I completely agree, it's interesting how many people love to jump to economic theorizing about how people will act, and how few people look at the actual cost to implement.
I read through a breakdown in one of the Basic Income books, of what it would cost just to get a $10,000/year basic income. Here's just some of the changes that would be needed:
* cut military spending by a third;
* get rid of ethanol subsidies;
* get rid of mortgage interest tax breaks;
* get rid of "married filing jointly/separately" filing status, make everyone file just for themselves
And that's just the ones that jumped out at me. Virtually all tax loopholes would have to be gotten rid of, and more. All for just the $10K/year basic income level.
So, just as a question of the political cost to implement, Basic Income seems like a laughable non-starter.
I read through a breakdown in one of the Basic Income books, of what it would cost just to get a $10,000/year basic income. Here's just some of the changes that would be needed:
* cut military spending by a third; * get rid of ethanol subsidies; * get rid of mortgage interest tax breaks; * get rid of "married filing jointly/separately" filing status, make everyone file just for themselves
And that's just the ones that jumped out at me. Virtually all tax loopholes would have to be gotten rid of, and more. All for just the $10K/year basic income level.
So, just as a question of the political cost to implement, Basic Income seems like a laughable non-starter.