Germany begins 3-year universal-basic-income trial
These studies don&#x27;t really prove anything.<p>Common arguments in favor of these studies -<p><i>&quot;They prove people don&#x27;t quit work on UBI!&quot;</i><p>- No, they prove that people who are in a program that is very clearly temporary will not end their careers for a short pilot program. This means nothing.<p><i>&quot;They prove people won&#x27;t spend it on drugs, booze, and lotto tickets!&quot;</i><p>- No. If you make $1k from a job and $1k from a pilot program each month, you spend the $1k from the pilot on legitimate bills and now you have $1k to spend however you like. The study can&#x27;t trace that money. (This isn&#x27;t to say everyone on UBI uses it for drugs, rather, it&#x27;s to point out that you cannot deduce they don&#x27;t just by tracing the way the transfer payments are spent)<p><i>&quot;The studies prove people&#x27;s life and happiness improved because of UBI!&quot;</i><p>- No kidding. You gave someone several thousand dollars no strings attached in a situation where neither taxes nor inflation would rise as a result.<p>What UBI skeptical people want to know is where is the proof that we can afford to tax ourselves to pay ourselves, where is the proof that it won&#x27;t hurt long term productivity, and where is the proof that it doesn&#x27;t cause inflation. A 120 person 36 month trial program cannot answer any of these questions.