Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

  One of the big selling points is that basic income is
  funded largely by replacing different welfare state
  institutions
...which presumably means some people are going to receive less total income under basic income than they did before. And, of those people receiving less total income, some will be the very model of the worthy types people had in mind when they created those benefits.

People in wheelchairs who can no longer afford the specially adapted vehicle they need to get to the shops. Hard-working parents losing their homes (in the city where all homes are expensive) because they can't afford the rent, even though they've only been out of work for a few weeks.

Setting the basic income high enough to cover specially adapted vehicles and family homes in expensive cities would of course be an expensive affair.




I can't remember where I read it (probably reddit, check out /r/basicincome), but I believe many proponents of basic income suggest that it will replace institutions that provide income to people such as social security, but not benefits such as medical benefits as you described above, or benefits provided to soldiers, et al.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: