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Originally Posted by Original Position
10-13K seems most common, although I've seen higher as well. And yes, it's generally supposed to be universal. This is important as one of the benefits of UBI is that it doesn't have any work disincentive - you don't lose any benefits if you work. I'd imagine you would want to be able to convert it to a tax credit if you paid over 10k in taxes, but that shouldn't matter much.
A UBI would solve the "motivated seller" for unskilled labor problem TiltedDonkey identified as the main reason for a minimum wage. Getting rid of the minimum wage would alleviate some of the loss of unskilled labor supply that would probably follow from a UBI. Total demand for labor probably goes up as you can now legally hire people for jobs with lower margins. I would also expect that more wage differentiation at the bottom of the wage scale would improve the quality of those jobs as well - allowing them to have higher relative status if nothing else, but probably also increasing productivity because of a less distorted wage scale. Higher taxes to pay for UBI would be a drag on the economy, but that cost would be nationalized. Companies that employ people at the bottom of the wage scale would be more profitable, probably leading to more jobs and hence higher wages.
On the other hand, wages are sticky, so I'm not sure you really pull something like this off in a country as large as the US.
On the surface I like the idea, especially so because it seems it would take away the "butthurt factor", which is what I think hurts the incentive for universal healthcare in the United States. People simply do not like it when they feel other people are getting a free ride, whether it's true or not. People view healthcare as a direct wealth transfer between groups, and I can understand why. It seems UBI, on the surface, would be great because the wealthier people get their 10k too.
I googled around a bit to see what holes people poke into the idea and it seems a bit troubling.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/a...ome-good-idea/
From the point of view of economists, a UBI is not feasible. “Thoughtful liberals and conservatives trained in economics are almost universally against the idea,” Smetters says. Former Clinton official and economist Laura Tyson writes that “a UBI for the United States is as fanciful as President Donald Trump’s border wall: It would be prohibitively expensive; and it would not solve the problems that it is meant to address.” UBI would benefit higher-income workers and distracts from immediate problems such as stagnant wages and persistent poverty. Instead, the U.S. should expand benefits for existing programs such as Medicaid, critics argue.
Meanwhile, conservative economist Martin Feldstein opines that a universal income would be “impossibly expensive.” The former Reagan official says paying for the program without raising the deficit would require “doubling the personal income tax.” A UBI that pays every American $10,000 a year would cost about $3 trillion, Smetters says. Conservative economists do not like it because it would harm economic growth, he adds.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/...-a7505561.html
Basic income is the latest bad political idea that refuses to die
I find the entire idea intriguing but due to the extremely large nature of this and the inherent distrust of large scale programs, I would bet that we never see something like this in our lifetimes. I have a deep concern about the path forward for many groups of people. Unskilled labor, felons, and even worthless degrees attained in college are a harder obstacle to overcome. Forget the ability to buy a house and invest, these people have a hard time just trying to survive. I couldn't imagine what I'd be doing if I had a sociology degree, much less have ever spent a few years in prison.
The current situation in the United States is pretty grim. To have a "successful" life you need to almost thread the needle perfectly (at least, in my specific area). A means to acquire a good skillset, a decent to high-paying job with a transferable skillset to ensure survival, and a vehicle for financial growth. The poor lack all of these, and that's extremely troubling.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Original Position
I take it that the main issue wil was talking about wasn't the hypothetical no-minimum-wage world, but rather the effects of efforts to increase the minimum wage from its current amount. For example, Ed Rensi, former CEO of McDonald's USA, wrote an article last November claiming that McDonald's investment in these self-service kiosks was at least partially in response to the Fight for $15 movement. I don't know if that is actually accurate, but it is plausible enough.
I agree that I'd be suspicious of that being the reason why McDonald's truly went ahead with the self-ordering kiosks. While suspicious, I can easily see how that have been a determining factor in green-lighting that step.
Anecdotally in my area we have stores called "WaWa". They are great, and they have terminals where you can punch in your order for prepared foods, like a sandwich or a salad. I think they are pretty good, but I personally prefer talking to a cashier. Obviously it is highly subjective.