Re:Trends that will create demand for an Unconditional Basic...
by dllthomas on Thursday July 11, 2013 @11:45AM
(#6026771)
If the BI is high, quite a number.
The question is whether there's (1) something they can do that's more valuable than watching TV and (2) some reasonable way we can motivate them to do so.
If (1) and if a lower BI is an effective way of motivating that behavior, then that's a good argument for a lower BI. It doesn't follow that the optimal level is zero. I don't expect the number that would stay home and collect their $1 of basic income would be substantially greater than the number that currently stay home and collect their $0.
The question is whether there's (1) something they can do that's more valuable than watching TV and (2) some reasonable way we can motivate them to do so.
If (1) and if a lower BI is an effective way of motivating that behavior, then that's a good argument for a lower BI. It doesn't follow that the optimal level is zero. I don't expect the number that would stay home and collect their $1 of basic income would be substantially greater than the number that currently stay home and collect their $0.