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by burrows 2223 days ago
> With 700€/Month you aren't gonna far anyway, you have enaugh for food and rent , and that's it...

Contingent benefits disincentivize people from participating in the economy. People paid to do nothing... do nothing.

> For America it's different, America cannot technically afford "BI" because the entirety of the US economy has been built on having 20% of the population living under the poverty line in order for good & services to be cheap and consumed in mass.

Under any economic regime there will be a poorest 20% at any given time.

> Having "UBI" in US would create a skyrocket inflation because worker who are paid 10$/Hour would drop their work and stay at home and do something that is more profitable for them.

It causes inflation because more cash is chasing the same number of goods.

> Hence , the American culture revolve almost entirely around production of good and services for happiness.

Propaganda.

3 comments

> Propaganda.

Nope it’s not.

In order for welfare to be « legalized » , and for taxpayer to accept that their money will go to «Non-Active» individuals it’s necessary to have a cultural fit between the two.

You cant tax like Norway or France ( 40% overall ) if people believe that you should work to earn a living, it’s not right to do so. American would never accept such sky high taxe rate if it cause against their believes and thus their culture.

US rely on entrepreneurship which create wealth which enable people to buy goods/services.

This is 100% cultural not propaganda.

A very high progressive tax is compatible with the belief that people should work to earn a living. If I have a lot of money, I can invest it and for almost no work grow my wealth or get another income stream. How is that fair? And why does this observation often get left behind?
> If I have a lot of money, I can invest it and for almost no work grow my wealth or get another income stream. How is that fair?

One doesn’t just “have” a lot of money. People work hard for their money. A high wage is a signal saying, “We (society) value what you do and wish more people would do it.”

If you think profitable investing is easy then you don’t invest. Ask yourself, if profitable investing is easy, then why do wealthy people pay venture capitalists to choose their investments?

How is that unfair?
> Contingent benefits disincentivize people from participating in the economy. People paid to do nothing... do nothing.

That's, at best, highly debatable. I would like data showing that (or the opposite)

> Under any economic regime there will be a poorest 20% at any given time.

That's not what "20% of the population living under the poverty line" means. It means that 20% of people don't earn enough to live decently, which is highly dependent on the economic regime

Who decides what it means to "live decently"? Maybe I believe that I can't live decently without a yacht and manservant.
A lot of the UBI in Europe is benefits in kind. Healthcare is the obvious one, but also police forces with a higher degree of professionalism, better access to (and treatment by) the justice system, clean water, higher food standards, it goes on. Right now we are benefiting from a coherent and effective response to Covid-19. All these things can be found in the US - if you can afford to pay.
Or live in the right area. The US does have a lot of high quality government services ... unevenly distributed.