I think that Universal Basic Income (UBI) is the dumbest idea currently circulating, and I am amazed at how many otherwise thoughtful and articulate people are proposing it. So much so, I am beginning to think I must have missed something, maybe it’s me that’s wrong.
Please can someone explain this idea to me, help me understand what the hell is going on! What have I missed here?
First, a brief summary of my objections, of why UBI makes no sense whatsoever.
The conversation around UBI seems to revolve entirely around the desirability of this idea. People ask if it is a good idea to give everyone free money, will it make people creative, or lazy? This completely misses the point, because UBI is not actually possible in any way that makes sense, and here’s why.
The government, in most countries, is entirely funded by taxing society. The government taxes you, and is spending your money for you. The higher taxes are, the less of your money you have left to spend on yourself. It’s zero-sum. So the government would have to raise taxes to pay for UBI, meaning that UBI is just some of your own tax dollars handed back to you. What is the point of government taking money from you with one hand, only to give you back some of your own money with the other hand. That’s not free money, it’s your own tax dollars given back to you.
If your interested in giving people free money, it is logical to first start by stopping taking money from people. To both give and take, at the same time is pointless, as the two actions will cancel each other out on net. What is the point in me taking $20 from you and then giving you $10 back? I should have only taken $10 in the first place.
The people suggesting UBI never seen to mention tax cuts. Have they forgotten that the state is only funded by taxes? Consider for example sales tax, lets say it’s 15% (a typical rate for most western countries). Everyone pays the 15% tax on everything they buy from every store. Rich and poor alike pay this 15% tax. Even a child buying a chocolate bar is paying this tax, it is universal taxation. What is the point in universal taxation at the same time as universal income? The effects of both will cancel each other out. What is the point in making everything we buy in every store more expensive, in order to fund free money for all? It is circular, and dare I say it, dumb.
The only thing UBI will achieve is the creation of a useless bureaucracy responsible for this pointless function. This impoverishes everyone, as it is a financial drag on society.
UBI is not a new idea, it is thousands of years old, and it has always been a foolish idea used to trick people. The Roman emperor would put on a free display of gladiators with free food, the proverbial bread and circuses. European medieval kings would put on lavish feasts to stop the peasants from becoming restless. All the fools cheered the generosity of the king, not understanding that it was their taxes that were coercively extracted from them that funded the free food they now enjoying.
Ultimately, there is no source of free prosperity that can be tapped into and handed out. There is no infinite river of wealth that we can drink from. The more free stuff society asks for from the state, the more the state will have to raise your taxes to pay for it, do you see the circularity of this absurd notion?
Please, someone, enlighten me! This system of free wealth for everyone, that just keeps on flowing month after month, without the need for work, how does this function? Where does the free wealth come from?