An important contribution. A potentially effective way to prevent a universal basic income (UBI) from getting out of hand.
My concern is that it would reinforce economic cycles. One of the benefits of our current welfare system is that it acts as a counter-cyclical automatic stabiliser - during a recession, more people are unemployed so payouts to social welfare increase automatically, thereby boosting the economy; during a boom, fewer people are unemployed so social welfare payouts fall, thereby cooling the economy. Very Keynesian.
My concern is that it would reinforce economic cycles. One of the benefits of our current welfare system is that it acts as a counter-cyclical automatic stabiliser - during a recession, more people are unemployed so payouts to social welfare increase automatically, thereby boosting the economy; during a boom, fewer people are unemployed so social welfare payouts fall, thereby cooling the economy. Very Keynesian.
But this proposed fixed budget share for a UBI means social welfare payouts will fall during economic downturns and increase during booms, thereby reinforcing unemployment and inflationary problems.
Maybe a separate counter-cyclical mechanism - such as an infrastructure body - could fill this gap. Invest in public infrastructure during a slump, hold back during a boom.
So again, and important contribution.
http://aneconomicreality.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/universal-basic-income.html
Maybe a separate counter-cyclical mechanism - such as an infrastructure body - could fill this gap. Invest in public infrastructure during a slump, hold back during a boom.
So again, and important contribution.
http://aneconomicreality.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/universal-basic-income.html
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