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Comment by bequanna | Hacker News Reader

> Cheaper labor however comes from offshore countries that have a lower standard of living.

Please explain why wages went up significantly for low income workers during the pandemic. The answer (of course) is that we artificially decreased the pool of available workers by paying people to stay home for an extended period—-exactly what UBI would like to do.

The price of labor is simple supply and demand. If we pay the lower skilled people the same amount they would make from waiting tables or swinging a hammer, why would anyone want to do that work?

I don’t get it. Why do people make these complicated, purely academic arguments in support of UBI? It’s obviously going to increase taxes and increase inflation. It’s obviously bad for the people who choose to actually work, save and pay taxes.

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Wages went up because almost 3 million people retired or died during the pandemic in the US. This pulled forward structural demographics that we were already headed towards.

https://www.axios.com/2022/12/16/the-missing-workers-who-are...

https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/labor-supply-economy-jobs-c...

I think you are unsure of how UBI works. It is not paying people to stay at home, it is just a modification of tax brackets, such that people below a certain level pay negative taxes, aka receive money to live and survive. Unlike now, where everyone has to pay taxes, even the poor.

UBI does not need an increase in taxes, just a proper tiering of it, such that the ultra rich pay more to support society better. By having people who pay negative taxes, they are not burdened with living paycheck to paycheck and can focus on improving their lives. If you are working, saving and paying your proportionate taxes, UBI should not affect you in any way.

It's just a fix for rampant capitalism, where the rich are supposedly working millions of times harder than their exploited working class.

> receive money to live and survive

I’m not sure you know how generous the current welfare system is. Low income people can already receive assistance for: housing, food, internet, phones, completely free medical care and straight up cash.

Not to mention that we have made it incredibly easy to claim disability for anyone who essentially doesn’t want to work.

…but in addition to that, you’re telling me I should be giving more of my money to them? I have sympathy but I also have a limit.

Also, where are these “literally starving” people in the US? Other than mentally ill who have difficulty taking advantage of the many services available, I have yet to encounter them.

Damn I hope you step outside of your bubble soon.

Please expand of this.

Are low income people not typically eligible for all of the services I mentioned?

We live in a society that is incredibly generous to the poor.

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