If you can provide a receipt for accomodation/rent and utilities, you are eligible for the UBI up to the value of your accomodation and utility bills (with limits).
The UBI can subsidise classes of certain foods up to a certain value if you keep the receipts, but can not subsidise confectionary, soft drinks, smokes and alcohol. Only fresh food, milk, etc. with a nationally recognised UBI code on the packaging can be subsidised.
The UBI is not money that you can spend on barista coffee, lego, computers etc. You need a job for that. It’s a tax return for living that’s claimable each month and doesn’t rely on actually paying tax. Processing the UBI creates jobs and encourages people to organise their spending. But in this manner, any reasonably organised person can get off the streets or bootstrap their own business without anxiety about starving.
Social services would help people with low means (ie can’t read or write) to organise their affairs to make use of the UBI. Benefit payments for unemployment and for kids would be suspended. Naturally, taxes would be increased to support the UBI, but most of the cream that you make could be used on “nice” things.
This balloons administrative costs and leaves rooms for loopholes - never underestimate the cost of having to patch policy loopholes. It also creates mini games around the UBI system, making it central in people's minds. Ideally you want UBI to be an afterthought, simple and clear, and let people focus on what they really want to focus on - their own work or life.
Makes me think - and ignore for a fact that this would never get over the line in the USA - what if it was only paid to a government debit card and funds on that card could only be spent directly, not withdrawn as cash. Further, they could only be spent on subscriptions - rent, utility, vehicle lease with built in mechanical support, health insurance. Try to remove a lot of the financial unpredictability that wrecks people (car breaking down, for example). Provide a clear monthly or live (digital) report of where the money was going. Of your $1k, $200 is x, $150 is y, $20 is z, etc. Build in budgeting/awareness to encourage people in the right direction.
This will be similar to the college fees conundrum, no? An increase in financial aid resulted in colleges spiking up their fees (one of many factors - but definitely one factor). So won't landlord be similarly incentivized to increase the rents they collect?
Maybe a better example of what i'm referring to was a recent blog about why amish people get away with low medical expenses (one of the reasons being - their not being part of the insurance that the rest of the folks have..)
If you can provide a receipt for accomodation/rent and utilities, you are eligible for the UBI up to the value of your accomodation and utility bills (with limits).
The UBI can subsidise classes of certain foods up to a certain value if you keep the receipts, but can not subsidise confectionary, soft drinks, smokes and alcohol. Only fresh food, milk, etc. with a nationally recognised UBI code on the packaging can be subsidised.
The UBI is not money that you can spend on barista coffee, lego, computers etc. You need a job for that. It’s a tax return for living that’s claimable each month and doesn’t rely on actually paying tax. Processing the UBI creates jobs and encourages people to organise their spending. But in this manner, any reasonably organised person can get off the streets or bootstrap their own business without anxiety about starving.
Social services would help people with low means (ie can’t read or write) to organise their affairs to make use of the UBI. Benefit payments for unemployment and for kids would be suspended. Naturally, taxes would be increased to support the UBI, but most of the cream that you make could be used on “nice” things.