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Universal Basic Income

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12 September 2019, 03:20 PM
Piano*Dad
Universal Basic Income
quote:
Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Well, OK. But if someone asked me a dead obvious question about my field, I wouldn't begin my answer with, "I'm just curious, have you ever taken Civics 101?"


You were asserting things about how markets work and I didn't know whether terms like "elasticity" would make any sense.
12 September 2019, 03:34 PM
Cindysphinx
1. Yes. I have taken Econ 101.

2. No need to respond to me unless others are interested. Thanks for weighing in.
12 September 2019, 10:15 PM
QuirtEvans
quote:
Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
quote:
Originally posted by Axtremus:
quote:
Originally posted by Cindysphinx:

If you give everyone $12k a year, how is that helping anyone survive? Wouldn’t housing costs rise by, oh, I don’t know, $12k?
No.

Different people need/want different things. An additional $1k for a millionaire goes into an investment account, a charity, or a piece of luxury good. An additional $1k for a low net worth, low income person goes into food, clothing, shelter, transportation, healthcare, education. Different poor people have different needs and different priorities, so will direct that additional $1k towards different things. The funding for the $1k/head still has to come from taxes. So it will come from somewhere in the economy. Redistributing $1k to every head reduces income inequality and give those in the low income strata a better chance at affording basic necessities. Some in the middle class may even use the $1k to reduce the hours they work (e.g., to have more time to take care of children or old people in the family, or even just to play piano or tennis; that’s $1k translated into time rather than rent or goods).

Think one billionaire with 999 homeless hobos. Redistribute $1k per head to everyone, and the hobos can potentially go from homeless to having a room. The billionaire may be the landlord who set rents such that housing for the hobos amount to all the $1k per head they all get, and some middle class renters will have to pay higher rent following the new rate set by the billionaire landlord, but the hobos still go from homeless to having a room.


Nope, I'm still not seeing it.

Several of you have explained that if you give poor people money, most of them use it wisely. Yup, I get it. No argument there.

What I cannot understand is this:

Say UBI goes into effect at $1000/person per month, regardless of need. Just hold out your hand and the government gives you $1000.

Let's take Helen Homeless. Armed with her $1000 and desperately hoping to get off the street, she comes to the apartment complex owned by Thomas Tightfist. There is a sign right out front saying rent for a studio is $1000/month.

Thomas (who also gets $1000/month and is planning a luxury African Safari with the windfall) has 50 tenants in a 50-unit building, all paying $1000/month -- full occupancy. There is, after all, a shortage of affordable housing, which is why Helen is homeless. Thomas immediately raises the rent on each unit to $2000/month. All of the current tenants stay put and, despite their $1000/month government check, are no better off. Meanwhile, there is still no room at the inn for Helen, who goes back to her homeless encampment.

Show me how I'm wrong.


It's pretty simple. It's a question of whether everyone gets $1000 (if they don't, then an across-the-board rent increase won't work, because some people won't be getting additional income), and a question of proportionality (a $1000 increase makes a big difference to someone who is at the poverty level, less to an investment banker). Plus, different people would choose to spend that extra $1000 differently.

(Yeah, I took Econ 101. I was even an economics major. Go figure.)

Or, we could listen to our resident economics professor, who knows more on the subject than all the rest of us put together, and isn't exactly a fringe lunatic.
13 September 2019, 05:35 PM
markj
I would use it to pay the now majority of my health insurance premium effectively providing my family with "medicare for all" without the "stigma" of being on Medicare where such a "stigma" exists in the medical profession. I would then only need to come up with about $300 on balance each month, for this year. I suspect that my premiums will be topping $1500-$1600 in 2020.

It wouldn't even touch the $7,000 per person deductible.

$1300 premiums with no co-pay, no prescription coverage until the $7,000 deductibles is met, was the least expensive policy I could find.

The health care system in this country, sucks.
03 October 2019, 08:57 PM
wtg
quote:
New data released as part of Stockton’s closely watched universal basic income experiment offer a first glimpse into how an extra $500 a month affects the spending habits and quality of life for those receiving the no-strings-attached funds.

The 18-month study — the first of its kind led by a U.S. city — aims to see whether a guaranteed income can reduce stress and, in turn, unlock new opportunities for people struggling to make ends meet. Tracking and analyzing the spending habits of the 125 individuals currently receiving the stipends, the program will also provide greater insight into the viability of long-term basic income models more broadly in the United States.



https://www.sacbee.com/news/lo...rticle235716022.html


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We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb

Bazootiehead-in-training



16 October 2019, 01:42 PM
Axtremus
Yang is again uniquely ahead on an issue that other candidates neglect or are oblivious to, this time on data privacy and data ownership. This is an interview of Yang by NYT opinion writer Charlie Warzel on the subject:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/1...rivacy-internet.html


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www.PianoRecital.org -- my piano recordings -- China Tune album

25 October 2019, 09:30 PM
Axtremus
One of Yang's merch:
https://shop.yang2020.com/coll.../products/shot-glass


If nothing else, the dude has got a sense of humor.


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www.PianoRecital.org -- my piano recordings -- China Tune album

14 February 2020, 12:17 AM
Axtremus
I would have preferred that Yang stays in the Presidential race longer, because he addresses the very important topic of automation’s impact on employment on a grand scale that no other candidate has picked up yet. It would be preferable for Yang to stay in the race until that issue gets broader attention and a first tier candidate incorporates that message. I thought Warren could be the one to pick up that topic/message, but Warren also faired poorly in IA and NH. Oh well.

My toast to Mr. Yang tonight:

The shot glass is a Yang2020 merchandize.
The wine is Confucius wine (孔府家酒).


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www.PianoRecital.org -- my piano recordings -- China Tune album

15 February 2020, 05:20 AM
Daniel
Cheers.