&gt; &quot;Thank you for asking.&quot;<p>You&#x27;re welcome.<p>&gt; &quot;Giving me a basic income is highly likely to close doors, not open them.&quot;<p>How so? This would be a universal basic income (UBI for short), if everyone gets UBI there&#x27;s no social stigma attached to it. Furthermore, a basic income frees up your time to develop your skills, whether that be through academic study, an internship&#x2F;apprenticeship, or pursuing interests in the arts. In other words, UBI gives the majority of us more options if we choose to change career or make progess in a field without sufficient short term stability.<p>&gt; &quot;I find it insulting. I was STAR student and a National Merit Scholarship winner in high school. I have mostly not been taken very seriously on Hacker News. I have mostly been treated dismissively.&quot;<p>If I&#x27;m honest, if you&#x27;re expecting a high level of praise on HN, you&#x27;re in the wrong place. It doesn&#x27;t matter who you are, or what your background is. However, if you enjoy a good debate and learning new things, then it&#x27;s worth it. Got to learn to take the rough with the smooth, I&#x27;ve made empty comments with high upvotes, and thoughtful comments with high downvotes, just be clear whether you&#x27;ve been honest with yourself and keep an open mind to new information and you&#x27;ll be fine.