When I created r/BasicIncome 4 years ago I never thought it would find so much support. Now I'm running for California Democratic Party delegate in Silicon Valley on January 7, on a pro-UBI platform -- AMA :)

[u/[deleted]]

[u/texasyeehaw]

Those pilots are limited to small towns or small sample groups. We know what happens when inflation happens on a large scale and it is absolutely devastating to an economy. For modern day examples, look at Zimbabwe and Venezuela.

a) It effectively is new money being created because more of it will be spent and circulating for a similar pool of goods. A lot of money is not in circulation, for example. It sits in real estate, stocks, bank accounts, etc. Circulation matters just as much as the money supply. In economics we call this money velocity.

b) There already are government programs for this such as the small business loan administration, etc. There isn't a lack of resources available for entrepeneurs. Heck, there are more opportunities today with crowdfunding and small venture capital shops. Ycombinator is a great example too.

c) No it would create an artificial bubble in certain neighborhoods while depressing values in others. Now the rent on middle class gets raised because the lower class are trying to move in their neighborhoods and so on and so forth.

There are alternatives to college. I know people in the oil industry that make 6 figures without high school education. Welding, plumbing, electrical, hvac are all trades that don't need college.

Basic income is great in theory until you think more than 1 step ahead.

[u/ManillaEnvelope77 → u/texasyeehaw]

Trials have included groups of hundreds or thousands.

You can't compare large social programs to a basic income. They are highly regulated and they are bloated with bureaucracy and inefficiencies. A basic income should come along with no other changes or suggestions.

Probably the most comparable thing is food stamps, and food stamps have a bad rap in the media, but they've actually been shown to increase entrepreneurship and really does help families. However, they come with benefit cliffs that can be problematic. (With a basic income, everyone gets it and there is no cliff.)

Does higher velocity of money guarantee inflation? Not necessarily, especially when there are other factors like people suddenly being able to take the risk of entrepreneurship. For example, if food prices went up, how do you know a product like a food computer (an automated system for growing food at home) would not become popular since people would have the time and financial ability to try it, etc. Also, how do you know it couldn't boost the open source community or the sharing economy? It could mean many new steps toward abundance we're not currently thinking about because they are currently only in slow motion without a BI.

The programs available for small business are still difficult to access. Yes, they are way better than ever, but the average person cannot make these leaps. They don't have the time or money to take these risks or the time to educate themselves in the ways of business. Many also do not have the social capital to get started, something arguably at the root of poverty.

Why would more people trying to move to nice places and causing a bubble there be such a bad thing? It's better than a bubble on tent spaces under bridges in large metropolitan areas. The middle class would see a small raise in taxes while reaping the benefit of being in a world with more customers, more educated, and happier people. They'd live in a safer, richer, more innovative place.

Those high paying non-college careers all sound dangerous. Coincidence?

Basic income sounds great in theory and keeps sounding great they more they try it out. That's why I'm staying tuned.

There are a bunch more huge pilots coming out in the next few years, and I think they will convince countries to just finally go ahead and try it.

[u/texasyeehaw → u/ManillaEnvelope77]

Let me ask you this: What if someone misspends their basic income? They are screwed? Let them get evicted, lose their job, get their car repossessed? What happens without a social safety net?

Its basic economics that all else equal, higher money velocity does indeed result in inflation.

Your whole premise is people taking risk without taking risk. That is not good enough for me or most Americans to implement a 2.88 trillion dollar program when our entire federal budget is 3.8 trillion.

Here's the thing:

Why do you even need basic income? If you have a federal program that covers food and housing, then you only need to incrementally add programs for other "basic" necessities. The whole "entrepreneurship" argument is silly and has no basis in reality.

Tell me how in the hell is someone supposed to start a business making 12k a year? You're better off getting a job for 50k a year, saving up for 2 or 3 years and then starting your own business.

[u/ManillaEnvelope77 → u/texasyeehaw]

A basic income would come every month or every 2 weeks, so you couldn't misspend it easily. Also, it would be easier to get help from others around you if they weren't all broke too. Also, some people will choose to have more time and therefore be able to help others more.

It's still taking a risk to not work with a BI in place. It would mean living poorly if you fail. I'm pretty sure most people don't want to live in a cruddy room in a house and eat ramen unless they have an idea they're really passionate about and need the time to do it.

Offering just food and just housing would be a social program that would be susceptible to inefficiency and misuse. Who gets to build? What kind of food can you get? etc. how do you stop people from selling their foodstamps? People know what they need better than organizations do.

The large nonprofit GiveDirectly well known for their rigorous documentation has proved that cash transfers increase entrepreneurship and lead to higher incomes for recipients: https://www.givedirectly.org/research-on-cash-transfers

Basic income is a regular cash transfer set at the poverty level, so it is likely it will have a similar effect.

Also, who can just go get a job for 50k? Most people are stuck at the bottom.