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Think of it: The government prints more money or perhaps — god forbid — it taxes some corporate profits, then it showers the cash down on the people so they can continue to spend. As a result, more and more capital accumulates at the top. And with that capital comes more power to dictate the terms governing human existence.
UBI really just turns us from stakeholders or even citizens to mere consumers.
Meanwhile, UBI also obviates the need for people to consider true alternatives to living lives as passive consumers. Solutions like platform cooperatives, alternative currencies, favor banks, or employee-owned businesses, which actually threaten the status quo under which extractive monopolies have thrived, will seem unnecessary. Why bother signing up for the revolution if our bellies are full? Or just full enough?
Under the guise of compassion, UBI really just turns us from stakeholders or even citizens to mere consumers. Once the ability to create or exchange value is stripped from us, all we can do with every consumptive act is deliver more power to people who can finally, without any exaggeration, be called our corporate overlords.
No, income is nothing but a booby prize. If we're going to get a handout, we should demand not an allowance but assets. That's right: an ownership stake.
https://medium.com/s/powertrip/universal-basic-income-is-silicon-valleys-latest-scam-fd3e130b69a0
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @09:33AM (3 children)
Income is socialism. You get money to live off. But it also means subsidized living which could mean more poverty.
Receiving shares of means of production means communism. Communism is that the "workers" or the "people" own the means of production.
Anyway, both probably not ideal. But arguing that UBI is bad because shares are better, it's ridicules. The premise of UBI is to allow people to have a safety net without worrying about other things. But in reality, what it will means is that the prices will rise so UBI is eaten anyway. Anyone not raising prices enough would be stupid. For example, when local government provided $10,000 to install geothermal heating, suddenly cost of installing such systems went up by nearly that much! From $8000 to $15000 or $17000. Why? Because the subsidy was free money!
Subsidies in general, like UBI, can turn out to be double edged swords. Maybe better to stick with food stamps?
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday October 15 2018, @01:36PM (2 children)
Or raking it in. Remember the dynamics of competitive systems! Costs won't necessarily track UBI. And many commercial sectors (particularly those of the sort that sell to UBI customers) would sell at a few percent over cost.
It might be comforting to think that, but it's probably not true, unless UBI is paid for with money creation.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @03:30PM (1 child)
Yeah. That's why medical bills and college tuitions have remained so reasonably priced over the past few decades. Prices never rise to track subsidies.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday October 15 2018, @09:46PM
Both those spaces of policies heavily encourage demand in specific sectors. Meanwhile having more money from a UBI is merely a moderate encouragement for broad consumption over a wide range.
Further, much of that is not competitive. You can choose to some degree your primary care provider (depending on your insurance policies in the US). But you have little control other than dropping them for who they choose to work with, and none at all over any emergency rooms you show up in or who at that point decides to bill you for what.
I don't see either of those two going up over UBI.
The only real threat is real estate prices. And those will most likely go up in areas that heavily restrict growth (and already have high real estate prices). Your UBIer isn't going to live there unless they happen to own the place free and clear and have some money saved up on the side.