<i>Anecdote.</i> My uncle (in Sweden) lived his whole adult life on the &quot;basic income&quot; he got from the State. He played the guitar, beautifully, wrote poetry, and never held a job in his life (why would he? the State was providing). He died in his early 40s, worn out by alcohol abuse and probably drugs. His &quot;basic income&quot; happened to be higher than what I had left after paying taxes as an engineer working for Ericsson.