
Ask HN: How does UBI square with libertarian values? - eevilspock
Or if you&#x27;re not a libertarian, how does UBI square with beliefs such as:<p>- Private property must be inviolable.<p>- Free markets are the best arbiters of truth, including how it determines what each person is worth.<p>I won&#x27;t comment; just want to listen.
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modeless
UBI is the least complex, most "small government" compatible way to
redistribute wealth. It also introduces a minimum of unintended market
distortions, compared with targeted subsidies and means tested programs. It
seems like an appealing option if you lean libertarian but you accept the
necessity or desirability of at least some wealth redistribution. Assuming it
can be done in a way that's both financially feasible and provides an adequate
replacement for other welfare programs, which isn't obvious.

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burlesona
This seems like a strange question to ask. I don’t encounter many libertarians
who support UBI, nor UBI proponents who claim to be libertarian, so I’m not
sure that the people who advocate UBI would agree at all with the beliefs you
listed.

As for me personally, I’m open to the idea of basic income, but I specifically
like Milton Friedman’s “Negative Income Tax” idea more. As for why, I think
that (1) we can afford and have shown politically for several generations that
we do want a basic social safety net for everyone, and (2) the current way we
provide it is pretty mediocre. The idea of replacing the current system with
simple cash payments seems to me like a potential cost saving and efficacy
improving move.

But since it hasn’t been done on a large scale before I’d rather see that idea
thoroughly tested and researched before I’d have confidence that any nation
should fully adopt it, and IMO its not very easy to design a good test.

Thus I’d say those ideas are more of an intellectual curiosity than a position
I’d advocate.

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mindcrime
_How does UBI square with libertarian values?_

This question is meaningless in the abstract. UBI doesn't inherently square
with, or fail to square with, Libertarian values. You'd have to be asking
about a _specific proposal_ to get an answer to this.

That said, a UBI proposal that funds the UBI through purely voluntary means
would, indeed, square with Libertarian values, which are their core reduce to
"you can't initiate force, or use fraud, against others. Force is only for
self-defense".

 _Free markets are the best arbiters of truth, including how it determines
what each person is worth._

A UBI scheme which was funded through entirely voluntary means would actually
be part of the free market, so there is no conflict.

