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I mentioned higher up in the thread, but this is exactly why we need UBI. UBI gives the poor some leverage to avoid being exploited due to circumstance(s). Yes, we will get some inflation - but I don't see that as bad. A lot of the reason we have very low inflation right now is because the balance is skewed too far in favor of capital over labor (and that is due to being able to offshore - which should be penalized appropriately, imho).

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I used to think UBI was the solution, but it has a severe risk of creating a permanent underclass. Then I learned about a Federal Job Guarantee where if the private sector chooses not to provide jobs then the Federal govt will step in and become the job provider of last resort with salaries going for a living wage. This is a stronger guarantee than merely a minimum wage, because companies will just cut jobs in a small town; the Job guarantee will ensure that labour won't just be laid off permanently. It also has some nice properties economists like such as being an automatic stabilizer during recessions when companies are loathe to invest in the economy, while during the good times, fewer people will be on the Federal job program.

UBI has the advantage of people being able to re-skill to take advantage of market opportunities (people going back to school for engineering, say), as well as accounting for situations like stay-at-home parents, so I think it has certain advantages over a Federal Jobs guarantee.

That said, I don't see why we can't have both (A base level of UBI + a federal jobs guarantee)

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