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Originally Posted by PepsiFree
I’ll humour you a bit more than Corsi, as your assertion that UBI doesn’t work because it doesn’t fix the problem and is simply “giving people money and accepting they will never have a job” is wrong.
UBI does not eliminate human ambition or the need for satisfaction beyond the basics required to live, what it does is protect people in careers susceptible to automation (a rapidly growing net of vulnerability). If it were that easy to eliminate those things, you would see an incredibly high rate of satisfaction for people living at the low end of the economic spectrum and very low movement into higher positions.
Oncologists work and train for years to do what they do. Do you think they would simply take the massive pay cut, downgrade their entire life sit on UBI, and never work again? It just wouldn’t happen.
On the other side of the spectrum, you raise up those below the poverty line. A UBI would be incredibly costly, but it’s not without economic gain either as you end up eliminating a lot of the financial resources directed towards low income and no income individuals. You may also see positive impacts as a UBI makes the “stay at home parent” model more attainable, and could roundly improve the life trajectory of future generations.
As far as the “problem” you’re referring to, it’s a very positive one. AI automation will make our world safer and more efficient. We simply can not eliminate innovation and automation, so the solution we’re looking for is one that allows human beings to survive who otherwise count on jobs that would be lost.
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I don't think anyone is claiming that specialist doctors, who earn $200-$500k/year will simply stop working and collect UBI. The issue is with people earning $30k/year, with little ambition. Are they going to continue to work 40 hrs/week, when they can earn $25k/year for doing nothing. You then end up in a situation where you have to pay people at the bottom rung more and more.
The cost of labour in society is already a huge hurdle for small businesses. If they have to compete with a UBI, that's simply going to drive many out of business. As the profitability of working or owning your own business decrease, many simply will stop doing it. You end up with a race to the bottom, which has plagued every single attempt thus far at introducing socialism.
IMO, UBI is simply the wrong approach. The govt needs to ensure that basic requirements, like housing and food, are in line with local salaries. Money is also a meaningless number. The issue is supplying concrete goods to people. You can't "raise people above the poverty line" if better places for them to live don't exist. You just end up with inflation and rising housing costs, as more people bid on the limited housing that exists.