Basic Income – Part Five: How UBI Will Disrupt Poverty | Hacker News Reader

Basic Income – Part Five: How UBI Will Disrupt Poverty

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2 pointsjdenning7 comments

Until you fix addiction, UBI makes no sense. Why give people more money to spiral out of control faster.

-giving drug addicts money will literally kill them.

https://www.hhs.gov/opioids/about-the-epidemic/

UBI also is the quintessential unraveling of the social safety net, instead of health care, we'll just give you a stipend in the mail and hopefully its sufficient.

Addicts of all types, whether it be to drugs, gambling, a pyramid scheme or schemes, or any number of other things have to make the choice to change. All anyone besides themselves can do is encourage change. A dear friend of mine is in for $1k a month with a "MLM", and just started to have a come to jesus that he has thrown away upwards of $35k on Wake Up Now, Avon, etc. Its the same as another friend of mine who is hooked on smoking (despite it killing his father not 5 years ago), similar mental barriers/processes.

I don't real equate smoking the same as gambling or hard drugs. Yes, they aren't good and you can lose a lot/all but they are a few $100s a month habits. Hard drug/gambling addictions will take all your money.

If don't believe me ask your self would you loan a smoker 10k?(probably depends on there credit/employement) how about a gambling/mlm addict? how about a heroin addict?

Generally you'll get the same results, given the same conditions wrt employment. I've employed heroin addicts before, and its the same trust but verify type deal as a smoker or a gambler. Similar to a gambler, don't expect to be able to get ahold of them outside business hours.

I live in Australia where you can be on social security for life and for some it takes away the will to try, despite being quite a miserable amount.

I really don't see UBI as being an answer unless it is associated with some form of individual social responsibility.

I don't know about Australia, but in most European countries I know, it is quiet easy to lose social security. Things like going back to school, taking on part time or freelance work, trying to start a company, traveling abroad for too long, working for charity etc. can all lead you losing your social security. It also requires you to invest a fair amount of time jumping trough seemingly administrative pointless hoops, where any misstep can again lead to you losing money. So the problem is not so much that it takes away the will to try as it actively discourages the will to try. Since UBI would be unconditional and you cannot lose it shouldn't have any of those perverse incentive problems.

Disclosure: I'm married to the author.

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