Thoughts on a Universal Basic Income: Playing With Numbers
United States GDP 2016: 22 Trillion (22,000,000,000,000)
United States National Debt: 19-21 Trillion (based on which estimate used)
Population of the United States: 350 Million
Number of United States Households: 100 Million
Current U.S. Federal Budget: Approximately 6 Trillion
We are going to play with some numbers:
If we gave every household a Universal Basic Income (UBI) of:
UBI per household: 60,000
UBI Total: 6 Trillion
Social Programs in the US (Excluding Healthcare): 1-2 Trillion depending on estimates
UBI-Social Programs (can eliminate because of UBI): 5 Trillion
UBI-SP+Federal Budget: 11 Trillion
Total Remaining GDP: 11 Trillion
Total Households in the US making over 60K a year: 29.4 Million
Total Per Household over 60K Left over for capitalism and investment: 374,000
If we were to invest 50% of our GDP into giving all of our citizens a Universal Basic Income of $60,000 a year, as well as our current federal budgets (Minus most social programs as they are unnecessary with a UBI), we would still have 11 trillion dollars for the top 30% of households to get rich over which adds up to almost 375,000 per household.
With the extra 6 Trillion dollars being spent on UBI, you are giving most of it to people who will spend it. They will spend all of it. People making under 70,000 a year spend almost all of their income on necessities. This money goes directly back into the economy and is still goes to the people who create and own businesses. You also eliminate the need for almost all social programs, welfare, social security, food stamps, because every individual has the ability to live.
There will be people who live off the system and produce nothing, but there will also be individuals that take risks and try new things and invent new things, because they no longer have to fear losing their livelihood on a single bad idea. With the speed of technological growth, we are fast approaching the point where we barely need workers in manufacturing and agriculture, in a few years workers in construction will drop dramatically. What is going to happen when there are no middle class labor type jobs available because we have invented things to replace workers. Hell within ten years cabs and truck drivers will be done with computers.
We need a paradigm shift in how we look at the world. We need all of our people to get an education (not necessarily college) that will allow them to work in higher skilled jobs, that will teach them to critically think, that will teach them to create something for themselves instead of creating something for someone else. The days of living a high quality middle class life with a high school education are fast dwindling, time to suck it up, admit this to ourselves and change the way we interact with the world.
Of course there will be resistance to this, the wealthiest don't want everyone to have the chance to create something better than what is already in place. That puts them and their positions of power and influence at risk if we remove barriers to entry for all Americans. Isn't that what "capitalism" is all about, removing barriers to entry and allowing a "free market" to spur growth. What could be a freer market than one that allows everyone to jump in and out based on their ideas? What could be better than every individual having the freedom to spend their time creating something to make the world better? What could be better than none of us having to worry about food on our plate, a roof over our heads, an education if we desire, a future for our children, and care for ourselves when we are sick?