I wager the same would result from having UI. Because the problem is the heart. People don't want to make the choice to act wisely with money, and giving them more money just results in them being irresponsible with more.
I learned this the hard way. I had a co-worker that got laid off a few months after I was laid off. I heard through another party, that she was getting kicked out of her apartment.
I contacted her, and let her stay at my place. I only charged her $350 a month, which for a steal given it was a 900 sq ft place, and she had the entire first floor to herself. 300 sq ft studio apartments cost $350 a month, right?
Instead of using all this extra money she had, from having such a low rent, to save and use it to better herself.... she blew it. And I mean completely blew all the money. She would get paid on Friday, and be penny-less by Thursday. She did this week after week after week.
Every single time that an unplanned expense came up, she would call me, and ask me to help her. Even if she just ran out of gasoline for the car on Thursday, she wouldn't be able to buy gas until Friday.
What I discovered was that in my well intentioned efforts to help another person, all I had really done was be an enabler of her to be more irresponsible than she had been before.
She didn't save the money for when her car broke down. She didn't pay for training to get her skills to get a better job. She didn't use the money to do anything helpful, or even save for her retirement.
In fact, she said directly to me "I don't need to save, because I'll just get social security".
Which tells me, that just like how I enabled her be more irresponsible by providing her an extremely low rent..... society enabled her to be more irresponsible by let her intentionally spend everything she makes, so she can live on social security.
So I admire your optimistic outlook about Universal basic income, but I think it would simply allow people to be more irresponsible than they are now.
Without a doubt for some, yes it would. We all know people like your former coworker.
I have an old GF I've stayed in contact with for many years. We even lived together for one of those years. She ended up on disability and lost her house. Before being thrown out, she had two choices: get her own apartment, or live with her mother. She and her mother don't get along very well. The problem was that she couldn't afford an apartment. At the time I had an apartment open up and told her I'd give it to her at a little bit of a discount.
She looked at the place (even though she seen it many times before) and later declined my offer stating that even with lower rent, she still couldn't afford to live there. She started to give me a rundown of her expenses. I stopped her when she got to the car payment part. $600.00 a month. I screamed at her "Are you Fn crazy, 600 bucks a month for a car???" I went on to suggest she get rid of a car and buy something used at least near a reasonable payment. She refused.
She moved in with her mother, they fought night and day, she was so aggravated she said she couldn't stand it any longer. I offered her a nice apartment for less than her car payment was. Extremely irresponsible. She bought the car when she was working and making pretty good money. When she lost the house, that stupid car payment was likely the reason why. She was more concerned about keeping the car than keeping a roof over her head.
But I don't think most people are like our friends. If UI turned out to be a great deal for our government and country, it would be a shame to not consider it because of irresponsible people. They are going to be irresponsible whether they get UI or not, just like our friends. For more responsible people, or those who just need a little push to go in the right direction, it could solve a lot of problems and perhaps change a lot of lives.
I have to admit, that the car things is one of the most baffling aspects of American self-imprisonment.
Years and years ago, I had an old 1990 Chevy Lumina 2-door. It was 10 years old, and I figured it was time to get something better. Shopped around, until I found a Monte Carlo 1998. Got the car from the dealer, drove it home.
The next Monday, got up, drove to work, worked, drove home... I got to my apartment and parked.... and I remember sitting in that car thinking...... "that's it?..... that's it." Here was I expecting this euphoric experience, and instead it was just.... drive to work.... drive home... go to bed. Nothing changed, except I had a huge car payment each month.
You spend a whooping one hour of your entire life per work day, in your car (30 minutes to work and back), and then the rest of the time, the car is outside by itself, while you are in your work place, or at home sleeping.... and the average American pays $35,000 for a car today.
Why....? I returned that car to the dealer, and drove the old 1990 Lumina another 5 years I think before I bought another used car.
So many people tie themselves up in a cage of their own creation, and then complain they don't make enough money. Sell the car. You don't have a place to live, and your are stuck in a miserable situation, but you have a $600 a month car, that you spend just minutes a day in?
No where else in the world, do they do this. The reason French have those ridiculously terrible 3-wheeled cars, is because having a place to live is more important.
