Yes, that's partly true (although recipients don't appear to lose the benefit if they become employed), but what they're studying is a specific question, which is how giving unemployed people an unconditional stipend affects their future employment. They're not trying to study broader aspects of UBI, and I'd argue that if they wanted to do so, making the experiment much longer term would be more important than applying it to more people.
No, it's not pointless. It just studies one aspect of the problem. Yes, this is insufficient on its own, but more studies can be done, which can be designed particularly to examine the other questions that need to be answered.
A test for lead is usefully classified as a water quality test, even though you need to test for other compounds as well before you know if the water is safe.
I think this might be what they mean: Has anyone explored the idea of funding UBI with bequests?
Similar to how a university builds up an endowment via donations, and that endowment funds the day to day operations of the university, we could start a "UBI endowment" and encourage people to leave money to it when they pass. It would pay out very little at first, but over time think (50-100 years) we might accumulate enough wealth in the endowment to provide a healthy basic income.
Income accrues to the owners of capital. Currently, the world's capital is held very unevenly. Over time, humanity as a whole should become the owners and beneficiaries of its capital. Bequests to a UBI endowment could be a fairly apolitical, non-radical, non-disruptive way to slowly make this important transition.
Comments
I thought the point of universal income was that everyone gets it regardless of their employment.
Finland just gave the money to unemployed people, so it just became an unemployment benefit.
Yes, that's partly true (although recipients don't appear to lose the benefit if they become employed), but what they're studying is a specific question, which is how giving unemployed people an unconditional stipend affects their future employment. They're not trying to study broader aspects of UBI, and I'd argue that if they wanted to do so, making the experiment much longer term would be more important than applying it to more people.
They should also measure their health and happiness. Employment isn’t the full Picture.
Sure, a study should measure that. But not every study has to measure every variable.
This study should have, since those are key metrics for UBI in a projected robotics-era of job scarcity.
Since it didn't measure them it is pointless classifying it as a test of UBI.
No, it's not pointless. It just studies one aspect of the problem. Yes, this is insufficient on its own, but more studies can be done, which can be designed particularly to examine the other questions that need to be answered.
A test for lead is usefully classified as a water quality test, even though you need to test for other compounds as well before you know if the water is safe.
Not everyone gets it, even with proper UBI.
Anyone with a job making more than X amount will be losing more money due to additional taxes than gained from their UBI cheque.
But if UBI was self funded (endowment system) we could fix that problem.
Explain how it could be self funded? Sounds too good to be true.
I think this might be what they mean: Has anyone explored the idea of funding UBI with bequests?
Similar to how a university builds up an endowment via donations, and that endowment funds the day to day operations of the university, we could start a "UBI endowment" and encourage people to leave money to it when they pass. It would pay out very little at first, but over time think (50-100 years) we might accumulate enough wealth in the endowment to provide a healthy basic income.
Income accrues to the owners of capital. Currently, the world's capital is held very unevenly. Over time, humanity as a whole should become the owners and beneficiaries of its capital. Bequests to a UBI endowment could be a fairly apolitical, non-radical, non-disruptive way to slowly make this important transition.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/BasicIncome/comments/6lnumz/funding...