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This is one of many cases that UBI could “solve”. If you can house and feed your family, don’t have to worry about healthcare/education costs, etc, you are freed to work on projects like that (either on your own, or associating with others) that benefit society as a whole but are not neatly solved by “the free market”.

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I don't think so, most programmers can pull UBI-like amount working 1-2 months per year and spend the rest time on the project of their own, but I don't know a lot of programmers who live like that.

I would blame that on the current economy, where getting contract work is already work in itself, and the fact that insurance and other taxes need to be paid all year round. I guess that having 1-2 months clocked in per year won't instill confidence in potential customers either.

How would UBI solve the coordination, incentive and information problems that make temporary contract work difficult to arrange? It's a pain in the ass to find someone good and get them up to speed and most projects last longer than 1-2 months. UBI doesn't change those facts whatsoever.

It wouldn't solve those problems, but sidestep them completely. UBI frees you up from the overhead of getting money and leaves time to pursue the projects that the thread's ancestor mentioned, without having to worry about sustenance.

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