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Comment by kruxigt | Hacker News Reader

So your theory is that we can actually stop working and start getting UBI and things will turn out fine?

Why does this all-or-nothing objection come up all the time? You see it with the minimum wage debate too, as in "why don't we pay everyone $100/hr" or whatever. It's just lazy thinking. The economy is a nonlinear system that affords many options beyond these ridiculous binaries.

Can the government deliver non binary solutions?

tbf the 'many options beyond these ridiculous binaries' appear to be what the OP in this thread aggressively dismissed with their argument that because gold bugs are wrong about immediate hyperinflation from deficit spending in a massive economic downturn, all other economists who argue government ability to eliminate poverty through deficit spending in other circumstances might face constraints or tradeoffs 'just want to bully and shame the people that are in a bad situation'

Very few, if any, people are suggesting that UBI is a substitute for a healthy labour force. It is typically viewed as an acknowledgement that there are serious social issues which have economic ramifications that may be addressable through a basic income.

Whether a basic income will address those problems is an open question. It may have a net positive, neutral, or negative effect depending upon the collective psychological response. In addition, how one views the outcome will depend upon their perspective. Suggesting that an UBI will result in people not working is a misleading ideological statement that has no basis in evidence. We simply don't know what the outcome will be. Even studies that indicate positive outcomes are limited by the scale of the implementation.

Besides, it's probably best to look at UBI through the lens of political stability, rather than social well being or economic outcomes.

EDIT: added a very important "not".

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