Free income/objections

Common Objections to UBI

• Objection: If you give people money, they will spend it unwisely.
• Objection: I don't want my tax money going to pay for someone else's lifestyle.
  • A: Unless you object to all taxation of any kind, this devolves into "I disagree that UBI is socially beneficial."
• Objection: Giving people free money is bad for society.
  • A: There's no evidence that it is harmful, and considerable evidence that it is beneficial (at least in our modern jobsolescent society. You'll have to be more specific.
• Objection: Giving people free money makes them lazy.
  • A: Studies have shown that only mechanical tasks are even somewhat motivated by financial incentives; with intellectual/creative tasks, financial incentive actually serves as a damper.
  • Implied: nobody would work if they weren't forced to by the need to earn income.
    • A: The majority of the US does at least some work without pay -- in the form of running a household, volunteering, community organizing, unpaid software development, etc.