VC, Entrepreneur Says Basic Income Would Work Even If 90% People 'Smoked Pot' and Didn't Work (techinsider.io)

An anonymous reader cites a story on TI: The chief complaint people lodge at universal basic income -- a form of income distribution that gives people money to cover basic needs regardless of whether they work or not -- is that it'll make them lazy. Sam Altman doesn't buy it. In a recent episode of the Freakonomics podcast, entitled "Is the World Ready for a Guaranteed Basic Income?" Altman argued basic income could support huge amounts of productivity loss and still carry the economy on its shoulders. "Maybe 90% of people will go smoke pot and play video games, but if 10% of the people go create incredible new products and services and new wealth, that's still a huge net-win," Altman says. "And the American puritanical ideal that hard work for its own sake is valuable -- period -- and that you can't question that, I think that's just wrong." [...] The complaint Altman addressed on the Freakonomics podcast is a common one. Study after study, however, has shown that giving people extra money makes them feel financially secure. That security ends up leading to empowerment, not de-motivation.

Comments

Move to Detroit then!

[CajunArson]

Detroit has plenty of areas where 90% of the people don't work and smoke pot. They all get government guaranteed [e.g. guaranteed by the paychecks of people who do work] basic income.

So sure, if you consider Detroit to be "working" then yes, I'm sure there are plenty of politicians who wouldn't mind implementing that plan at gunpoint to guarantee themselves a slave base -- uh I mean "voter base" -- on the backs of people who work while having fascinating loopholes for their rich donors to get out of paying for it.

Re:For certain values of "basic needs"

[rtkluttz]

Myself included. Typical bleeding heart liberal crap. I take a MUCH stronger stance on that. Whether the math works or not is irrelevant. It is purely the principle of it. If an able bodied/able minded person continually makes bad decisions that put their livlihood in jeopardy or worse yet, plain out refuse to work, then they NEED a little hunger incentive. Hunger to better yourself YOURSELF or go hungry.