[jarym]

Go back to 1950s USA where average annual salary was just over $3000 - if I told you back then I'd give you $500 a month - almost twice the average salary where do you think we'd all be now? Would we be even here?

Now take your $500 a month and project forward another 50-60 years. What do you think it'll buy you then and why?

By picking a monetary amount - be it $50, $500 or $1000 it IS absolutely making a determination about what's basic. And its doing it based on the living standards and cost of living of today. That's a large part of why its so flawed.

[delinka]

It seems to me it'd have to be specified as a formula based on the "poverty threshold" and "inflation." I really can't imagine just throwing out a number and expecting it to be unchanged for decades.

[theaeolist]

The precise amount will not be enshrined in the constitution. It will be most likely adjusted periodically to ensure subsistence without removing the motivation to work.