I hope it will benefit people. I’m a bit skeptical though. I think this unconditional basic income may make things better for the short run, but make it worse in the long run.
Giving everyone more purchasing power, regardless of what they already earn, will likely increase spending. Increased spending means more waste, CO2 and pollution. It will likely also cause inflation. Because why wouldn’t shops increase the prices if people have more to spend? We’ve seen that during COVID and the energy crisis in Europe. Of course this had to do with the supply chain. But increased savings/salary also gave a boost to inflation. Meaning, the UBI should always increase to combat inflation.
I personally see more progress in a sustainable infrastructure that allows to make things cheaper in a technical way. Meaning, provide society with more automation, strategic_access and localization. An infrastructure doesn’t go away that easily. If UBI is for example cancelled due to the next financial crisis, then all the problems are back. Infrastructure remains, even when budgets are cut, it will remain operational longer than a UBI.
Such an infrastructure is a structural solution to a structural problem. UBI is more like easy patchwork while ignoring the underlying problem.
Don’t get me wrong, I hope UBI will have a positive effect, I’m just a bit skeptical.