We can imagine two versions of the mysterious-poverty-restoring-force hypothesis:
Weak: Despite changes in overall productivity, poverty persists. Strong: Despite changes in overall productivity, the proportion of the population in poverty remains constant.
I think weak is almost certainly true, you’re right that UBI won’t eliminate poverty. But I think strong is likely false—people desperately struggling: people living relatively comfortably, with slack for hobbies and “fun spending” of time and money doesn’t seem constant over history.
I suspect UBI, because the gains are evenly spread (unlike gains from technological development, many of which are disproportionately allocated to the top 10%), would have a pretty sizable impact on the ratio of people living in poverty to people living in comfort.
We can imagine two versions of the mysterious-poverty-restoring-force hypothesis:
Weak: Despite changes in overall productivity, poverty persists.
Strong: Despite changes in overall productivity, the proportion of the population in poverty remains constant.
I think weak is almost certainly true, you’re right that UBI won’t eliminate poverty. But I think strong is likely false—people desperately struggling: people living relatively comfortably, with slack for hobbies and “fun spending” of time and money doesn’t seem constant over history.
I suspect UBI, because the gains are evenly spread (unlike gains from technological development, many of which are disproportionately allocated to the top 10%), would have a pretty sizable impact on the ratio of people living in poverty to people living in comfort.