[roenxi]

> 3) Inequality is very high, with 10M+ people struggling to make ends meet

Whatever people mean when they say inequality, I don't see how a UBI can help. If some people are not working hard enough to justify their existence to the economy without a UBI, they are never going to be even imaginably close to equal with someone running a big company.

The only way for the economy to recognise someone who is only sorta-working is equal to someone who is devoting their life to running a successful and productive business is to bankrupt everyone. It isn't going to happen, and if it does happen it will be worse than the status quo.

Inequality isn't a problem. Low living standards among the poor is a problem. Conditions at the unhappy end of the spectrum is more important than both conditions at the good end and the gap between the two endpoints.

[akvadrako]

> Whatever people mean when they say inequality, I don't see how a UBI can help.

Because it allows people to take risks that are normally only available to the financially secure, like starting a business.

[roenxi]

The most successful story of new businesses starting in the last century has been what, Silicon Valley? Inequality is very high there because the people who started businesses sometimes became filthy rich and hired a bunch of overpaid engineers to help run the new businesses.

Nothing wrong with the argument that UBI gives people opportunities. It may well do that. But if it succeeds at that, it is decent evidence it will increase inequality.