The Covid-19 crisis has turned Universal Basic Income (UBI) from a theory into reality in an instant, but without the AI automation & productivity to pay for it. @tylercowen and I write about what this means for the future of the controversial policy. bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
This crisis shows that people want to work even if paid not to, a good sign for the viability of UBI. But just as there are no atheists in foxholes, there are no deficit hawks in a pandemic. Paying for it in a post-Covid-19 world is the issue.
Politicians rushing to entrench crisis policies like UBI are acting irresponsibly. You can't redistribute what you don't have. Building a dynamic economy that allows people to keep climbing is at least as important as building a safety net for those who fall.
People are also encouraged to try more ambitious feats, to risk failure, if they know a fall will not be fatal. The key is to know a net is there without stretching and breaking it. My article on UBI with @tylercowen: bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
