An Alternative to Welfare

Disclaimer: This interview was produced in 2017 by the Institute For Humane Studies, prior to Students For Liberty's acquisition of Learn Liberty. The opinions of this interviewer are his own and are not that of SFL.
Today’s welfare system discourages aspiring for the American dream. What if we tried a universal basic income instead? For the full interview with Prof. Munger, watch • Political Science, Tru...
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Why Libertarians Should Oppose the Universal Basic Income (article): Prof. Bryan Caplan argues against Universal Basic Income in his opening statement in a debate hosted by the Institute for Humane Studies on the subject. econlog.econlib.org/archives/2...
The welfare state is a (bad) polygamist (blog post): Prof. Michael Munger argues that our current welfare system creates a cycle of poverty for many women. www.learnliberty.org/blog/the-...
Milton Friedman - The Negative Income Tax (video): Milton Friedman explains the “negative income tax”. • Milton Friedman - The ...
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For a full transcript please visit: www.learnliberty.org/videos/an...
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Пікірлер: 806

  • @catherineb.
    @catherineb.2 жыл бұрын

    As someone who use to be on government assistance, I assure you, it's not what people think it is. These systems keep you in poverty because any increase in your income is a cut to your assistance. You basically have to live off less than $1,000 a month in order to keep your "benefits".

  • @ralphparker

    @ralphparker

    2 жыл бұрын

    or learn to skirt the system (just don't get caught).

  • @Someone-dt1ns

    @Someone-dt1ns

    Жыл бұрын

    A UBI is given to every citizen no matter how rich they are.

  • @TheSensationalMr.Science

    @TheSensationalMr.Science

    Жыл бұрын

    yeah and the decrease is usually not proportional to the amount earned (earn $50 from a job? oh I guess you don't need this $1,000.... [obvious exaggeration... or is it?]) Hope you have a great day & Safe Travels!

  • @Johnnysmithy24

    @Johnnysmithy24

    5 ай бұрын

    It’s essentially paying people to stay poor

  • @peter5530
    @peter55305 жыл бұрын

    Milton Friedman proposed Negative Income Tax, not UBI

  • @KA-vs7nl

    @KA-vs7nl

    4 жыл бұрын

    Zenith crazy how people will prop up Friedman and mlk when they both have clarified they aren’t in support of UBI. Thank you for being a voice of reason.

  • @darthhodges

    @darthhodges

    4 жыл бұрын

    But Friedman's Negative Income Tax isn't that different from UBI as proposed here and would be a great way to implement it. I therefore think he was justified in referring to Friedman. The problem is many talk about UBI as something ON TOP OF what we are already doing. That is something this presenter and Friedman and I absolutely oppose.

  • @happy_thinking

    @happy_thinking

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@darthhodges The difference is the incentive. UBI is basically free money no matter what. While NIT rewards those who work and those who make more money get more money up to a certain threshold called a living wage. P.S If I remember correctly Milton considered NIT the least of all evils. P.S2 The way I see it NIT > UBI > Welfare State

  • @darthhodges

    @darthhodges

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@happy_thinking Upon rewatching this clip I noticed he didn't address how his version of the UBI would address the "cliff" they talked about. I previously saw a clip of Friedman talking about NIT and addressing the cliff and I guess I conflated that with this.

  • @factseek

    @factseek

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@happy_thinking I would say NIT > UBI > None > Welfare State

  • @SL2797
    @SL27974 жыл бұрын

    An alternative to welfare: Private charity and mutual-aid societies within an economically free society!!!

  • @joemccallum710

    @joemccallum710

    4 жыл бұрын

    There is absolutely nothing the federal government does that helps people, a free market, and free people have a choice, the alternative, which LAZY people dont want is already available, WORK HARD AND BETTER YOURSELF AND FAMILY, absolutely NOTHING in the United States stops people from making the choice to work hard and work towards making themselves a better life!

  • @Ace-uc5cj

    @Ace-uc5cj

    4 жыл бұрын

    Joe Mccallum I agree

  • @amberraining9546

    @amberraining9546

    3 жыл бұрын

    +++

  • @miyojewoltsnasonth2159

    @miyojewoltsnasonth2159

    3 жыл бұрын

    @SL You wrote: _"An alternative to welfare: Private charity and mutual-aid societies within an economically free society!!!"_ Please point me to examples where private charity consistently moved poor people out of poverty. Not one individual here and there, but something more systematic that lifted many people out of poverty.

  • @theweirdestsmartchannel1842

    @theweirdestsmartchannel1842

    3 жыл бұрын

    You can’t just tell people to work without help

  • @KevinSmith-qi5yn
    @KevinSmith-qi5yn6 жыл бұрын

    One major advantage I see in Universal Basic Income is we can finally get rid of the shitty minimum wage system.

  • @silkhead44
    @silkhead446 жыл бұрын

    This Is What Happened When Maine Forced Welfare Recipients To Work For Their Benefits ...After forcing these individuals to either work part-time for twenty hours each week, enroll in a vocational program, or volunteer for a minimum of twenty-four hours per month, the numbers showed a significant drop from 12,000 enrollees to just over 2,500.

  • @captnhuffy

    @captnhuffy

    6 жыл бұрын

    Nice! thanks for opening the dialog. Food Banks, Public Kitchens, and Food delivery (for the handicapped for example) are the ONLY "free benefits" citizens, CITIZENS, should be given, but they have to ASKED for help. And then lets give that without questioning them. Let the churches handle as much of this as possible. Furthermore, all other free benefits, everything else, should be handled 100% by the churches. If the churches refuse, revoke their tax status. Non-citizens must be questioned on all things, in every aspect, until they are documented as level 1, level 2, or level 3 (where level 3 = full citizenship.)

  • @jonathanmaynard3457

    @jonathanmaynard3457

    5 жыл бұрын

    silkhead44 could you give me the citation for this. I want to use this lore frequently. I agree with the logic 100%.

  • @jonathanmaynard3457

    @jonathanmaynard3457

    5 жыл бұрын

    jfsfrnd oh come on that is like saying how is a single mother making a livable wage from work like 60,000 a year with two or more kids supposed to report taxes, feed kids, and holy crap a 40 minute appointment. God forbid they have to put in a little extra work to get out of poverty. Not to mention is you take the national average for middle class families, it might be less than 60k but regardless the requirements necessary for basic life include some things the middle class does. So the argument based upon how can they keep up is not a valid one, not even close

  • @mohnjayer

    @mohnjayer

    4 жыл бұрын

    👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

  • @robinsss

    @robinsss

    4 жыл бұрын

    food stamps should have no requirement : but if you want cash assistance you should have to sign up for job training : the state government doesn't need people to do work for them : they have enough workers

  • @greenakutabi
    @greenakutabi6 жыл бұрын

    C'mon guys. Use your heads here and think. He's not saying this is the ideal way to solve the welfare problem. He's saying this way is a more realistic and efficient alternative. This is why he said he's a directionalist. This is about moving the government in a direction where it wastes less money and offers people more freedom. It's not the best way but it's better than what we have. If you're going to spend money, at least don't waste it.

  • @FKAAYA

    @FKAAYA

    4 жыл бұрын

    I agree, at least this way the government won't go bankrupt for a few extra years

  • @KA-vs7nl

    @KA-vs7nl

    4 жыл бұрын

    Pot Head idiot the government already is bankrupt, we have 165+ trillion in debt, 120 trillion in unfunded liabilities, where’s this magical money coming from? Directionalism is just hope for the here and now, as long as the ends justify the means, who cares how authoritarian government gets? Lmao

  • @FKAAYA

    @FKAAYA

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@KA-vs7nl the government isnt going to stop wasting our money so they should at least waste less of it, that's all I'm saying

  • @KA-vs7nl

    @KA-vs7nl

    4 жыл бұрын

    Pot Head give someone an inch, and they’ll take a mile. Apply that to government, who’s monetary agency relies SOLELY on the Federal Reserve. We need to eliminate the federal reserve first if we want government to stop wasting money.

  • @KA-vs7nl

    @KA-vs7nl

    4 жыл бұрын

    Pot Head you might find exopolitics really interesting isgp-studies.com

  • @midwestron8576
    @midwestron85762 жыл бұрын

    I notice he included Social Security in the programs to be eliminated to pay for Universal Basic Income. So I pay into a system for 47 years to receive $24,00 a year so that I can lose it to receive $12,000 a year in Universal Basic Income. The other $12,000 goes to someone that has never worked their whole life. Does that sound fair to you?

  • @Junji101

    @Junji101

    2 жыл бұрын

    Life's not fair. 🤷‍♂️

  • @teolechaczynski

    @teolechaczynski

    2 жыл бұрын

    That's not what he was proposing. People can't "cancel" your social security, as you've already payed into the system and the money you gave was legally not given to the state, but "withheld" until you were retired. With this proposal it would phase out all the social security payments and then in 100 or so years you would see that no-one is owed social security money anymore as they received the 12,000 a year their entire life instead of the 24,000 just when they were old.

  • @midwestron8576

    @midwestron8576

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@teolechaczynski I hate to break it to you, but there is no savings account with all the money you paid in over the years. What you paid in is gone. It was used to pay the benefits of all the people older than you.

  • @teolechaczynski

    @teolechaczynski

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@midwestron8576 I know, but it is theoretically "withheld", as you will receive all the money you put in inflation adjusted when you're retired so you get everything back.

  • @SociallyTriggered
    @SociallyTriggered5 жыл бұрын

    UBI is still a bad idea. Ask anyone on a native reserve.

  • @red32303

    @red32303

    5 жыл бұрын

    No, not really. Most the money goes to booze or a truck payment

  • @hiclclen2954

    @hiclclen2954

    5 жыл бұрын

    Unfortunately the reserves are a welfare state the UBI could help prevent

  • @brandonsaraniti771

    @brandonsaraniti771

    4 жыл бұрын

    Most reservations don't even have property rights which is the biggest issue.

  • @JuanCruz-bp7yu

    @JuanCruz-bp7yu

    4 жыл бұрын

    Also their chief leader receives the money and he distributes it ( who knows how much they are pocketing ) . Some natives actually work 🤯 . Some even buy cars with their money so they can work off the reservation 🤯🤯 . Money doesn't fix all problems but it can give you an opportunity to succeed. I rather put it in the hands of the people rather than the government.

  • @Thiagooooo13
    @Thiagooooo136 жыл бұрын

    So the alternative to welfare is... a different welfare program?

  • @RubberJunk1
    @RubberJunk16 жыл бұрын

    I don't personally know a single person on welfare that doesn't spend their money on tobacco, weed and other non-essentials/luxury items I couldn't afford while establishing myself. (I live in the UK) They seem perfectly content with their lifestyle and don't really seem to pursue anything in life and have little respect for the houses provided by the local council. The messiest houses Ive visited have been council houses, people who own their own homes tend to more often have clean homes which is interesting because people who work have less time to clean. I don't think these kinds of people are going to change their lifestyle around just by having more access to money, Its a cultural / social issue. If your raised in a shit hole and are never taught the the principles that make a person a success in the real world then you're destined to fail.

  • @captnhuffy

    @captnhuffy

    6 жыл бұрын

    Yup. Sad but true. thanks for opening this dialog: Food Banks, Public Kitchens, and Food delivery (for the handicapped for example) are the ONLY "free benefits" citizens, CITIZENS, should be given. And lets give that without questioning them. Let the churches handle as much of this as possible. Furthermore, all other free benefits, everything else, should be handled 100% by the churches. If the churches refuse, revoke their tax status. Non-citizens must be questioned on all things, in every aspect, until they are documented as level 1, level 2, or level 3 (where level 3 = full citizenship.)

  • @resh4rd

    @resh4rd

    6 жыл бұрын

    Why should people be forced to give their money to low income family's its not other peoples fault that they can't afford healthcare and food etc if they can't afford it it should teach them a lesson.

  • @CarFreeSegnitz

    @CarFreeSegnitz

    6 жыл бұрын

    It's easy to keep a house clean when you have no time to spend in it. When a person works 16 hours per day for minimum wage what is the point of having anything more than a single bedroom?

  • @CarFreeSegnitz

    @CarFreeSegnitz

    6 жыл бұрын

    Rubber J And wealthy people don't imbibe on tobacco, alcohol or a bit of weed? A bit of judgement going on? The poor engage in something you find distastefull so they're bad overall whereas the wealthy do exactly the same, if not more, and it's just a cute eccentricity.

  • @domsjuk

    @domsjuk

    6 жыл бұрын

    Dry meme machine This won't work for the children who grow up in these households. Chance equality is essential for optimum liberty and for that you need (state funded) open public facilities and services and some sort of basic direct wealth redistribution. Some fellow 'libertarians' (as a european id call them liberals) unfortunately are too ignorant or too engaged in clientelism to see this.

  • @LarryReynolds591
    @LarryReynolds5916 жыл бұрын

    "An Alternative to Welfare" "Another Welfare Scheme"

  • @captnhuffy

    @captnhuffy

    6 жыл бұрын

    agreed, LR!! thanks for opening this dialog. Food Banks, Public Kitchens, and Food delivery (for the handicapped for example) are the ONLY "free benefits" citizens, CITIZENS, should be given. And lets give that without questioning them. Let the churches handle as much of this as possible. Furthermore, all other free benefits, everything else, should be handled 100% by the churches. If the churches refuse, revoke their tax status. Non-citizens must be questioned on all things, in every aspect, until they are documented as level 1, level 2, or level 3 (where level 3 = full citizenship.)

  • @whykhr

    @whykhr

    6 жыл бұрын

    A much better alternative is to use a local currency, they have been extremely successful at creating jobs, saving local communities. Our privately owned debt money system just does not work very well.

  • @TreeLuvBurdpu

    @TreeLuvBurdpu

    5 жыл бұрын

    Tweaking the knobs on socialism. "This is directionalist socialism, not destinationalist socialism. That solves the problem, and we get to keep socialism." Reject socialism.

  • @rharris22222

    @rharris22222

    5 жыл бұрын

    @rainwolf034 I think your argument about pedophile preachers is spurious. I know the Catholic Church abuses have been very much in the news lately, but in fact, the hold of spiritual or religious devotion is very different than a simple request for assistance, and I don't think you can really make a case that faith-based charities have been more abusive of the poor than government-sponsored charities, such as welfare or food stamps or section 8 housing. On the more general issue, although I am not in favor of UBI, I do appreciate the argument that trying to force the poor into particular decisions chosen by government has not worked, and cash assistance is more efficient.

  • @FEV369

    @FEV369

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@oricraftoric A UBI is the worst form of welfare as the problem with welfare is people being lazy and finding ways to live off nothing but welfare and of course spending money badly. A UBI makes both of these problems much worse in literally a countless amount of ways. While welfare is bad a UBI is nothing more than forced welfare on everyone. What happens when people run out of UBI money the first week into a month buy still have kids to feed? Will you point at then on national TV and say, "let them die!!" ? UBI will not fix anything rather it WILL make things much worse. Inflation will make everyone more poor and there is no such thing as a "closed loop" to stop inflation because inflation is caused mainly by people buying supply, not just printing money. Give people more money to buy stuff and supply shrinks, thus inflation... UBI is for people that have little to no understanding of economics or history where all UBI's to date have failed... Oddly the supporters of UBI like it that way, being willfully ignorant.

  • @Melissa0774
    @Melissa07746 жыл бұрын

    3 questions - 1. Wouldn't a universal basic income just cause inflation to go up by whatever percentage would make the income amount become worthless because prices would have to go up proportionally to make up for the tax that pays for it? 2. Do any countries actually do this? 3. Don't we already have UBI for people over 65? Social Security? What about all the people who are saying that program is unsustainable?

  • @Melissa0774

    @Melissa0774

    6 жыл бұрын

    Are you talking about in the United States? What's the difference between that and Social Security?

  • @trygvb

    @trygvb

    6 жыл бұрын

    1.) Inflation would remain the same because the money the government is outputting would remain the same

  • @Theaksten

    @Theaksten

    6 жыл бұрын

    UBI doesn't affect inflation. Inflation is good, a symptom of economic growth, when it's truly a reflection of a growing economy, so usually ~2% annually. We want the money supply to grow at a similar pace to the economy, so businesses experience increased profits, and respond by increasing production (jobs+wages). High inflation is problematic, say 10%+ annually. It's a symptom of government printing money, in effect growing the money supply, to service its debt and obligations. Hyperinflation is typically considered 50%+ inflation per month. It severely disrupts economic activity by destroying the purchasing power of peoples' savings (aka capital). Hyperinflation is typically caused by the government creating money to service debt, and often leads to recession, which may degenerate into depression. Both recession and depression are economic contractions caused by a shortfall of consumption to supply. This cycle is characterized by businesses cutting production (jobs) to offset the loss from a shortfall in sales (consumption), which in turn, reduces the number of potential consumers (demand). This cycle can spiral in a negative feedback loop until the market economy is a shadow of its former self and the planned economy. Often this scenario is worsened by a government creating money to service debt, for example, Greece.

  • @moneyking11

    @moneyking11

    6 жыл бұрын

    In Denmark we have a universal basic income ... you have to be "available to the job market" which means you are obligated to search for a job..

  • @chrisbaker2669

    @chrisbaker2669

    6 жыл бұрын

    No a universal basic income would not cause inflation by the same amount. I lot of what is bought here is not made here because of trade. Inflation is caused by more money being printed.

  • @darthhodges
    @darthhodges6 жыл бұрын

    I was opposed to universal basic income but I had never heard anyone make it a replacement for all other welfare programs. With that condition it's a great idea. If you blow it all on booze and drugs the person who suffers most is you. If you use to it to improve your life and your family you will get the reward of your investment. There is a discussion to be had about how much but the premise, with the aforementioned condition, is better than what we have now. I just got a promotion that increases my income by 2 and a half times. I have been living in subsidized housing, collecting food stamps, and my wife and children are on Medicaid. Now we have to move and we will lose those benefits. I did the math and I will have the same or slightly less disposable income than before. When you factor in that my employer's health insurance has copays, deductibles, and less than 100% coverage on lots of things I might be significantly worse off. Makes you think, doesn't it?

  • @MarkProffitt

    @MarkProffitt

    4 жыл бұрын

    Do some math to figure out how much money it would cost to pay everyone the same amount & that amount be enough for it support someone not capable of working. $1000 per month × 320 million × 12 months = $3,84 trillion. That is the entire national budget. Maybe it could be reduced for children? Still taxes would need to double to turn around and give the money back.

  • @thecoton6152

    @thecoton6152

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@MarkProffitt it would still not work because the State always takes around 17% of the national GDP in taxes regardless of tax rates. The only way to sustain UBI is to produce more but I don't see that happening in a social system that benefits the lazy at the expense of net tax payers. It's a cultural issue. We need to break the cycle of dependance and entitlement from the State.

  • @jebremocampo9194

    @jebremocampo9194

    3 жыл бұрын

    My disagreement with him is he said Milton Friedman was for UBI. Milton Friedman was certainly NOT for UBI, but rather Negative income tax.

  • @darthhodges

    @darthhodges

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@jebremocampo9194 The two concepts COULD be implemented identically or they could be implemented in completely different ways. It makes sense to distinguish, though since UBI is often used to refer to the kind of welfare program Friedman wanted to eliminate and not what the presenter is endorsing here.

  • @CJinsoo

    @CJinsoo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Conceptually it is good idea, or at least moving in the right direction: trying to improve or align incentives, and do it in a way that is far more efficient than the current process. On your health care issue, if you were going this far with UBI and getting rid of medicaid, then you need complete overhaul of government sponsored monopoly/cartels for health care insurance and hospital care. direct primary care, hospitals owned by physicians like surgery center in OK as example, must be allowed everywhere. eliminate the cap on medical savings accounts. the government and insurance cartels need to be completely removed from healthcare and replaced with market based approach. also, you have to dismantle the current public education monopoly and abolish he federal department of education. people with some basic skills, and hopefully valuable skills, are in a better position to make that leap from low skilled jobs to entry level career positions, wherever they choose.

  • @kevinbryer2425
    @kevinbryer24256 жыл бұрын

    Just so everyone is aware, a $12,000 UBI to the 325 million people in America would cost $3.9 trillion (with a T). The Federal government is projected to collect $3.5T, the States $1.7T, and Local governments $1.4T.

  • @marlonmoncrieffe0728

    @marlonmoncrieffe0728

    6 жыл бұрын

    Kevin Bryer How much would a lifetime $1,000 per month UBI for every American citizen from 21 years to life cost?

  • @kevinbryer2425

    @kevinbryer2425

    6 жыл бұрын

    Well, the data I could find sets the cutoff at 19. The 0-19 year age group is 27% of the population, or 87.75 million. So, 20+ equals 237.25 million people, for a a total of $2.847T annually. The average life expectancy rounds up to 80, for a total 60 year income of $720k. If it where actually implemented, it is more likely to follow the poverty threshold, which starts at around $12k per indivual, and adds about $4k per person per household. 2016 shows about 126million households, with 2.58 residents per household. That would give each household $18,320, for a total of about $2.3T annually. There are a lot of moving parts that affect viability. First and foremost is whether the government is best vehicle for such safety nets (dubious at best). On the other hand, when better sources of such safety nets fail, nets will be extracted anyway, only zombie style. With the complete elimination of the existing tax structure for a FairTax structure, a complete replacement of all existing entitlement/welfare schemes, appropriate infrastructure, a universal civil service system, and Constitutional protections from regular tinkering with the rate, it may be workable, as much for its zombie insurance factor as for the safety net.

  • @marlonmoncrieffe0728

    @marlonmoncrieffe0728

    6 жыл бұрын

    jfsfrnd Probably all forms of poverty relief. Like for food (ex. SNAP), shelter (ex. Section 8), and medicine (ex. Medicaid).

  • @FEV369

    @FEV369

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@marlonmoncrieffe0728 Or reality says about 1/4th the cost of a UBI..... Did you even try and look up how much we spend on welfare before saying that? If a UBI for people 18 and above is around 3 trillion and the US brings in 3.4 trillion you basically said welfare alone in the US eats our entire tax revenues...

  • @marlonmoncrieffe0728

    @marlonmoncrieffe0728

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@FEV369 I never said that-'basically' or otherwise.

  • @arthurswanson6865
    @arthurswanson68656 жыл бұрын

    This would still impair the incentives to generate wealth, as does our current welfare system

  • @KevinSmith-qi5yn

    @KevinSmith-qi5yn

    6 жыл бұрын

    There are ways to encourage wealth through an UBI verse the current system. For instance every $2 you earn over $1k per month you receive $1 less in benefits. This will cap out the UBI once you reach a modest wage. This way you don't have to worry about reaching a cliff where you lose all your benefits.

  • @arthurswanson6865

    @arthurswanson6865

    6 жыл бұрын

    How does that work out with inflation? Overtime either policy needs to be changed or let the UBI become meaningless. What incentive would there be to save money if you are guaranteed UBI? How should UBI be adjusted to fluxes in health costs and other markets?

  • @KevinSmith-qi5yn

    @KevinSmith-qi5yn

    6 жыл бұрын

    Set it to a certain percentage of the poverty level. You levy a tax similar to the payroll tax, but on all individuals including those over $100k. Make a cap of something like 15%. Determine the payout at the beginning of each year. A certain percent of the poverty level or an average portion of the amount collected in payroll taxes the previous year, whichever is lower. This way you adjust the costs upwards for inflation and make it difficult to go over budget.

  • @KevinSmith-qi5yn

    @KevinSmith-qi5yn

    6 жыл бұрын

    A lot of the monitoring can be done automatically through payroll, and searching for discrepancies. Most companies are required to report a person's earnings. So you will always have a rough estimate of the bulk of the working populations income. You would need the people who manage a business to file an estimated income like they currently do on a quarterly basis. By requiring a person to file monthly, it helps deter people from using the program and helps find dead people.

  • @julio1116

    @julio1116

    6 жыл бұрын

    Commies: Giv mi ubi

  • @Jackripster69
    @Jackripster696 жыл бұрын

    I believe Hayek spoke about some sort of basic income as well, with the idea that we protect the free market from coercion. People being part of that free market also require a means against coercion. With a basic income min wage should also be abolished.

  • @swantreeservicesd1488
    @swantreeservicesd14884 жыл бұрын

    You would have to spend 5 to 10 yrs fighting the insurance company. I’ve seen it before. That’s why it’s good to have a safety net in a society that works .

  • @alexm4515
    @alexm45155 жыл бұрын

    I am by no means an economist. My expertise is medicine. I do have one question that perplexes me with this video. If everyone increases their income by universal income standard, warm things increase proportionally to the influx of the new revenue within the social system? So, won't this negate the value of the universal income?

  • @happy_thinking

    @happy_thinking

    2 жыл бұрын

    I assume your question is about inflation and in this scenario the answer is NO. Why? Because you don't print new money you are using existing money in a more efficient way. Just by removing the bureaucracy(middle man) you save a lot of money thus increasing how much recources everybody gets and there is an extra benefit here, if there is no bureaucracy all these people will have to do something else which will be very likely more productive and beneficial to everybody else. P.S If it is not clear the idea of UBI usually means removing all sorts of (social)services that are paid with taxes and giving that money directly to the citizens with no constraints.

  • @cmk5724
    @cmk57245 жыл бұрын

    Or the government could just stop taking people's taxes and giving it to other people, and let people help themselves.

  • @rsync9490

    @rsync9490

    5 жыл бұрын

    Wow and would you look at that. A rapid rise in crime and squalor lowering property values. Shanty towns forming throughout America and an enormous increase in police budgets and prison spending. Old people dying in the streets and in their homes. Small malnourished children joining oppressive and dangerous gangs to feed their families. Are you for small government or not? Because your solution will create an even worse police state than we already have.

  • @DevilTrojanChic

    @DevilTrojanChic

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@rsync9490 oh you mean like is already happening even with taxes and all these programs? Just look at California... The homeless lines the streets and they have the most handouts. Proof that welfare doesn't work.

  • @relaxedmuffin3666

    @relaxedmuffin3666

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@rsync9490 don't be silly, it wouldn't instantly look like California

  • @kmtforchina8916
    @kmtforchina89166 жыл бұрын

    A recent study found out that. with a basic income the only people quit jobs were overwheamingly low income students, and mothers.

  • @johnadan3509
    @johnadan35094 жыл бұрын

    “The poor people will spend the money in wrong things”🤔 May be is where education fails too🤔

  • @DaveWard-xc7vd
    @DaveWard-xc7vd5 жыл бұрын

    Stop rewarding people for not having a plan for their life. Have a plan if you plan to have!

  • @crazytony20
    @crazytony204 жыл бұрын

    The sad problem government faces ironically is that by simplifying the bureaucracy and saving money, that probably just decreases the jobs available in government therefore less money to people who take up these positions. Governments purpose is to spend money on creating jobs, even inefficiently if required.

  • @pzshi
    @pzshi4 жыл бұрын

    I remember in an interview Shark Tank host Kevin O'leary said the same thing as a way to make the standing Canadian welfare system more efficient. I could not find that interview again, but it is great to find this interview with that same premise, but more articulated. I agree that is the easiest and fastest way to reform our welfare now, just get everything together and just make it a single simple payment on a monthly basis. It is also great that he noted the Libertarian view that must be put on this Directional vs. Destinational.

  • @roti1873
    @roti18736 жыл бұрын

    It's redistribution of wealth. No dude.

  • @martynborthwick1845

    @martynborthwick1845

    5 жыл бұрын

    The rich like taxes you moron.

  • @brukernavn142

    @brukernavn142

    3 жыл бұрын

    This is supposed to be instead of unemployment benifits from the goverment, social security or any other payments and their agencies.

  • @zwanzikahatzel9296
    @zwanzikahatzel92966 жыл бұрын

    The reason some people hate welfare is because we don't want people who didn't earn their money to live as comfortably as those who had to work hard for it. I think the best solution would be to provide the BARE essentials while keeping a general discomfort, so as to give an incentive to people to improve their situation. So the state might set up food banks where people without income can get free food (only boring basics, no beer or cigarettes or unhealthy snacks). The state could also set up homeless centers where people can go sleep. These homeless centers would have no TVs or entertainment. Electricity and water would be rationed. People's essential needs would be met, but their everyday life would be so boring and uninspiring that they might find job-hunting a nice way of spending their time. As for people with disabilities with no family to fall back on, we would have to provide some medical care and some extra-comfort, but I think the number of people in these conditions pales compared to the people on welfare who are fit for work and choose not to for various reasons.

  • @angelaj8958

    @angelaj8958

    6 жыл бұрын

    so what would you do to the handicapped who are unable to work?

  • @CadetGriffin

    @CadetGriffin

    6 жыл бұрын

    Why does the UN consider internet to be a right if electricity and homes aren't always considered rights? If living somewhere with a mailable address was made compulsory like education then every homeless person might have a house with a mailbox, meaning there's more mailboxes for the IRS to send tax forms to and thus everyone gets to pay taxes meaning more revenue for the government.

  • @wpscz

    @wpscz

    5 жыл бұрын

    Good points 👍

  • @dinomiskovic294

    @dinomiskovic294

    5 жыл бұрын

    big corporations are not for your solution when you give people only food and bed then consumption drops and that is not in their interest....

  • @dgman0313

    @dgman0313

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@angelaj8958 everyone can work. I know I blind man who takes 2 busses and a train to work. He makes more money than most

  • @marksmith5814
    @marksmith58143 жыл бұрын

    Honestly the fast majority will spend it wrong but not intentionally. We need to include financial education so people know how to manage their income.

  • @CaptainBeardsome
    @CaptainBeardsome6 жыл бұрын

    This is the first rational argument for Universal Basic Income. I'm not 100% convinced, but this is a very interesting way of putting it.

  • @billboyd2009
    @billboyd20095 жыл бұрын

    How do we stop a UBI from growing larger and larger over time? There will always be more winners than losers for every politician to advocate for another increase in a UBI. We've seen something similar with socialised medicine where the demand is limitless and budgets and bureaucracies only grow. Why saddle ourselves with another burden?

  • @curioustgeorge
    @curioustgeorge6 жыл бұрын

    in a previous Liberty U video it was stated $20k was spent on each poor person..adding up federal, state, and local govt. but I can how this is discussing federal policy so maybe 12k comes fed of 20k

  • @purestyle8857
    @purestyle88575 жыл бұрын

    I’m not entirely convinced yet. Any recommendations for essays or analysis that I can read up on?

  • @TheBcoolGuy

    @TheBcoolGuy

    5 жыл бұрын

    It's just "free" communism out of the taxpayer's wallet.

  • @purestyle8857

    @purestyle8857

    5 жыл бұрын

    Well like he said, it’s no better than our current welfare state. I am a Libertarian so it’s very unlikely that it’ll convert me. But in order to defend my beliefs I need to understand the opposition.

  • @edwardklein3093
    @edwardklein30936 жыл бұрын

    I believe in Milton Friedman Negative Income Tax. Which could be played for through a Land Value Tax or a flat consumption tax.

  • @azmike3572
    @azmike35722 жыл бұрын

    A serious problem with this is that if recipients blow it on booze and drugs, etc., it's their innocent children who will suffer, just as what happens with the current welfare system.

  • @rharris22222
    @rharris222225 жыл бұрын

    Biggest problem with this scheme is probably the work disincentive. It would be very tempting to simply quit working and live cheap, since there would be no social condemnation of using what everyone gets. Second biggest problem is the raw cost. He glibly says this will replace all other programs, including social security. Yeah, but do the math: 12k per year for adult population (78% of 308 million). That's 2.9 trillion dollars per year. That's 66% of the entire federal budget.

  • @CornerTalker
    @CornerTalker6 жыл бұрын

    It seems to have the same basic problem as welfare: it will expand indefinitely, both in number of people receiving it and the amount they receive.

  • @jebremocampo9194
    @jebremocampo91943 жыл бұрын

    Correction! Milton Friedman is NOT for UBI, He argued for negative income tax!

  • @clinteastwood243
    @clinteastwood2436 жыл бұрын

    In line at a grocery store a woman with Louis Vuitton bag gold earrings, bracelet, necklace; Using food stamps. The woman behind her had no food stamps and was using coupons, and she was not carrying a 900$ bag.

  • @christiensebastien2442
    @christiensebastien24426 жыл бұрын

    How is this a post from this channel?

  • @timrichardson4018
    @timrichardson40185 жыл бұрын

    Now, is he taking about the same basic income amount given to everyone? Because Milton Freud was not in favor of that. He proposed a negative income tax, a system in which tax credits are allowed if you make under a certain amount. And if your credits outweigh your tax liability, you get a percentage of the difference given to you. It's essentially a wage subsidy that increases or decrease in proportion to your income if it's below a certain level. It eliminates the cliff effect of welfare, providing a way for the poor to work and earn more without being penalized for doing so. It would replace all welfare, under Friedman's plan. There would be no means testing or anything like that. It would be money directly given. It would be administratively much cheeper, and may cost zero to administer if you also enacted a flat positive income tax and abolished the IRS. There would still be free loaders, but there always have and always will be. Friedman also made the point that it wouldn't be a GOOD plan necessarily. It would just be the least bad option.

  • @2vnews902
    @2vnews9026 жыл бұрын

    Update the safety net. Have a means tested financial safety net (at the state level), not a safety net based on government run programs for everyone.

  • @coolbeans6148
    @coolbeans61483 жыл бұрын

    Milton freidman did NOT advocate for a UBI, he advocated for a negitive income tax. He said its the least bad government wealfare. Just as he said the least bad tax is the land value tax.

  • @tipofmytongue1024
    @tipofmytongue10246 жыл бұрын

    UBI encourages self-responsibility and encourages that bridge to a full-time job/career. Milton Friedman advocated for a negative income tax.

  • @qhack
    @qhack6 жыл бұрын

    Interesting thought process, but how would you stop the runaway inflation as an unintended consequence? As an analogy, consider the rise in cost of education after the government started giving out tuition assistance. I still don't see UBI as a viable alternative to the very piss poor idea that the government has to take care of the destitute.

  • @Koushi82
    @Koushi825 жыл бұрын

    Thank you I've been saying this for 10 years

  • @angelaj8958
    @angelaj89586 жыл бұрын

    and what of the social security recipients who currently get more than 12000 yr on the past earnings?

  • @lumduandee6588
    @lumduandee65885 жыл бұрын

    It will not work.

  • @richardmonson8657
    @richardmonson86572 жыл бұрын

    Good thought and makes tremendous sense. The biggest problem, however, is to suggest in a political economy that assuming politicians would never keep creating additional and new support programs would be an assumption that has never held true.

  • @BeatMasterPhil
    @BeatMasterPhil6 жыл бұрын

    I have had this question for a while, wouldn't every single person recieving say $10k just mean that prices will eventually rise to an equilibrium so it is as if that $10k is barely worth anything? Or am I way off here?

  • @alexturlais8558

    @alexturlais8558

    6 жыл бұрын

    Philip thats a worry but that would only happen if you don't increase taxes at the same time. The idea is that those at the very bottom of the income scale might see some increase in income, but by the time you reach a higher income the gains are either non existent or negligible.

  • @mtnhowie
    @mtnhowie2 жыл бұрын

    The problem will be that if a universal basic income is introduced, none of the other subsides will be dropped. It will become one more entitlement piled on top of all the others. Friedman was in favour of basic income only if the other entitlements were eliminated.

  • @Orf
    @Orf5 жыл бұрын

    3:20 Destinationalist or Directionalist

  • @matthewdentistry2814
    @matthewdentistry28146 жыл бұрын

    "dude, we're giving 'em the money now" - love it

  • @killer14bee
    @killer14bee6 жыл бұрын

    Can someone please explain to me how am I a debt slave if I haven't borrowed anything?

  • @TheKyotey

    @TheKyotey

    6 жыл бұрын

    killer14bee The government in America spends $22,000.00 on your behalf every year. They fully expect you to repay them for that. You are a citizen, you have a large debt because your representative voted it for you. Congratulations!

  • @killer14bee

    @killer14bee

    6 жыл бұрын

    Are you talking about government debt? 'They fully expect you to repay them for that.' From taxes?

  • @whykhr

    @whykhr

    6 жыл бұрын

    You are a debt slave because 97% of our money supply is debt money, created out of thin air by private banks. Watch the KZread video: " 97% Owned - Economic Truth documentary - Queuepolitely cut "

  • @PreciousBoxer

    @PreciousBoxer

    6 жыл бұрын

    You have to pay for everyone, including yourself, to say no to drugs, as an example. Even if everyone said no to drugs, you will still pay forever. Friedman's negative income tax is better because UBI bails medical care out, which is in trouble in the US for selling sick care to people, and it's because the AMA has a monopoly on licensure. This is more Pay To Play. Free To Choose policies make far more sense, imo.

  • @KS-qc4lo
    @KS-qc4lo6 жыл бұрын

    I think a good idea, if you attempt to move towards a market approach to welfare, is to roll all social spending into 3 flexoble individual budget items 1) education savings accounts 2) health savings accounts 3) basic discretionary income. All 3 would act as optional/universal federal grants given to individuals not states or programs and this allows people the flexibility to spend the tax money they believe they are entitled to in the ways that they normally would if it were their income. Combined with reforms to school and health spending this might work. Would have to see if fiscally possible

  • @mikerexaccuseasondeveloper2046
    @mikerexaccuseasondeveloper20466 жыл бұрын

    $12K UBI in San Francisco or NY City is different than $12K UBI in Tulsa or St. Paul. Also, base prices for many goods and services could increase.

  • @zacharymccutcheon8607
    @zacharymccutcheon86075 жыл бұрын

    That was an interesting argument. Thank you for sharing.

  • @jessvagnar4957
    @jessvagnar49576 жыл бұрын

    I was on the fence until we got to him telling me Milton Friedman approves. I listened to his lectures and I like his thoughts on it. I just didn't recall this and this video isn't necessarily strong

  • @jimmy_octane
    @jimmy_octane5 жыл бұрын

    What I don't understand about UBI is "how would we mitigate inflation?". If the money supply increases all around (without a corresponding increase in the number of goods), isn't that the text book definition of inflation?

  • @stuartmc18
    @stuartmc185 жыл бұрын

    The only way UBI could possibly work is for a body completely independent of the government to distribute the money. Otherwise every election time, each party would just promise more and more.

  • @DvNezarto

    @DvNezarto

    5 жыл бұрын

    Stuart Laughton yup, you’d get a Bernie sanders type to rant and rave about muh billionaiz and how “dis family can’t even affowd dah payments on there car dat dey couldn’t affowd in da first place” give them more gibs. Tax da wealthy

  • @matthewkopp2391
    @matthewkopp23915 жыл бұрын

    If the UBI is a tax on infrastructure that we paid for I support it because that would be in alignment with Jefferson's idea of "promote the general welfare." Specifically: 1) it must be general (universal) not to a specific group or territory. 2) it must not involve stipulations of federal overreach on the population. 3) it must be a legal duty or tax on a public common, resource or infrastructure. So if corporations are using our public commons like satellites and the internet grid, which they do, the public deserves fair compensation for the use of our property. The last thing Yang should do to appeal to libertarians in regards to the UBI is call it a "negative income tax" because it is not. What he should do is make it a legal dividend from the use of public commons infrastructure and resources.

  • @dcg590
    @dcg5902 жыл бұрын

    They shouldn’t be complaining on what they get to spend on the handouts they’re getting. Those who supply the handouts deserve a say.

  • @SantaBarbaraAlberto
    @SantaBarbaraAlberto5 жыл бұрын

    Interesting...... Never thought about it that way but have to look at the numbers closer.

  • @vaporwavevocap
    @vaporwavevocap5 жыл бұрын

    3:43 The government shouldn't give out money, it's theft, the one plan is to get rid of it. Ending government is the end goal, all else is secondary.

  • @TBC256
    @TBC2563 жыл бұрын

    How would UBI influence inflation though?

  • @kekero540
    @kekero5406 жыл бұрын

    Every state action has a cost on its population. The balance of state services and individual services can’t be thrown out of balance.

  • @zrexx4832
    @zrexx48324 жыл бұрын

    As a liberal who supports a strong welfare state, I agree! I generally prefer universal programs to means tested programs, because means testing come with negative side effects and extra bureacracy

  • @ZO5150
    @ZO51506 жыл бұрын

    How about holding people accountable for making bad choices?

  • @ZO5150

    @ZO5150

    6 жыл бұрын

    KSReferee Are you agreeing with me? Because I totally agree with your response. I should be free to make my own choices and be held accountable for them. People's poor choices shouldn't affect me. The government should not take my hard earned money and give it to someone else who didn't earn it. The government shouldn't impose its morality on me. We as free individuals should be able to do almost anything we want as long as it doesn't harm anyone else.

  • @ZO5150

    @ZO5150

    6 жыл бұрын

    KSReferee When I say people should have accountability for their actions I mean that if you don't get a job that puts food in the table then you go hungry. Hunger can be a major motivator. I think it's really quite simple. If the American people were more involved in the political system, how the monetary system worked and valued property rights more, we as a society would have a fraction of the " social " problems we have. Even when it comes to the starving unwed mothers dilemma, if a woman made better choices which whom she chose to reproduce with she wouldn't be an unwed starving mother. If people realized the government or other people have no claim to the property of your labor in which you are compensated for with money then we wouldn't have been so willing to let the government take our property! It's a cold thing to say that people should starve in order to guarantee the freedom of the individual but isn't that what our for fathers fought and died for? Revolution wouldn't be necessary if we simply voted for representatives that held everyone accountable (individuals, government agencies,and corporations) and then we as a populace held them accountable by vigilantly holding them to strict adherence to the constitution.

  • @Retiarius2

    @Retiarius2

    6 жыл бұрын

    People should indeed be held accountable for their actions. They should also be allowed to make other actions, regardless of what actions they've made. The world would be better if people were smarter. Unfortunately for the world, people aren't, so it's our job to make them smarter. We can make people more involved in the political system. We can teach them about the economy. We can make people better. If a starving unwed mother makes a bad decision, she should not die. Bad decisions are only bad because they prevent people from making good decisions. Naturally, the best way to improve things is to make their decisions less bad, by keeping their options open despite their past.

  • @charltonblake9967

    @charltonblake9967

    5 жыл бұрын

    and free to choose to fail and die, in real liberty of course

  • @OchoVera
    @OchoVera6 жыл бұрын

    Good idea. This conversation is far from over, however it is a good step.

  • @TreeLuvBurdpu
    @TreeLuvBurdpu5 жыл бұрын

    Recognizing the distorting affects of state intervention, he purposes a half-measure. Time for whole measures.

  • @nobleneckbeard7356
    @nobleneckbeard73565 жыл бұрын

    You're doing good work here Rubin

  • @acctsys
    @acctsys3 жыл бұрын

    I admire his practicality. Replacement is a small step compared to abolishment. At least it's in the right direction. Still, I prefer negative income tax as Friedman explained.

  • @pkonneker
    @pkonneker6 жыл бұрын

    I like this argument a lot.

  • @thadoc5186
    @thadoc51863 жыл бұрын

    The problem is that you're gonna get UBI and the current system

  • @yardmasterswealtheducation8424
    @yardmasterswealtheducation84245 жыл бұрын

    Welfare - the government is a terrible polygamist. Universal Basic Income - the government is a terrible charity.

  • @ildikoivanyi6873

    @ildikoivanyi6873

    5 жыл бұрын

    It's not charity its a handout.

  • @yardmasterswealtheducation8424

    @yardmasterswealtheducation8424

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@ildikoivanyi6873 Precisely! And government handouts never accomplish anything good.

  • @ildikoivanyi6873

    @ildikoivanyi6873

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@yardmasterswealtheducation8424 I know, I had to suffer in the single mother welfare ghetto, and gov forced school. Worst years of my life. It turned me off to marriage and kids. I developed a nihilistic worldview as a result of the environment.

  • @yardmasterswealtheducation8424

    @yardmasterswealtheducation8424

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@ildikoivanyi6873 I can relate to your experience. There is much in life to cause despair, but, there is much beauty and love, too. It took decades of work to "retrain" myself out of all the lies we were taught growing up. There really is great hope and joy to experience in life.

  • @ildikoivanyi6873

    @ildikoivanyi6873

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@yardmasterswealtheducation8424 Right :)

  • @cconroy1677
    @cconroy16775 жыл бұрын

    Cant be liberty loving and wear your heart on your sleeve when it comes to other ppls money.

  • @VotePaineJefferson

    @VotePaineJefferson

    4 жыл бұрын

    Money is an abstraction, like art. It's a tool we use to keep score between the individual and his relationship with Society. You've made money your master and you revere it, instead of expecting it to work for the betterment of society as a whole.

  • @chesscomsupport8689
    @chesscomsupport86893 жыл бұрын

    Hold up... if you're taking the same amount of money that's currently being spent on all social programs combined, and spend that amount on UBI, wouldn't some people end up receiving less in benefits than they are now? I don't think that would go over too well.

  • @geekinutopia5899
    @geekinutopia58995 жыл бұрын

    Universal Basic Income can be a wonderful alternative to welfare! Just make sure it's only enough for the bare minimum reasonable standard of living, and it replaces nearly all existing welfare programs. That's really the only way a ubi can be sustainable long term. Homelessness and destitution would likely plummet to almost nothing, prison recidivism rates would fall, etc. Now the only bad things about ubi would be its potential to lower the work ethic of the population and make them even more dependent upon the state. Also, it would be unsustainable unless almost all alphabet soup agencies were abolished and the ubi was very small.

  • @Nepenhyah

    @Nepenhyah

    5 жыл бұрын

    Geek In utopia I believe the only good form of welfare is to require people to work for it. If they want a benefit why can’t they report to the local benefit office Monday through Friday and do needs based work to collect a paycheck? Eventually the person will aspire to do something better that earns more in the private market. If not, at least we are getting some form of societal contribution from them instead of subsidizing people who have no incentive to get a free market job.

  • @WilliamMcAdams
    @WilliamMcAdams2 жыл бұрын

    Use an updated model of Caesar's modified Grain Dole system.

  • @bslay4r
    @bslay4r5 жыл бұрын

    Where did Milton Friedman say he is OK with UBI? I know he was promoting negative income tax but I never heard anything about UBI from him.

  • @CarFreeSegnitz
    @CarFreeSegnitz6 жыл бұрын

    Current system: when a person falls behind for whatever circumstances they are left to rot. No income, no means to buy anything, no one can economically provide for them. Some still have energy but have had legitimate employment closed off to them due to a criminal record or they have no marketable skills. They may turn to criminal activity to meet basic needs. Under UBI: a lowest level is set on income. Those on the lowest rung have at least something with which to participate in the legitimate economic system. There is a toe-hold economically to provide basics to these at the bottom. Those at the very bottom don't have to starve and those who feel inclined to help them don't have to go uncompensated for their efforts.

  • @rufus4779
    @rufus47796 жыл бұрын

    Alternative to welfare is called WORK! If anyone needs a helping hand then give them a loan and help them find work then take your money back once they are working. STOP all handouts

  • @TheBcoolGuy
    @TheBcoolGuy5 жыл бұрын

    Right, comrade.

  • @dl6860
    @dl68602 жыл бұрын

    This is a good argument but doesn't account for the dis-incentivisation of productivity nor the demand push inflation in CPI due to this. Would be great to see this worked out.

  • @MrMurfle
    @MrMurfle11 ай бұрын

    Even better would be Friedman's negative income tax.

  • @sqike001ton
    @sqike001ton6 жыл бұрын

    I like this but i also say you can opt out and put it towards your taxes

  • @MrFoxce
    @MrFoxce4 жыл бұрын

    has anyone ever looked into the cost of implementing the current welfare systems. I feel like the costs of government labour, all the paper work and thus all the time spent to make sure people are eligible for welfare are probably quite high as well and would drop dramatically with a new system like this that is way easier to implement.

  • @willstikken5619

    @willstikken5619

    2 жыл бұрын

    And that is a big incentive for government to oppose this type of change. Reducing the bureaucracy does not benefit those in power or those seeking it.

  • @matthewdentistry2814
    @matthewdentistry28146 жыл бұрын

    love it. liked and subbed. thankyou very much

  • @christopherbradley5575
    @christopherbradley55755 жыл бұрын

    I always thought a good alternative to welfare was work.

  • @nicholasbudgen4819

    @nicholasbudgen4819

    5 жыл бұрын

    Research clearly disproves your flawed logic; for in the United Kingdom, the majority of welfare recipients are employed.

  • @jurassiccraft883
    @jurassiccraft8836 жыл бұрын

    Who is going to pay for a BMI, it seems pretty pointless that the people who work pay for this with their taxes. We would just end up at square one

  • @christopherbradley5575
    @christopherbradley55755 жыл бұрын

    Even social security? So somone who works all his life and is now too old to work has to take a pay cut to help younger people that refuse to work at all?

  • @major600
    @major6006 жыл бұрын

    After watching this Prager U. video called "The War on Work" I got curious. The total cost to the Union of the Civil War was $6.2 billion. (In 2015 dollars, that's $96.8 billion.) In the Prager video, the speaker said we paid $960 billion to fight poverty in 2012. In short, we spend almost exactly ten times as much to eliminate poverty every year as the ENTIRE Civil War cost the Union...in real dollars. According to blackdemographics.com, 42.6 million Americans identify themselves as "black only". Divide $960 billion by that, and it comes to $22,535 for every black man, woman and child in America. A one-time gift would pay for college for every black kid under 18, and it would pay the rent and groceries for every unemployed black adult for a year, enough time to get off drugs, go back to school or find some kind of job. And that's just how much we spent in one year. Poverty, Inc. is big business, and that is why NO ONE helping the poor ever wants them to go away.

  • @thedeadsexyedge
    @thedeadsexyedge2 жыл бұрын

    I'm certainly not well informed enough on this topic, but I can't say this sounds all that bad if it is tied to either establishing yourself in a new area for a set amount of time or reliant on your employment status.

  • @shmutz6051
    @shmutz60515 жыл бұрын

    UBI has issues, like giving it to people who don't need it or landlords will know how much money one has additionally so they can raise rent by that amount. Also additional aid for disabled etc seems like a valid left position to hold so cutting it all is radical. Tax simplification and a negative tax would solve the issues UBI has while also being cheaper, especially if it's just enough to not starve and make an employable appearance.

  • @professionalsalonproducts3116
    @professionalsalonproducts31162 жыл бұрын

    If you give everyone a basic income regardless of how much they make then the money being distributed becomes less valuable. It will require constant increases since prices for goods will be based off everyone receiving this extra income. No free rides

  • @libertopaeurekananarch7562
    @libertopaeurekananarch75625 жыл бұрын

    UBI is awesome in theory, but in practice it is bound to be worse than existing welfare schemes, it'll cost more, be more beaurocratic etc.

  • @robertopantojateo
    @robertopantojateo6 жыл бұрын

    It's good if is voluntary, if I don't want to pay for that that should be OK.

  • @michaniewiadomski7911
    @michaniewiadomski79112 жыл бұрын

    Though I agree with the arguments of "currently it pays off better to stay poor", "let's simplify the rules and bureaucracy", I think one very important factor (two, actually, if you read till the end) is omitted here. I think it's proper to assume, that rather a smaller part of population is taking majority of welfare. If (not changing taxes) we take this amount and divide it universally among all people, I'm afraid it may turn out everyone will get a pocket change "for a hotdog or coffee". Proof? I took wikipedia data for my country (Poland). Yearly gov. income: ~ 400 bilion PLN (roughy 100 bilion USD) Adult population: 31 milion (25 milion age 18-64, 6 milion retired) Minimal wage: 2400 PLN (roughly 600USD) So, the cost of UBI would be: 31 milion * 2400 = 74,4 bilion PLN per month; *12 = 893 bilion per year. That's TWICE the current gov. income ONLY spent on UBI. What about healthcare, retirements (6 milion retired people), military (~100 000 people), whole administration (300 000 people) and countless other govermental spendings that even without UBI generate 86 bilion negative balance right now? So my question: where does government get twice their current income extra (so they hold current 400 bil for all spendings, plus get another 800 bil for just UBI)? I suppose situation of other countries will not differ vastly from the one I described (to the extent that providing reasonable UBI to everybody wouldn't cost the government much). My other concern: Money is in its roots an equivalent of accumulated work (your work that you can exchange for someone's other work; let's imagine it as "work fruits"). How then can you get these "work fruits" if you didn't do any work (that's UBI)? So in other words, to get these "work fruits" without making any work... most probably they have to be taken from someone else who made vastly more of them (by means of taxation). If I'm making any logical mistake here, please explain it to me. So even though I agree with improving peoples' well-being and simplifying bureaucracy, I suppose UBI is a bad (even more: totally unrealistic) idea, because of definition firstly, and because of calculations secondly.

  • @ralphparker
    @ralphparker2 жыл бұрын

    Small mods to the system that gets rid of the cliff would be better. Say your max benefit is 12K/year. You make another 6K on the side, good for you. After that you loose 50% of additional income until your benefit is reduced to zero. But, the designers of the program knew what they were doing. It is designed to be a social trap.

  • @TheLreez
    @TheLreez2 жыл бұрын

    The concern with “they’ll spend it on the wrong things” isn’t some insignificant and petty concern that these people won’t be perfectly rational and efficient market actors. The concern is that these people will spend all their money on frivolous things (and they WILL), and they’ll still need necessities afterwards, which they wont understand why they can’t get. The concern is that there will be violent protests for more gibs, because they won’t understand why their money keeps disappearing.

  • @VIKDR1
    @VIKDR16 жыл бұрын

    This isn't exactly what Milton Friedman supported. Friedman supported a negative income tax. Similar, but benefits would drop as income rises, on a dollar to dollar basis. As an example, you make a dollar, you lose 50¢. You work, you make more money, and don't need to worry about the cliff. Budget wise, the Government ends up paying less with this type of system, because very few people receiving the benefit would be getting the full amount. Some would be getting the full benefit, some almost nothing, and all the numbers in between.

  • @brianwhite3428
    @brianwhite34289 ай бұрын

    My question Where will the money come from?