Quote Originally Posted by 9goals2hattricks3pen View Post
OK with no cricket today I'll have a crude go at explaining how UBI might work and answer what you don't get.

These figures are just some guesses from me so not from anyone who has anything like the understanding needed to work out the economics.

All benefits and pensions would be stopped saving £350 billion pa.

Everyone would get £19k UBI and pay no tax on it.

A low earner presently on £20k picks up £17k. With UBI their gross would be £39k but the extra would be heavily taxed so they might pick up £28k

Someone on £40k presently picks up £30k . UBI gross is £59k extra tax takes them down to perhaps £35k.

Somewhere there would be a cut off figure whereby if you earn more then the tax would take away at least the £19k

£100k + earners would be very heavily taxed taking away more than the £19k extra from UBI. SO ALTHOUGH THE RICH 'GET IT' THEY DON'T KEEP IT!'

Different to you I believe vast majority of 'the rich' would happily give up a bit if it meant they didn't have to wake up each day to numerous genuine hard luck stories about food banks etc.

Would the benefit payments saved and the extra tax collected pay for all this? No idea!

There has been some small pilot schemes and there have apparently been no evidence of people being lazier or less willing to work It is reckoned that low earners for instance would still be motivated to work and earn the extra.

No idea if this is economically viable and no one is advocating we start it tomorrow. Just that some think it's an interesting concept worthy of some consideration. Don't you think?

Well explained but that said - can’t see why there’s not a code at source ( like a student loan ) where an employer only pays this out to any individual who earns less than 50K for example. Don’t like the ‘ everyone gets it ‘ because why and it’s prone to fiddling! It was crazy how the government contributed energy payments for example to those on 100K plus who certainly didn’t need it!