Re:Ask HN: How would you change your life if there was a bas...
by rthomas6 on Monday May 19, 2014 @11:00AM
(#7767709)
I don't believe a single one of you. If there was a basic income of, say, $15,000, almost none of you would feel more free to stop other income. With mortgage/rent payments, car payments, restaurants, internet, cable, gadgets, video games, and social life expenses, most people on here feel as if they need far higher than a "basic" income. If you feel you could live off that amount and you have a programmer job, you should do it now while continuing to work at your job, invest the difference, and just retire in 8 years or so.
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Re:Ask HN: How would you change your life if there was a bas...
by loumf on Monday May 19, 2014 @03:14PM
(#7769207)
Most of the employed of us would be net tax payers and would be (I'm guessing) unwilling to go to the much lower salary that would make us net basic-incomers (even marginally). For me, I'd either save/spend less -- or be more aggressive with my prices to get salary up again. It depends on how much more tax I owe. So far, tax-increases in the past few years have not changed my lifestyle at all (they aren't big enough to care much) -- a tax covering basic income would have to be much bigger though (right? -- does anyone have numbers?)
It would be a nice cushion for those of us that might be taking 0 salary to start a business, but my guess, again, is that they hope to be moving towards higher incomes.
In retirement, I assume basic income is just SS (in the US), perhaps a little more. The main benefit to me is that it would start earlier -- and the main benefit of that is that it would cover medical insurance. That would make it much more likely that I would retire earlier.