[rubenflamshep]

Pretty good article until the bizarre post-script where they fall back on the tired "people derive meaning from their work" for why UBI is bad.

[WalterBright]

Meaning or not, UBI doesn't work because the math doesn't work.

> bizarre

It isn't bizarre at all. Without work people devolve into playing video games and smoking pot in their mom's basement.

I remember summer vacations from school. It was great for a while, but soon I was looking forward to getting back to school.

[olyjohn]

I have been off work for over 6 months now. I have been doing so many projects, and exploring so many places, working out, eating healthy, learning, and spending very little money doing so. I actually even quit smoking pot after doing it daily for 10 years. It's been amazing, and I'd rather never go back to work. I don't get how people can get so bored. There's so much to do and see.

[rubenflamshep]

> Without work people devolve into playing video games and smoking pot in their mom's basement.

I have no problem finding fulfilling and meaningful projects outside of my work! There are many people like me :)

[keybored]

Always such glowing recommendations of human kind from techies.

People devolve like that when they have no purpose or opportunities. Which I’m sure would happen with the real goal of UBI: barely subsistence support in order to grow a larger pool of reserve labor while the rich (who are not degenerate at all[1]) live large.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46929869

[devmor]

Your anecdote is not compliant with reality. Every test of UBI so far shows that people continue to work.

[Marazan]

> Without work people devolve into playing video games and smoking pot in their mom's basement.

Skill issue

[krapp]

>Without work people devolve into playing video games and smoking pot in their mom's basement.

Some people might, others wouldn't. Not everyone is a pot-smoking teenager.

[direwolf20]

It's universal basic income, not universal extensive income. If someone is a minimal drain on society, so what? We have lots of stuff.

[watwut]

Hard working billionaires famous for succesdully working devolved into abuse island, real saltiness over anyone saying sexual harrasment is wrong and basically conspiracy to end democracy.

UBI guy playing games in moms basement comes accross as harmless in comparison.

[api]

UBI doesn’t mean people don’t work. It means work is partially decoupled from basic needs.

People would work for two reasons. One is to make extra money and afford a lifestyle beyond what UBI provides. The second is to… do things that are meaningful. If people derive meaning from work then that’s why they’ll work.

Some people will just sit around on UBI. Those are the same people who sit around today on welfare or dead end bullshit jobs that don’t really produce much value.

I’m not totally sold on UBI but there’s a lot of shallow bad arguments against it that are pretty easy to dismiss.

[falloutx]

governments will collapse before we are at a moment where UBI is needed. Billionaires and companies hardly pay any tax and if white collar jobs die down, there is no guarantee that government will even have money to wipe their butt.