[lostInTheWoods3]

Giving out "free" money is the equivalent of the government printing money. You don't have to be an economics major to realize that printing money (or dropping it out of an airplane) cheapens the value of that money. Hence, you end up with higher prices (inflation).

[thebooktocome]

Except the Dutch basic income proposal doesn't give out "free" money; it gives out money the government has already collected in the form of taxes.

[bhauer]

Exactly, and most basic income proposals would cut other social safety net systems in like amounts. So the net outlay by the government (in money it doesn't actually create; it just confiscates or prints) is the same. The latter gives the recipient the freedom to choose how to use their basic income, giving them incentive to select fair trades rather than just consuming all of the free stuff regardless of actual cost. This actually drives prices downward.

However, it does remove the political power of the central planning committees. And that is concerning to some.