We’re in a Low-Growth World. How Did We Get Here?
I often see articles like these result in a broad call for a universal basic income. The reasons are simple: it doesn&#x27;t dictate what you should or should not spend your money on; it provides a standard-of-living floor; it balances out the inequalities of a globalized and increasingly automated world.<p>I have a different proposal: instead of guaranteeing basic income, guarantee broad access to basic services.<p>Off the top of my head, I see five basic services anybody in an industrialized society ought to have provided for them: food&#x2F;water, shelter, transportation, health care, electricity&#x2F;information.  If these needs can be met cheaply enough, then we won&#x27;t need a guaranteed income.  The basics are cheap enough and if you want a higher standard of living, you can work towards it, but in a market society there are winners and there are losers, and at least under the guaranteed service mechanism, the losers aren&#x27;t mired in poverty.<p>In the short term, food&#x2F;water and electricity&#x2F;information are nearly cheap enough to be universal. We just don&#x27;t choose to provide it in a low-tax society.<p>Medium term, health care costs can be reduced through automated diagnosis and operations. Some automated surgeons exist today and there was a recent report that IBM&#x27;s Watson was able to correctly diagnose patients.<p>Long term issue will be shelter and transportation. Even with self-driving automobiles, providing shelter for everybody will require a delicate balance between dense urban housing (which is currently in high demand and very expensive) and suburban sprawl (which is harmful to the environment and requires vast and expensive infrastructure like roads and water).<p>By investing heavily in an ultra-low-cost society, governments can ensure all people have access to the services they need, while refraining from redistribution-via-taxation, which, while good in intentions, dents the very growth and ROI necessary to make these big investments.