THANKYOU for this, Paul Graham is a genius in many things, but you really hit the nail on the head with this article. -- AS a self-trained developer trying to get my first job and never earning over 40k (yet) between myself AND my wife's income -- it's hard to move up, when you feel so much pressure to stay where you are if not move down. I learned coding to start my own startup, it's the only way I'd ever be able to afford a prototype..

But I think Bernie said it best: "NOBODY working 40 hours per week should be living in poverty" -- there is no reason for this, in fact it makes that person a slave to whoever is paying them sub-par wages, they have to work whether they want to or not, it's not a choice, it's enslavement, they stop and they lose their apartment, and food. If the lowest 40 hour/weekers earned enough to put money away, and not worry about living paycheck to paycheck, then it wouldn't be such a problem. Also the fact is -- the poor spend the most money per dollar - meaning the more money the have to spend, the more money goes directly back into the local economies.

This along with increased tech advances that wipe away the need for some employees and 40% of the workforce(estimated) by 2040, a guaranteed basic income isn't just a good idea - it is crucial to our economy, and if it doesn't happen there WILL come a day when American's demand it, and pick up a gun to fight for it, I'm not sure when or what the tipping point will be, but it's coming someday.