Posted on 03/23/2019 7:41:22 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Hey Chuck,
I read more and more people pushing for Universal Basic Income (UBI)? This sounds cool but so does a free condo on the beach. First, what is it? More importantly, is it really a good thing?
Interested in UBI
Thanks for your important and timely question. UBI is being talked about heavily among Silicon Valley tech titans like Mark Zuckerberg. Recently, new presidential candidate Andrew Yang has even made it his central campaign promise.
What Is UBI?
On the surface, UBI does sound intriguing: everyone gets guaranteed monthly income; cash in the bank, no strings attached. This idea has been around for a while and is currently being tried in a number of places around the world:
● Finland: After a two-year-long experiment, the government found that the recipients were no better or worse than the control groups at finding employment in the open labor market The Finnish government chose not to extend the program after the experiment ended.
● Ontario, Canda: Only 15 months into a planned three-year-long Basic Income experiment, the Ontario government shut down the program, citing that it was not sustainable.
● Stockton, California: Recently launched, the SEED program will give $500 a month to 130 individuals for 18 months. The recipients can spend the money however they want. Proponents of the experiment are hoping it helps low-income people work smarter and harder.
● Andrew Yang, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, calls his version the Freedom Dividend, which has a nice ring to it, doesnt it? His proposal would call for a monthly stipend of $1,000 ($12,000/year) for everyone between the ages of 18-64 (working age Americans).
Most every proponent of the free money for all campaign share a common justification for the so-called pressing need to get this done sooner than later. They have a dystopian worldview that believes that technology is going to rapidly replace the lower economic end of the workforce with robots and artificial intelligence which will lead to mass unemployment, crime, poverty, and widespread violence. They assert that jobs in the trucking and retail industries will be the first to go, which are among Americas largest employers.
Is UBI a Good Thing?
The most popular argument for UBI is that:
UBI would give individuals freedom to spend the money in a way they choose. In other words, UBI strengthens economic liberty at an individual level. This would help them to choose the kind of work they want to do, rather than forcing them to do unproductive work to meet their daily requirements.
Two main issues I have with this:
Is UBI Biblically Supported?
In short, no. I see several reasons UBI is in conflict with biblical principles.
Work was created by God to supply our physical needs, and should be a blessing to us. God charged Adam with work to take care of the earth and reign over the animals in Genesis, before sin had ever entered the world. We are designed to work and UBI removes the dignity, necessity, and satisfaction of work.
One of the main symptoms of discontentment is that youre unable to experience peace living on what God has provided. You buy into the philosophy that you always need more, better, faster. You compare the things you have to the things you could have. What you currently have is never good enough. If everyone received $1,000 a month from the government, soon theyll want $1,500, then $2,000. Ecclesiastes 5:10 says, Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
UBI perpetuates this attitude of discontentment by assuming money will solve the problem of poverty and make people happy.
But a lack of finances isnt the cause of poverty - in the vast majority of cases, mismanagement of what we have is to blame, not only for poverty, but all kinds of debt, corruption, and destitution. Of course, there are extreme circumstances that lead to financial hardships, and those in the top 1% of income earners also mismanage money.
Putting more money into the hands of those who are not equipped to manage it with biblical principles will not solve their long term problems (regardless of their socioeconomic status). Attempting to equally distribute money will not result in equal stewardship of money. Instead, it will slow economic growth, de-incentivize business, and increase the tax burden of the country. Starting with the wrong assumption will always lead to the wrong solution.
The worlds economy promotes a scarcity mindset - that there is never enough. This feeds our sinful nature of greed, dishonesty, and selfishness. It tells us to pursue more, bigger, and better for our own gain. Most who vote for UBI do so to protect their own wealth, not to help less fortunate people.
But the principles of Gods economy are in stark contrast, encouraging us to live fruitful, productive lives, exhibiting generosity, honesty, and selflessness. Gods economy is based on the principles of abundance:
But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens. For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. (Psalm 50:9-10)
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)
The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. (Deuteronomy 8:12)
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)
We serve a good God, a generous Father, who is eager to bless His children (Matthew 6:25-34, Matthew 7:11). Why would we look to the government for our provision when the Creator of all cares about our every need?
A Better Way
Ultimately, I see many more problems with UBI than sustainable solutions. I dont see it as a realistic escape from poverty, a benefit to the economy, or a program in line with Scripture. I see it as massive tax leading to less freedom and less economic growth. We should reject UBI and promote the solutions that God says will help us: work diligently, steward wisely and provide private charitable help to those unable to work.
Is Universal Basic Income supposed to replace all of our public assistance programs?
Or would UBI income be over and above, and in addition to, all of the public benefits people already receive???
As if EIC (Earned Income Credit) wasn’t bad enough.
No because money does not grow on trees. ....
If we got rid of the FED so they could not grow money on trees (computerized debt) things would be much better.
Those of us who have succeeded have a duty and responsibility to help those of us behind us to also succeed or at least survive but this requires two preconditions - they have to want the help (you cant force it upon them)and they have to show that theyre willing to contribute back in the same way.
Socialism breaks both of those preconditions - forcing help and letting those not willing to recontribute to suck off the work of others like the grasshoppers and the ants.
Socialism fails every time because those who slack off grow in number until the system is unsustainable - every time - which is why those nations grow despotic because they have to force the people into work like indentured servitude, except at THAT point the people are no longer skilled and resent the forced labor and resist further.
Its basic human behavior.
The most unique aspect of the American Experiment is the ability to move up and down the social/financial ladder.
We already have basic income Social Security and welfare.
Yesterday we saw a young healthy couple with a 4 yr old son purchase over $400 of groceries with my tax money. EBT card.
The cashier told us she had one young couple with over $1,000 in EBT card benefits.
I could see it working if you eliminated EVERY entitlement. Make government simple.
Biblical answer to poverty....
Is you and me not government. And the goats who call Jesus ‘Lord’ will be cast into hell because they wouldn’t part with their hard earned money and help the least of these. This is the judgment of those in the church, sheep and goats.
Matt 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.
37Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You? 40 And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.
41Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.
44Then they also will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You? 45 Then He will answer them, saying, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
I could see it working if you eliminated EVERY entitlement. Make government simple.
Ontario, Canada has already discovered the obvious problem. It’s unbelievable that isn’t readily apparent to everyone.
Thou shalt not steal.
Wealth is produced, not printed. The only place the government can get money is from people that produce it. It’s one thing to tax to fund government needs, it’s another to just take from me to give to somebody else through law. That’s just theft.
There will always be the poor.
Eliminating EVERY entitlement would include SSI. What would $1000/mo provide? Health care. Throw in rice and beans as together they constitute a complete protein. Gets rid of food stamps. Then at the end of EACH year congress gets together and votes on what the NEXT year’s UBI should be. If someone doesn’t pay his child support guess where it will come out of? I read libertarian Charles Murray’s book on the subject. Made sense but the slippery slope of laziness would step in. Who would join the military if they don’t have to?
Then there’s the Fair Tax. Prices go down because it eliminates the IRS.
The Christians are not the sharpest tools in the shed when they dabble in “socialism”. This universal income argument is completely ASININE.
Anything that enslaves people to the state is NOT biblical...
The Left’s cultural Marxism language deconstruction agenda has built a use of the English language where terms no longer hold their meaning.
“UBI strengthens economic liberty at an individual level”.
Ignored by that statement is the idea that “economic Liberty” can simply arrive on your doorstep with a check that you, in your Liberty, did nothing, had to do nothing to obtain.
Yet, “economic Liberty” is entered into the lexicon of “normal language usage” as some sort of natural right that people have, with money to spend that they did nothing to earn. It will continue to be used, and indoctrinated into the sheeple’s minds as a “logical” “natural” idea to be accepted - “economic Liberty” a “right” to other peoples’s money, just because you exist.
Redistributionism requires confiscatory taxation. The Bible says “thou shalt not steal”. The voluntary use of property to serve others can only occur in a society in which property is privately owned. Publicly owned property and a society which does not respect private property destroys man’s sense of responsibility to use his possessions wisely.
Sorry sorry - I’m not saying I support government social programs. Just that, as Christians we have d duty to help our fellow man.
Help should come from US and not our secular government who can use “help” to buy or force votes and power bases (as we’ve seen).
A Republic... if you can keep it.
Read the Unheavenly City - it explains why “poverty” still exists - that and Poverty Pimps riding the gravy train
[[a monthly stipend of $1,000 ($12,000/year)]]
Swell- rent goes for what these days? $1200 a month?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.