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I understand from Milton Friedman that if there was no basic income, unemployment should approach zero. What is the catch?
by swah 13y ago
I understand from Milton Friedman that if there was no basic income, unemployment should approach zero. What is the catch?
- strlen 13y agoThe catch is we already have several terrible systems of poorly and expensively providing basic income: abuse of SSDI and using food-stamps to buy goods to use as a de-facto currency (in West Virginia, it happens to be soda bottles, for example)
- dllthomas 13y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAIRU http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NAIRU
- argumentum 13y agoI think you mean "no minimum wage", not "no basic income". Friedman was especially supportive of a basic income (negative income tax to be precise).
- swah 13y agoYes, bad english. Sorry.
- strlen 13y agoYeah, that makes a lot of sense actually: basic income + no minimum wage (or if politically impossible, not raising minimum wage) -- since the basic income will continue even if someone is employed, it's a great incentive to stay to in the labour force and advance even if the pay is minimal. I do think that Milton Friedman may not have foreseen the way automation might lead to at least long-term (but perhaps not permanent) structural unemployment.