What you're describing is conditional cash transfers. We have that in the US already (public housing vouchers, food stamps). BI is an unconditional cash transfer. It really is more like a stack of 20s.
> Well for starters I'd imagine a future BI system to handle something like rent via direct transfer to the landlord. Food handled the same way, some prepaid debit card that only works at grocery stores, etc.
In other words, exactly what I said originally. You'd be recreating the administrative overhead BI is intended to eliminate (section 8 for housing, food stamps for food).
BI isn't necessarily intended to eliminate overhead. It's intended to acknowledge that we're rapidly approaching an economy where there aren't jobs for everyone (thanks to automation and a number of other factors that have been discussed) and to aid the transition to that point.
Re:Moving Forward on Basic Income
by fineIllregister on Tuesday May 31, 2016 @10:40PM
(#11811762)
This doesn't have to be a government function. I do case management, and many of my clients receive social assistance in the form of unconditional cash transfers. They often have poor credit and incidents in their rental histories, so they don't meet the standards required to rent. However, landlords/property managers will grant exceptions if the social assistance is sent directly to a third party with an agreement that rent and utilities are paid first. Since this isn't a complicated or difficult role to fill, it's a competitive space with low fees.
Well for starters I'd imagine a future BI system to handle something like rent via direct transfer to the landlord. Food handled the same way, some prepaid debit card that only works at grocery stores, etc.
I don't envision a system where people pick up a stack of 20's with a post-it note on it that says "remember to pay your rent".