Critics say UBI is too expensive. That it would lead to enormous taxes. But if your government makes its own money, it doesn’t fund anything with taxes. Money is just a human invention (like videogame points or Reddit upvotes), and taxes make some of it disappear. Money is an unlimited resource. Money can be used for UBI. Or money can be used to force people to serve bosses.
- Brief history of money & taxes
- Explanation of taxes: “You might be angered to know that, actually, your taxes are not used for anything after you pay it. Not at a federal level. Your taxes are essentially destroyed upon receipt. Taxation is the act of taking currency out of the economy.”
- Study: banks create money: “This study establishes for the first time empirically that banks individually create money out of nothing. The money supply is created as ‘fairy dust’ produced by the banks individually, ‘out of thin air.'”
Wouldn’t everyone stop working?
- Universal basic income wouldn’t make people lazy–it would change the nature of work
- Separating income from labor
- “Bullshit Jobs: a Theory”: a book by an anthropologist. He explains that self-sacrificing work morality is recent in human history, and about 40% of surveyed people secretly find their jobs pointless.
- UBI as an antidote to “Bullshit Jobs”: Many people secretly think their jobs are completely pointless (or worse). Wouldn’t they be happier to get Universal Basic Income?
Inflation articles
A common critique of UBI is inflation.
- Wouldn’t Unconditional Basic Income Just Cause Massive Inflation?
- Discussion about where UBI money goes: Scroll down to the bottom. For example, UBI money might go to landlords — so rent control may be necessary.
- How to Fund a Universal Basic Income Without Increasing Taxes or Inflation
Will UBI destroy social services?
Some want to add UBI to other unconditional social services. Others want to use UBI to take away government social services like healthcare, making everyone dependent on the private sector.
