How is basic income even feasible from an economic, realistic standpoint? It would have to be wealthy people taking the hit right? How else would it be possible?
Here is my high-level hypothesis, sans numbers: most workers produce far less real value than what they are paid. At one end you have many white-collar jobs that are glorified seat fillers, padding budgets for their departments. At the other end, you have blue-collar jobs whose value is artificially inflated by a minimum wage (or, wastefully shipping work overseas, and finished products back.)
In a UBI world (also assuming socialized medicine), neither minimum wage nor de facto salary+benefits would be necessary, and labor would be free to seek its true market value, as the competition becomes over status rather than survival. My hunch is that even if all work was taxed (flat or progressive) to pay for it, the actual purchasing power of the dollar would increase to offset it due a more efficient market. (It would also be offset by the elimination of means-testing and beauracracy in existing social programs, as well as enabling a great deal more education and entrepreneurship.)
Admittedly, the idea is abstract and hand-wavy. But it's worth considering.
In a UBI world (also assuming socialized medicine), neither minimum wage nor de facto salary+benefits would be necessary, and labor would be free to seek its true market value, as the competition becomes over status rather than survival. My hunch is that even if all work was taxed (flat or progressive) to pay for it, the actual purchasing power of the dollar would increase to offset it due a more efficient market. (It would also be offset by the elimination of means-testing and beauracracy in existing social programs, as well as enabling a great deal more education and entrepreneurship.)
Admittedly, the idea is abstract and hand-wavy. But it's worth considering.