Re:Why we should all have a basic income
by simonh on Sunday January 22, 2017 @05:16PM
(#13457937)
This is a persistent and pernicious misconception. UBI is intended to increase people's autonomy, but manly by eliminating the poverty trap. Too many people live off benefits they would lose if they took a low paying no job, so are better off or only marginally worse off not working. UBI takes that problem away to that everyone would always be substantially better off working. It would act as a major subsidy for low paying jobs by ensuring even quite low pay would represent a major improvement in marginal income, thus making it cheaper to hire unskilled labour and increasing the number and variety of jobs. It's not intended that a significant number of people would only rely on their UBI.
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Re:Why we should all have a basic income
by jimnotgym on Sunday January 22, 2017 @06:34PM
(#13458380)
In the UK the poverty trap is very real. A young person with a family in social housing and on benefits has to jump right up to something like average income to be better off. The penalty for getting a job is colossal. UBI would mean that if they could get work for even 4 hours a week it would represent an improvement to their income. It is an incentive to work
> UBI is intended to increase people's autonomy
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autonomy
1. the quality or state of being self-governing; 2. self-directing freedom and especially moral independence
exactly. The point is that they can do what they want.
This was in the context of talking about people playing WoW all day every day. That's not the sort of lifestyle UBI is intended to enable or encourage.