Charles Murray | Is UBI a Reasonable Compromise with the Left?

From the talk "In Our Hands: A Plan to Replace the Welfare State." Charles Murray, W.H. Brady Fellow, American Enterprise Institute. April 3, 2006. In this part, he talks about UBI - Universal Basic Income.

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[Ramiiam]

There will be no end to it. Voting blocks will mobilize to increase the UBI.

[ThunderChunky]

There IS no compromise. They'll then campaign for 3, 000p/m

It'll NEVER be enough. Ever!

[metoonunyabidness]

The problem is that the laws of supply and demand operate with everything, including money…
If everybody suddenly has an extra amount of disposable income, value of that money goes down
And it will continue to go down until it finds equilibrium

[TehOldGamer]

I like the way he assumes that men who aren't there for their children choose that outcome. Under this plan a woman is incentivized to have as many children as possible, each with one father, and then to terminate the father's parental rights with the assistance of the state. She will then have multiple income streams.

[JessicaZanerealz]

Even if there was a universal basic income, people would still whine about it and people would still be poor and just spend all their money and dumb things and come begging the government for more money in attacking the rich that actually work for their money. Nothing would change.

[vicpso]

I work with people on Disability ... HIS UBI is not enouph nowhere not at present . Direct cash subsidy, housing subsidies, utility subsidies, food stamps ... one would need 20, ooo in this city and that would be a single person... add unlimited medical benefit of around $7000 per and you got it !!! unaffordable utopia .... maybe the costs would come down but it is a gamble ... and i do not see much evidence of pooling resources except for a few people I know and then it is very limited .... the system in NO way encourages this now!!! to the contrary ! and this is not to mention all the perverse incentives the whole system could create.. like people trying to work under the table.... to undercut ... the idleness or the drugs.... This is so academic it is certain to fail... a sirens call... sorry.

[petemclovins]

if you want to see what people do with their free time when given money and resources to support themselves then I suggest you just drive down to your nearest low income housing project and see for yourself...

[bdcopp]

The central bank prints money every year to aim for around 2% inflation. This money should be handed out ad UBI to all citizens rather than loaned out cheaply to banks.

[dks]

Hey print the money 24/7 !! We have plenty of money. It is magic.

[michaelknight]

If UBI replaced all other programs....im game.

[billmelater]

No.  It's the same mess with a different bow.  It is forced redistribution of property with a façade of virtue. There is nothing binding the amount that would be plundered from others, nothing that gives UBI a hard start or a hard stop.  There are no constraints on what can be considered "basic" and to that point, there is then no constraint on what they would seek to take from those that earn.

You cannot argue for "freedom" while also arguing for the ability to take from your neighbor.  I understand wanting to help people on hard times, but that does not negate the above.  You cannot hold those two things at the same time.

[damo]

The effects of Supply and Demand seems to have been ignored in presenting the UBI proposal. Demand for certain baskets of goods would rise sharply whilst demand for most goods (barring high priced luxury etc) would increase meaning increased prices; so $10, 000 would not go as far as today. There would also be (good effect) stimulation in the same areas of the economy with increased production and opportunity; offset by the reduced spending and production in areas of the economy previously funded by the (now) removed benefits. Not sure how it would all shake itself out no doubt be some unsuspected winners and losers; social policy rarely has only the intended outcomes.

[PrairieWindSun]

This comments section is a great example of why there will always be a divide and hatred between the two-party system, getting more extremist in views over time, with nothing getting done or with very mixed results that ends up pissing both sides off. The mere thought of making a deal with the other side, to have a give and take relationship, to not always have one's way, is considered blasphemy.

[offcenterconcepthaus]

Up here in AK we're finding out the hard way that when you promise a bigger check, you get elected. Recursively leading the mice to the cat.

[vanscoyoc]

People dont take risk with capital, work hard producing products and services for very long with money printing like this. Prices go up, Government enacts wage and price controls to guarantee that those taking risk with capital and who hard lose money on every single transaction. Guess what. The capital flees, the workers quit, and the shelves are empty.

[CommanderXED]

It's a great idea however, it will only work if it completely replaced all other forms of government charity including EBT, ADC, Housing Funding, Social Security, etc. AND the government can resist "Mission Creep" where they buy votes by giving out new benefits. The only form of aid/charity that should remain is private/personal charity.

[thesaneparty]

It's not hard to argue against slavery as a practical matter.
In our currently-tyrannical and socialist government (public education is both socialism and fascism, obviously), responsible people still donate over 300 billion to charity yearly. The tiny fraction of the populace that are unfortunate and disabled is only a diversionary shield. It's the overwhelming numbers of able-bodied people who are being conditioned to accept stolen goods from their neighbors by a leftist mob of power-hungry monsters that is the growing problem. Instead of using force against good people to fund the lives of people who don't care about freedom or responsibility, why don't we just use that same force against the irresponsible to prevent them from impacting the lives of decent people?

[mattsigl]

This is “basically” the system I’ve thought would be ideal for a long time. I still wonder if the reality would be more disruptive than we think though.

[joshuakeeler]

This is gas on a fire.
They would vote themselves pay raises until everyone was a slave.

[gogroxandurrac]

11:05 It boggles the mind that he can be against the welfare state because it incentivizes fatherless homes and then mention that if she has a kid and kicks him out she can take a guaranteed check from the government, via him, and pretends that ubi + child-support doesn't have the same incentive.