[systemvoltage]

I am worried about how cost of living would explode to untenable levels. Low skilled labor prices would get out of control I am guessing since it is a basic supply/demand issue - when you put a floor with UBI, minimum wage to take up manual labor jobs would rise dramatically. It is actually incredible how much of our society depands on manual labor. Most people on HN are out of touch with this reality. The world runs on physically moving, stacking, filling, driving, cleaning, joining and constructing things. UBI I can see can diminishing the ability for the same laborers to obtain affordable food, housing, and transportation.

[colechristensen]

The problem is price distortion and that whatever you do, prices will be raised until a section of society can barely survive because essentially enough people tend to make bad decisions and live beyond their means that sellers will raise their prices to whatever the market will bear, and there are always people willing to buy things they can’t afford.

Attempts to shape markets tend to do this.

[zozbot234]

When you make physical labor more expensive, it gets automated out of existence. And the part that can't be automated away gets reassessed to improve work conditions and make it more convenient to pursue that line of work. This is precisely what you want to happen.

[systemvoltage]

It doesn't and won't. Automation is useful in certain areas but impossible in many. There is a reason why Tesla factories still have manual steps in assembling a car - it can't be automated away with reasonable costs.

Look at Switzerland (it is not UBI, but they have some of the highest labor costs): https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Zurich . A meal at an inexpensive restaurant which relies on low skilled labor (not just cooks and waiters, but the entire food supply chain) costs $27 USD. I am all for improving labor conditions though.

[js8]

> UBI I can see can diminishing the ability for the same laborers to obtain affordable food, housing, and transportation.

I don't understand how this follows. I was with you until then, but IMHO UBI might negatively affect middle/upper class who relies most on lower class paid labor (things like cleaning, delivery, cooking, repairs). But people who provide these services already can and have to do them themselves, I don't see how UBI causing rising labor costs hurts them.

[systemvoltage]

Building new housing requires low skilled labor.