The new European Citizens' Initiative for Unconditional Basic Income has been launched. It will be examined by the commission if one million citizens support it, so I invite you to sign it and share it: https://eci.ec.europa.eu/014/public/#/screen/home
#EuropeanCitizensInitiative #ECI #BasicIncome #UBI #FundamentalRights #EuropeanUnion #EU
I understand what #UBI is as a *concept* what I don't follow is how it would work in terms of *math*.
Can someone please explain the *working math* behind the concept?
Also, how is it expected to interact with the Laffer Curve?
In terms of maths, it depends on the implementation.
UBI is no different from social benefits that almost all countries have except that they're mostly conditional (for child, for unemployed, for homeless etc) while UBI is simply unconditional, granted to everyone.
Then UBI can be compared against tax free income, or income threshold for which you don't pay income tax, that is universal except it only applies to people who earn money from employment.
@profoundlynerdy Thomas Paine's “Agrarian Justice” contains one of the many possible answers to your questions. He wasn't advocating for a full UBI, but his reasoning can be used to justify this kind of policy.
Also worth adding that in terms of general "why benefits" there was a significant discussion among early economists on that subject back in 19th century. One of the most systematic voices on that topic was... Adam Smith, who is today associated with laissez-faire market - incorrectly, and mostly by under-educated neoliberals. In his "Inquiry ..." he lays ideas that today would be probably classified as "socialism", especially in the US. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3300/3300-h/3300-h.htm#chap35
"Inquiry..." is what I linked, the other is "Theory of moral sentiments" and goes even deeper into the ethics of free market.
Probably the best modern retrospection into that work of Smith - Tomas Sedlacek
@kravietz @changaco @profoundlynerdy Worth repeating indeed. Adam Smith's views on the role of the state are still relevant today.
@profoundlynerdy @kravietz @changaco
Adam Smith envisaged a rather greater role for the state, but there is no reason why you should agree with him.
@profoundlynerdy @wim_v12e @changaco
The power of capitalism lies in its flexibility and "whatever works" pragmatism. If you start artificially limiting what is allowed and what is not then it's not, then it loses this pragmatic approach at the cost of dogmatism. Smith specifically did not come up with his ideas for public schooling (as an example) from ideological position, but he built an evidence-based argument for it.
@kravietz @changaco While not the ~~droids~~ math-y response I'm looking for, citing Adam Smith is helpful; thanks!
Is that his first book *Wealth of Nations* or his other work? I can't remember the title of his second book. Too much blood in the caffeine stream at the moment.