If people are able (in terms of practicality, affordability, possibly legality) to live entirely on imported goods and services, then as you say when everyone stops working, everything breaks hard.
If people only buy domestic (including the case of a global BI) then when "everyone stops working" then we see supply of most things shrink dramatically. This raises prices, which means that the BI people are receiving doesn't go as far. This motivates people to get back to work. Note that it does so before the purchasing power of the BI is negligible - it does so as soon as it falls below "what you can live on with the comfort we want", which itself will have variation. I would expect such a dynamic to be self-stabilizing, not self-destructive, though it certainly depends on the constants involved.
In reality, some things are purchased from abroad for cheap, some things at a premium over domestic goods, and some things can only be provided domestically. Your point is most strongly an argument against too high a BI in too small an area.
The flip side, 100% participation, doesn't seem like something liable to be caused by the basic income, and it if is it should be self limiting for exactly the reason you note - we quickly find ourselves in a situation where the basic income is approximately zero in real terms.
As an aside, out of fears over feedback loops I have said before that a BI should not be pegged to actual inflation, but to targeted inflation. I think that would help it generally track the real value that we are best capable of providing.
If people only buy domestic (including the case of a global BI) then when "everyone stops working" then we see supply of most things shrink dramatically. This raises prices, which means that the BI people are receiving doesn't go as far. This motivates people to get back to work. Note that it does so before the purchasing power of the BI is negligible - it does so as soon as it falls below "what you can live on with the comfort we want", which itself will have variation. I would expect such a dynamic to be self-stabilizing, not self-destructive, though it certainly depends on the constants involved.
In reality, some things are purchased from abroad for cheap, some things at a premium over domestic goods, and some things can only be provided domestically. Your point is most strongly an argument against too high a BI in too small an area.
The flip side, 100% participation, doesn't seem like something liable to be caused by the basic income, and it if is it should be self limiting for exactly the reason you note - we quickly find ourselves in a situation where the basic income is approximately zero in real terms.
As an aside, out of fears over feedback loops I have said before that a BI should not be pegged to actual inflation, but to targeted inflation. I think that would help it generally track the real value that we are best capable of providing.