In every single article you read about UBI (universal basic income) you read about all the wonderful utopian possibilities. I have not seen one article mention what I believe will be the truth. The governments of the world will use it as a threat against behavior they want modified or won’t tolerate.
If you get a few DUIs what happens? They take away your license because driving is a privilege. Well, imagine being poor and needing the monthly UBI money and the government tells you that if you do this specific act you will lose your UBI.
It will be subtle at first and resemble some typical government hoop-jumping bureaucracy. Then a slippery slope of things you cannot do will slowly erode your rights. Did you attend a protest? In the U.S., the First Amendment grants you the right to do that but UBI is not a right it is a privilege so you lose your UBI.
He who has the gold makes the rules.
First of all, if you drink and drive you should lose your licence.
Second, this is one of the many reasons why it’s so important that we work hard to protect our democratic values and better the democratic systems that are already in place. Unfortunately an increasing number of people are willing to support leaders who aim to break down those democratic systems and enchroach civil rights.
In a well run democratic system (read: not USA) UBI can be a boon. It may be idealistic to a degree, but well worth striving for.
100% agree with you. And I think the comment:
Misses the point. This literally already exists with Employment Insurance, Unemployment, etc.
If we’re in a democracy then yeah, governments can absolutely find ways to try to remove people from having it… But what’s worse: the vast majority of people having enough to scrape by, or the vast majority of people not having enough to scrape by?
Every single point against UBI already exists as a problem. Why not at least get the good parts.