I really do wish we had "basic income" in the US. Besides helping out the lowest socioeconomic class, it really seems like this would benefit artists, too.
I'm quite shocked that someone on HN would overlook the absurdly disproportionate to their population of the contributions of the Nordic and Scandinavian countries to the open source ecosystem.
And, let's take a stronger look at the UK, for example. Can you name a few people who were on the "dole"? I can start with J. K. Rowling and Noel Gallagher, to start.
I have heard about only a handful of Finnish artists and entrepreneurs. Nothing remarkable stands out there compared to other countries without UBI or a generous safety net, as is the context of this whole thread ("UBI would benefit artists").
Have you got any data about how Finland stands out in artistic output vs other countries? Or just random anecdotes which can be found even in countries without any welfare.
Inflation was also in service sector (eg. restaurants jacking up prices due to cost of labor). Before implementing UBI, let's have an alternative system for jobs like janitors, restaurant workers, mall/retail workers etc.