I could not agree more on the necessity of a no-strings-attached safety net.

I recently had a conversation with someone in the event industry about what the pandemic has done to her and her family finances. They're collecting unemployment benefits and her musician husband was being retrained for another line of work. Inflexible bureaucratic systems had been a major source of trouble for the couple.

UBI worth $1000 a month printed out of thin air and handed out to every adult but taxed away to a degree depending on other income would be the right way to go. That $1000 a month would be an absolute and unconditional income floor for everyone. It would allow for the necessary flexibility to seek temporary jobs and gigs or retrain if necessary without having to deal with any bureaucracy other than reporting the income or having it reported by the employers. All the bureaucracy involving unemployment benefits could be abolished. Massive money saved. The inflationary effect of the free money being doled out would be offset by the deflationary pressure caused by gains from increased automation.

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