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

@changaco

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?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve

#economics #politics

@profoundlynerdy @changaco

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.

@kravietz @changaco What's the point? Why give benefits at all?

@profoundlynerdy @changaco @kravietz Every European country is a social democratic mixed economy with a welfare state, and with social benefits.

A system of social benefits is in practice setting a minimal level of income, but it's an awkward one. It requires a heavy bureaucracy, the purpose of which is to deny social benefits to an appropriate number of people, and it introduces a benefits trap where you might not be able to afford to take a particular job, because you would lose more in benefits than you would gain in salary.

A UBI turns this on its head by not having any conditions on the minimum level of income. You can maintain the same money supply through income taxation instead, and this eliminates the benefits trap.

@clacke
Yes, we cannot underestimate the ills of the #bureaucracy. In many cases they get things wrong. In #Australia one need only find the #robodebt problem, but there is a long list of way they get things wrong. And people are not reimbursed for the hundreds of hours they spend clawing back what they own, because they can't show actual losses, being #unemployed.

Its quite vicious.

Also #FutureWork of the #AustraliaInstitute found that…(1/2)
@profoundlynerdy @changaco @kravietz