[ExI] Universal basic income

[BillK]

On 17 January 2017 at 18:51, spike  wrote:
> Ja to all, but I wish to clarify, the universal in UBI would not be income
> but rather universal basic food and shelter.  That could be done for waaaaay
> less money than any known alternative.  Shelter can be made reasonable from
> retired shipping containers.  The food can be actual literal food, rather
> than our current grocery debit cards.  It could provide reasonable survival
> necessities without attracting illegal immigration.  Perhaps I am
> idealistic, but my notion is that illegal immigration is caused by available
> employment rather than available handouts.  People need jobs, not just
> handouts.
>

I don't think you could treat most of Americans like that. You are
describing refugee camps where food is  handed out to people in basic
shelters. Debit cards at least gives people some choice.

The UBI articles I've read are usually forced to make assumptions
(like abolishing all social security and abolishing all the associated
bureaucracy, free medical care, etc.) which may be impossible in
practice. The difficulty is that people don't have the same needs, so
one UBI doesn't fit all cases.

If robot production increases rapidly so that all consumption becomes
almost free then it has a better chance of working. That's why I want
to see the results of real-life (TM) results.

BillK