Re:Policies that make the poor less poor
by ryandrake on Monday June 21, 2021 @02:36AM
(#27576860)
> But if it is enough to survive on, then too many people who are capable of working will choose to instead just survive on it indefinitely.
This is one of the main benefits, if not the main benefit, of UBI. Someone’s survival is finally not dependent on working!
Right now, shitty jobs pay crap, because people have to take some job or starve. If you took away the starve part, millions of people no longer have to put up with a shitty job. If it really had to be done, the employer would be forced to raise the wage in order to attract people to voluntarily take the job. If UBI took care of everyone’s basic needs, then wages would have to rise to make it worth it to do a now-optional job. Would you flip burgers for minimum wage if UBI allowed you to live in an apartment and eat? I wouldn’t, but I might do it for $40k/yr extra over UBI.
This is one of the main benefits, if not the main benefit, of UBI. Someone’s survival is finally not dependent on working!
Right now, shitty jobs pay crap, because people have to take some job or starve. If you took away the starve part, millions of people no longer have to put up with a shitty job. If it really had to be done, the employer would be forced to raise the wage in order to attract people to voluntarily take the job. If UBI took care of everyone’s basic needs, then wages would have to rise to make it worth it to do a now-optional job. Would you flip burgers for minimum wage if UBI allowed you to live in an apartment and eat? I wouldn’t, but I might do it for $40k/yr extra over UBI.
This is a major goal of UBI, not a failure case.