How has UBI been tested and what have we learned? Let's explore some pilot programs of basic income and see what that research has shown us, as well as what research is upcoming or underway.
Hi Riley! UBI is a fascinating subject and very fraught. Your article is good, a nice survey of various attempts at UBI. I've looked at UBI closely. I'm no expert but I have drawn a few conclusions.
It's important to think about and understand where the funds used for UBI come from.
Alaska is the only example I'm aware of where the source of funds for payments is obvious. That's probably the longest-running continuous cash payment scheme we've seen. It's sustainable as long as AK continues to enjoy oil revenue.
Ultimately I suspect UBI will turn out to be inflationary, and most of the $ paid to individuals (especially those with low incomes) will end up going to pay higher rents.
If the goal is to give people the freedom to move from meaningless work to meaningful work (I think that's a value you and I share) we might get better bang for our buck decoupling healthcare from employment, another monumentally difficult task.
Hey Tim! Thanks for sharing! Great points. I've already started exploring this in the next segment, because this is such a big topic, so trying to cover it all in one article (or video) feels like it would be overwhelming. But there's so much nuance to dig into in the pros/cons, and as you say, how to pay for it is a huge question mark which makes it somewhat of a con as a policy proposal, as is the likelihood of inflation. There are major UBI proponents that make a case against the inflation argument, but tbh their case seems a bit flimsy to me. (It's basically like... we haven't seen that happen in small scale tests, so it probably wouldn't happen in large scale tests. Which seems shaky at best, especially around things like housing rental costs in the US.)
Even with Alaska, paying for it with oil revenue is tricky because then it's tied to something that can change quickly, and it's also tied in general to our financial system and gaining money via investments.
I'm exploring UBI because I think it's something important to understand more deeply, but personally I think I fall more toward what you are saying: guaranteed goods/services, as opposed to guaranteed cash. That removes some of the risk of inflation and can also help us overcome some of the hurdles of how to keep supplying things, and IMO better aligns with future goals of degrowth (another concept I'm exploring a lot) because it wouldn't tie us to things like financial investments that need a monetary return to keep funding the initiative.
This project is definitely not like.. me trying to share as an expert, but rather me turning my private learning into public sharing, so interested folks can learn together with me. So big thanks for sharing your learnings and reflections too!
Hi Riley! UBI is a fascinating subject and very fraught. Your article is good, a nice survey of various attempts at UBI. I've looked at UBI closely. I'm no expert but I have drawn a few conclusions.
It's important to think about and understand where the funds used for UBI come from.
Alaska is the only example I'm aware of where the source of funds for payments is obvious. That's probably the longest-running continuous cash payment scheme we've seen. It's sustainable as long as AK continues to enjoy oil revenue.
Ultimately I suspect UBI will turn out to be inflationary, and most of the $ paid to individuals (especially those with low incomes) will end up going to pay higher rents.
If the goal is to give people the freedom to move from meaningless work to meaningful work (I think that's a value you and I share) we might get better bang for our buck decoupling healthcare from employment, another monumentally difficult task.
Hey Tim! Thanks for sharing! Great points. I've already started exploring this in the next segment, because this is such a big topic, so trying to cover it all in one article (or video) feels like it would be overwhelming. But there's so much nuance to dig into in the pros/cons, and as you say, how to pay for it is a huge question mark which makes it somewhat of a con as a policy proposal, as is the likelihood of inflation. There are major UBI proponents that make a case against the inflation argument, but tbh their case seems a bit flimsy to me. (It's basically like... we haven't seen that happen in small scale tests, so it probably wouldn't happen in large scale tests. Which seems shaky at best, especially around things like housing rental costs in the US.)
Even with Alaska, paying for it with oil revenue is tricky because then it's tied to something that can change quickly, and it's also tied in general to our financial system and gaining money via investments.
I'm exploring UBI because I think it's something important to understand more deeply, but personally I think I fall more toward what you are saying: guaranteed goods/services, as opposed to guaranteed cash. That removes some of the risk of inflation and can also help us overcome some of the hurdles of how to keep supplying things, and IMO better aligns with future goals of degrowth (another concept I'm exploring a lot) because it wouldn't tie us to things like financial investments that need a monetary return to keep funding the initiative.
This project is definitely not like.. me trying to share as an expert, but rather me turning my private learning into public sharing, so interested folks can learn together with me. So big thanks for sharing your learnings and reflections too!
absolutely. I think you're doing a great job, which is why I'm happy to engage and dig into some of this stuff with ya.
I'll be really interested to hear your take on the next piece 🙏