why?
-"artificial competition for jobs would decrease drastically"
why is artificial competition important? You are saying that it will be easier for qualified people to get jobs because unqualified people won't bother to apply any more?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserve_army_of_labour
Artificial competition going away is important, because it reduces the "fake" demand for positions; those that would rather not be there won't, which takes the pressure off that position (reducing its perceived scarcity/value.) This has both the above-described wage effects, and a cultural effect: you no longer have people pretending that they want a job, lying to get jobs, inflating their resumes, gladhanding, etc. You're only there if you want to be.
Also, if inflation stayed in hand, the basic income itself would look an awful lot like a raise.
- remuneration would likely improve
- only motivated people would be left, so "pretending" to enjoy a job and all other kinds of fakery diminishes
- artificial competition for jobs would decrease drastically
- the ability to change jobs becomes extremely fluid on both sides of the table(with liberalized hire/fire policies [employer-side] plus a lack of worry about winding up in the street [worker-side])
This is a very large net benefit to the motivated. The sooner those who don't want to be there get to stop working, the better for the rest. An "arts, sports, and leisure (which may take the form of beer or video games)" is going to happen, and we should be happy to allow it for those who want nothing more.