"Cost of living" in basics like rent and food is what people buy anyway. How is having a basic income going to change that, unless you had like a huge homeless/starving population that can suddenly now get homes/food?
I admit that I don't know that much about basic income but had assumed that everyone would be "better off" by the same amount. Others in the thread have kindly informed me that is not the case, and that taxation will take out the benefit for higher earners.
I must say that doesn't sound very "universal" to me.
Even if we give $30,000 to EVERYONE, the poor will be more better off than the rich because $15,000 to $30,000 is a much bigger jump than $400,000 to $415,000. But the price of basics is not going to change that much because everyone buys them already.
The "universal" part is that this is a universal floor on living standards that applies to everyone.
What on earth makes you say that? If I buy one bag of rice a week, I'm not going to just randomly start buying 2 bags if I get more money. I'd rather buy some spices.
People will be frugal because they'll want to spend money on other things. Imagine a poor person as a person just like you: he has wants outside of basic survival.
People who cannot afford rice will start buying rice instead of noodles. And yes, they will probably buy spices also. Both are staples which could see a price increase.
"Cost of living" in basics like rent and food is what people buy anyway. How is having a basic income going to change that, unless you had like a huge homeless/starving population that can suddenly now get homes/food?