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Request For Research: Basic Income

blog.ycombinator.com

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Re: Request For Research: Basic Income

#11

Post by dmix »

sama wrote: post #8
davidw wrote: post #5

There's a very relevant section in this book ( The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies - http://amzn.to/1KFJ1Iu ) , that I just read last night: > "His view is strongly supported by the work of economist Andrew Oswald, who found that joblessness lasting six months or longer harms feelings of well-being and other measures of mental health about as much as the death of…

I think this is one of the most important components to study.

Will this be possible to simulate if the participants know they are taking part in a study?

Re: Request For Research: Basic Income

#13

Post by notliketherest »

When I talk with people about basic income, my gut reaction and primary argument is that it contrasts with that fundamental human nature that's been show time and again throughout humanity - given a guaranteed, fixed reward no matter how much or how little you work for it, disincentivizes work. It follows along the same lines as why government instituted communism fails. Or why the first version of the mayflower compact failed - whatever was produced was put into a common warehouse and all the land, buildings and end product were communally owned.

I just think that socialism and communism (which basic income basically is - it's paid for by the working class) ultimately leads to the destruction of the economy.

Re: Request For Research: Basic Income

#14

Post by dmix »

harryh wrote: post #4

$10,000 * US_POPULATION ~= $3.2T ~= The total annual tax revenue of the US federal government. Something to keep in mind when discussing this topic.

Does your "US population" number include people <18yrs old, people receiving social security, and people who volunteer to not receive their basic income payment? They should be exempt from your calculation...

Re: Request For Research: Basic Income

#15

Post by davidw »

Things got fiddled a bit here with the comments, but this is my response to "how can we increase prosperity for everyone?", although it's probably more a political problem than a startup one.

Maybe it's just me that has noticed it in the past few years, but "fixing housing in the US" is looming large on my list of things to improve.

It's not just San Francisco - the same debates are playing out in places like Boulder, or even here in Bend.

Re: Request For Research: Basic Income

#16

Post by bryanlarsen »

harryh wrote: post #4

$10,000 * US_POPULATION ~= $3.2T ~= The total annual tax revenue of the US federal government. Something to keep in mind when discussing this topic.

Basic income is generally designed to be revenue neutral on the middle class. In other words, you send them a cheque for $10,000 and increase their taxes by ~$10,000. So your cost is off by about an order of magnitude. That you get from increasing taxes on the rich and from cost savings for social security and other welfare benefits.

Re: Request For Research: Basic Income

#17

Post by TrevorJ »

I wonder what basic income would do to cost of living? If everyone ends up with x amount of guaranteed income, does the cost of living eventually rise by the same amount across the board and basically negate it? It seems like rent-seeking behavior would come in to play here.

Re: Request For Research: Basic Income

#18

Post by samstave »

harryh wrote: post #4

$10,000 * US_POPULATION ~= $3.2T ~= The total annual tax revenue of the US federal government. Something to keep in mind when discussing this topic.

But that number is misleading. I have a spouse and three children. Does that mean we all will get 10K/yr?

I have had a different thought on this in the past; Every child born should have $10K put into an account in their name on the day they are born. It will gain interest and grow until they are 18, then they get the money. And as an adult after 21, they are taxed at some rate to pay back the initial 10K that will then be deposited into the account of some other new baby.

Re: Request For Research: Basic Income

#20

Post by mattkrisiloff »

sebii wrote: post #10

There is non-profit startup in Berlin trying to do this, they mainly fund themselves by raising the money from the crowd. It's a lottery system where one can win 1000€ per month for one year, which in most parts of Germany gets you somewhere. They already funded 29 people analyze and blog about who won. Most people actually didn't do dramatic life changes, which also could be because it's just one year. Warning Germa…

It's a big reason we want to do it for 5 years -- things may look different in the longer term.
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