Universal Basic Income Will Likely Increase Social Cohesion

Re:Universal Basic Income Will Likely Increase Social Cohesion by ploxiln on Saturday October 24, 2015 @01:23AM (#10442558)

I'm kinda libertarian, and I kinda like the idea of a UBI, because it means we no longer need people in power to make decisions about who gets welfare and other social support, and all the gaming and corruption involved.

I've come around to the idea that there can't and won't be zero public social support, so UBI seems like the fairest, least-overhead way to take care of it.

The downside is, the argument/power of who to let in the country, or who in the country gets UBI, gets a lot more serious. There really aren't any easy answers here...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Universal Basic Income Will Likely Increase Social Cohesion by dantheman on Saturday October 24, 2015 @01:50AM (#10442610)

UBI can't replace welfare -- it cannot provide enough money to everyone to replace whole salaries. If you agree that welfare should exist to take care of people who cannot work or have expensive conditions that need to be treated then BI cannot replace it.

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Re:Universal Basic Income Will Likely Increase Social Cohesion by eru on Saturday October 24, 2015 @04:29AM (#10442900)

> If you agree that welfare should exist to take care of people who cannot work or have expensive conditions that need to be treated then BI cannot replace it.

That's what insurance is for.

(And the state (or parents) can take out insurance for the kids before they are born---ie before anyone knows whether they are at special risk of any diseases or conditions, thus charging the average is economically fine.)

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Re:Universal Basic Income Will Likely Increase Social Cohesion by ploxiln on Saturday October 24, 2015 @04:02AM (#10442843)

If you have to keep welfare, medicare, social security, etc... then what's the point? Just another bureaucratic money sink?

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