I'm interested in basic income, though I don't know much about economics or politics.
I personally wouldn't expect basic income to replace all of those other systems. I don't like the quote here:
> We think everyone should have enough money to meet their basic needs
I think it should be just "Everyone should have their basic needs met". The money is a means to that end, but only a means, and not the best one for all needs. For example, I don't think people should have to use basic income for medical needs. Healthcare should just be provided.
That's good because our healthcare needs do not fit a nice flat monthly allotment. Most months, most people don't need to spend much on healthcare. Then there are some months where, holy shit, you need to spend tons. Some people have chronic illness and will over their lifetime spend way more money on healthcare. At the same time, most people don't have enough expertise to really shop around and choose how to best spend their healthcare dollar.
In contrast, I think basic income is a good fit for the needs where some personal discretion makes sense. That's probably housing, food, and personal essentials. I think of it as sort of like food stamps, except everyone gets them, even the wealthy, so hopefully they have less stigma. And you can use them to pay rent.
Even then, there needs to be safety nets below those. Some people—probably a small fraction—have either enough mental health problems, temporary misfortune, etc. where they may not reliably use their basic income to secure their needs. Those people certainly bear some responsibility for misallocating their basic income, but I don't believe the punishment for failing to do that should be a slow death by starvation or exposure. I certainly don't think the children of those people should be punished in that way.
I don't look at basic income as "more efficient welfare", though it may have some positive effects there. I care more that it creates a more efficient society by giving people more security and freedom. If you aren't living paycheck to paycheck, you can try to find a better place to live, or find a job that's better suited to your skills. If you aren't terrified of ending up on the streets, you have a little more brainpower to devote to learning and improving.
No one is their best self when they are barely scraping by. I think something like basic income can help us all make the most of our potential. It's not a panacea, but I think it can help.
It may also be the case that with basic income that more people have the time to volunteer and provide some of the welfare and social services the government currently funds. That may not pan out at all, but it's a nice idea and a possible emergent property.
I personally wouldn't expect basic income to replace all of those other systems. I don't like the quote here:
> We think everyone should have enough money to meet their basic needs
I think it should be just "Everyone should have their basic needs met". The money is a means to that end, but only a means, and not the best one for all needs. For example, I don't think people should have to use basic income for medical needs. Healthcare should just be provided.
That's good because our healthcare needs do not fit a nice flat monthly allotment. Most months, most people don't need to spend much on healthcare. Then there are some months where, holy shit, you need to spend tons. Some people have chronic illness and will over their lifetime spend way more money on healthcare. At the same time, most people don't have enough expertise to really shop around and choose how to best spend their healthcare dollar.
In contrast, I think basic income is a good fit for the needs where some personal discretion makes sense. That's probably housing, food, and personal essentials. I think of it as sort of like food stamps, except everyone gets them, even the wealthy, so hopefully they have less stigma. And you can use them to pay rent.
Even then, there needs to be safety nets below those. Some people—probably a small fraction—have either enough mental health problems, temporary misfortune, etc. where they may not reliably use their basic income to secure their needs. Those people certainly bear some responsibility for misallocating their basic income, but I don't believe the punishment for failing to do that should be a slow death by starvation or exposure. I certainly don't think the children of those people should be punished in that way.
I don't look at basic income as "more efficient welfare", though it may have some positive effects there. I care more that it creates a more efficient society by giving people more security and freedom. If you aren't living paycheck to paycheck, you can try to find a better place to live, or find a job that's better suited to your skills. If you aren't terrified of ending up on the streets, you have a little more brainpower to devote to learning and improving.
No one is their best self when they are barely scraping by. I think something like basic income can help us all make the most of our potential. It's not a panacea, but I think it can help.
It may also be the case that with basic income that more people have the time to volunteer and provide some of the welfare and social services the government currently funds. That may not pan out at all, but it's a nice idea and a possible emergent property.