- A Seattle basic income pilot gave low-income residents $500 a month, nearly doubling employment rates.
- Some participants reported getting new housing, while others saw their employment incomes rise.
- Basic income pilots nationwide have seen noteworthy success, despite conservative opposition.
It pays off immediately. The return on investment can literally be seen almost instantly. The problem with UBI in an unregulated market is that “inflation/price gouging/collusion” will begin immediately. It’s just like student loan forgiveness, the benefits are immediate but if you don’t fix the underlying cause, your actual return it’s massively minimized due to the very bullshit that necessitated the fix.
> If your kid is starving because they keep getting beaten up for their lunch money, you can’t solve the problem by giving them more lunch money – the bullies will take that money too.
Credit @pluralistic
That’s a fantastic analogy.
@Bakkoda @theotherverion SNAP drives food prices, and this time around to some degree, interest rates.
@Bakkoda @theotherverion
It’s actually kinda weird how fast and how clearly it pays off, and at what rate of returns. There is no short term economic reason to not do this. The medium term inflationary issues are a potential problem, depending on how much is given out, but typically less than it seems. It turns out the image of ‘they just collect free money and do nothing’ isn’t a thing.
Not saying there are no hurdles possible. But the standard objections are just wrong.