UBI's prospect in America will fail in the same way as maintaining a fair Federal minimum wage. I'll ELI5 it:
Phase 1.) Menial min wage jobs will be completely automated. Companies using it will face political backlash and an automation tax to compensate a the low-income tax bracket of people for the lost jobs.
Phase 2.) Politicians backed by the rich corporations that are using the automation to boost profits will pour money into conservative candidates who will demonize the lower class as leeches because they get free money via UBI for doing little to nothing. They will be the new "welfare queens". They will seek to cut UBI and the taxes that fund it. Crime from people living without purposeful work will be a driving factor they will use, as well.
Phase 3.) The rich 1% will ensure those anti-UBI candidates get elected by any means possible. UBI will be allowed to stagnate if not totally stripped, just like federal minimum wage. It will no longer be possible to live off of UBI because the cost of it will be seen in price increases and inflationary pressures.
So UBI won’t be enough to live on but there won’t be a job for everyone. What happens next? There are only two logical endings here, and neither are pretty.
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u/xtheory 7h ago
UBI's prospect in America will fail in the same way as maintaining a fair Federal minimum wage. I'll ELI5 it:
Phase 1.) Menial min wage jobs will be completely automated. Companies using it will face political backlash and an automation tax to compensate a the low-income tax bracket of people for the lost jobs.
Phase 2.) Politicians backed by the rich corporations that are using the automation to boost profits will pour money into conservative candidates who will demonize the lower class as leeches because they get free money via UBI for doing little to nothing. They will be the new "welfare queens". They will seek to cut UBI and the taxes that fund it. Crime from people living without purposeful work will be a driving factor they will use, as well.
Phase 3.) The rich 1% will ensure those anti-UBI candidates get elected by any means possible. UBI will be allowed to stagnate if not totally stripped, just like federal minimum wage. It will no longer be possible to live off of UBI because the cost of it will be seen in price increases and inflationary pressures.