Economist: Guaranteed basic income throws off County free market's equilibrium
Image by QuoteInspector.com
Supe Ellenberg and Sen Cortese are teaming up to pilot a guaranteed income program for 50 homeless SCC students. Local media lauds this purported win for equity, but others like Forbes' Marco Annunziata observe the project's crucial flaw: It enables an imbalanced job market, in which needed but less universally enjoyed jobs (plumber, janitor, welder, etc.) are sidelined—exacerbating skill shortages.
More thoughtful proponents will tell you: “we need UBI [universal basic income] so everyone can pursue their passion. If you are guaranteed enough to live with dignity, you can take a risk, become an entrepreneur or an artist.”
This sounds almost reasonable, but it clashes with two unpleasant truths:
First: since we need human work to improve our lot, the priority is to make sure everyone contributes to the best of their abilities;
Second: these abilities are very unequally distributed. Not everyone has a passion, and not everyone is equally talented. This is a simple fact of life.
Not everyone can be an entrepreneur or an artist. Our economies need construction workers, welders, plumbers, electricians, nurses, firemen, policemen, janitors, waiters. Some people go into some of these jobs with passion, others because it pays the bills—and these jobs need to be done.
We already have a shortage of skills in a number of industries. In oil and gas, mining, shipping and a host of other sectors sizable cohorts of experienced workers are about to retire with no pipeline of younger workers to take their place. This is hardly the time to send young people the message that they should follow their (as yet unidentified) passion and not worry about job prospects.
UBI would send exactly that wrong-headed message, reducing people’s incentive to work.
This article originally appeared in Forbes. Read the whole thing here.
Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity
Opp Now enthusiastically welcomes smart, thoughtful, fair-minded, well-written comments from our readers. But be advised: we have zero interest in posting rants, ad hominems, poorly-argued screeds, transparently partisan yack, or the hateful name-calling often seen on other local websites. So if you've got a great idea that will add to the conversation, please send it in. If you're trolling or shilling for a candidate or initiative, forget it.