. You get £20k p.a. for doing nothing, so maybe you'll be doing nothing on a beach in Asia?
- Ntrails 13y agoYou are missing the point here, in your example when new money is created (to be able to hand it to everyone) you simply devalue currency and create inflation. Universal income is not being generated out of thin air by the government, it is being generated by tax. Therefore you will not find hyper inflation of the form you suggest.
- martin-adams 13y agoWell, the point I was getting to is how to approach such an effect through a thought experiment. I agree that my scenario is very different, but it's about the short and long term effects. You're right, my example would probably devalue the currency and create inflation, but what would happen as a result. Would prices go up within days, weeks year. What about wages and tax. How long would the rate of increase last.