UBI, or universal basic income, is a form of direct cash assistance to help the most vulnerable get back on their feet. A new study in Denver suggests it works.
  • @Farnswirth@lemmy.worldEnglish
    -12•8 months ago

    There are two major concerns I have with UBI.

    1. It’s highly inflationary.

    2. It fosters dependency, and it’s an economic-political death spiral. People on UBI vote for those who support higher UBI. Inflation increases due to increased monetary velocity. People demand higher UBI due to cost of living increases. Votes go to those who promise higher UBI, etc. The cycle continues until you’re wiping your ass with currency or some form of CBDC is implemented to stop the bleeding.

    • @PeleSpirit@lemmy.worldEnglish
      36•8 months ago

      It fosters dependency

      You’re going to have to source that. There is no cycle of dependency, lol. Everyone making it above survival level probably won’t even spur them to vote. These aren’t people rolling in money, it’s 12k per year.

      • @Chunk@lemmy.worldEnglish
        -1•8 months ago

        Giving everyone 12k/year doesn’t foster dependency? Dude I make enough to not be homeless but if I had an extra 12k I’d spend it and my lifestyle would inflate. That’s dependency. I depend on it to live a nicer life.

    • @Eheran@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11•8 months ago

      Do we have any sort of previous example of this happening? Was this ever tested? If no: a test is seemingly well worth it.

      • @PeleSpirit@lemmy.worldEnglish
        14•8 months ago

        This isn’t directed at you, this is for the other dude, but also answers your question a little. The entire US was given checks during the pandemic, did it make you lazy?

        • @cricket97@lemmy.worldEnglish
          -1•8 months ago

          There’s a big difference when its guaranteed over a period of time. Then you can actually feel justified in quitting whatever job you have since you know the money will keep coming in.

        • Bob Robertson IX English
          -2•8 months ago

          The entire US was given checks during the pandemic, did it make you lazy?

          I mean, I spent a year wearing sweat pants and hardly leaving my house.

          • @PeleSpirit@lemmy.worldEnglish
            6•8 months ago

            Because you were rolling in checks or because it was unhealthy to do so? Having worked full-time and part time as a freelancer, job burnout and needing recovery isn’t laziness.

            • Bob Robertson IX English
              2•8 months ago

              It was a joke… I was still working full time, just from home. And I didn’t go anywhere because there was a pandemic going on and I didn’t want to be around people. But the fact that I was 100% in sweatpants and lounging around the house for a year did feel lazy, but had nothing to do with the checks coming in from the government.

        • @Gigan@lemmy.worldEnglish
          -7•8 months ago

          Fuck yeah it did. I was making the same on unemployment as I would have being at work. I wanted to stay laid off.

          • @PeleSpirit@lemmy.worldEnglish
            4•8 months ago

            What you wanted to do and what you did are 2 different things. You’re overworked and probably not doing a job that you want to do. That isn’t laziness, that’s job unsatisfaction.

            • @Gigan@lemmy.worldEnglish
              -1•8 months ago

              Yeah, but that probably applies to a lot of people. Why would anyone choose to do all the bullshit (but necessary) jobs if they can get paid the same for sitting at home?

    • @centof@lemm.eeEnglish
      5•8 months ago
      1. It’s highly inflationary.
      1. False. It is only inflationary if the the government prints money to fund it. If instead the government funds it by cutting unnecessary spending or increasing tax revenue in some way than it is not inflationary. There is the same amount of money in circulation but it is just moving between hands instead of staying in a bank account.
    • snooggums
      4•8 months ago

      So to summarize other people’s points, evidence shows that those concerns are not outcomes of UBI so there is no need to be worried.

    • I'm back on my BS 🤪English
      1•8 months ago
      1. It’s highly inflationary.

      I think this is a great example of what rich people think of us. This user would prefer that people stay homeless rather than cut back on their own luxuries so that others could have a more decent basic standard of living. Those with stable basic housing feel like they’re living the normal life they have earned, while a homeless person is someone that doesn’t want to put in the work to carry themselves. The wealthy think the same way about the middle class: we want vacation days, adequate healthcare, a proper justice system, and decent wages/fair business market without earning it. However, a person with a 1 bedroom apartment they can call home is a king to a homeless person.

      1. It fosters dependency, and it’s an economic-political death spiral. People on UBI vote for those who support higher UBI.

      Here, we see the privilege. They argue that it would foster dependency because the poor would vote for better standards of living rather than contribute to society. To think this way, we have to ignore that someone cannot meaningfully contribute to society without adequate housing and stability. We would also have to ignore our own hypocrisy in that we argue that our standard of living is dependent on the exploitation of the homeless.

      These are the very same arguments that the wealthy elite use. If they pay more taxes, then the poor will slippery slope the vote by electing politicians that continue to increase taxes on the rich, while also becoming dependent on that revenue.

      I am in no way attacking this user. It’s a common mentality across the world. Instead, I’m using their comment to point out how this mentality works regardless of social class: 1) my efforts have created my wealth, while everyone else that is poorer just doesn’t work to earn it, and 2) helping the lazy poorer people makes them dependent on my work. Repeat these arguments in some fashion all the way down to the poorest person on Earth 🔁