Comment by bryanlarsen
18 hours ago
Or we'd have to raise taxes by 2.4T dollars. Which isn't as extreme as it sounds, since we're at the same time giving everybody money. If 2/3 of the amount of UBI is paid for with increased taxes, the average taxpayer will come out ahead. "We're raising your taxes by $10,000" doesn't sound as bad as when accompanied by "and here's a cheque for $13,000". Bill Gates' taxes will go up a lot more than $13,000, but the average taxpayer will see a very small benefit.
The other benefit of raising taxes is that it will control inflation.
And $13K/year isn't enough to live on, yet many disabled people do just that. 4 people each getting $13K can probably live together on that. Living alone is a luxury.
And with UBI, there are no limitations on you supplementing your income on the side. One of the biggest criticisms of UBI is that everybody will stop working. If UBI is $13K/year pretty much only those who are unable to work will not supplement their income with work.
Or I could just keep my money instead of sending it to the government just so they can send it back to me. Cut out the middleman.
That's called a negative income tax, and it can be almost the same as a UBI. There are pros and cons. For instance, if you lose your job, you have to wait until next April before you get your NIT money.