Humanities & Cultures

The way these are usually envisioned long term is that tax rates go up to progressively eat up the universal payment, and maybe even then some at the high end. This raises the floor for those with little or nothing, without also raising it for those of us who are living comfortably.

See, means testing is actually quite expensive, so it's easier a d more efficient to just give it to everyone, and claw it back from people who don't need it. Not only does this free up public servants to do something actually productive, but it also means that if something happens to you, and you go from being safe and comfortable to being not, you don't need to do something that feels like begging for help from a cold bureaucracy, which is something most people feel is humiliating and degrading.

Is there a risk that slum lords and the like will just jack rent prices to whatever the UBI amount is? Absolutely. UBI is not a panacea to social problems, greed, or inequality. It's a safety net. Plus, landlords above slum level will not be able to raise prices by much, meaning there would actually be increased market competition if they did that.

But what it does do is give the domestic abuse victim an easy way to avoid financial abuse. It gives families a way for one partner or another to go back to scool and uograde their education. It makes room for people who need home repairs to afford them. It does a lot for those who are not totally destitute or homeless.

And besides, it's not like there's a lack of housing. There are more empty homes in North Americathan there are homeless. The market is failing people right now, and that's going to give.