With apologies to those on this site who have a differing political viewpoint than I, I will say one thing: We basically have this already. In Maine where I live you can be better off living off the state with welfare/unemployment than you are actually working a job, if you make $30,000 a year or less (which goes quite a long ways in Maine, I might add. I should know, I make less than that at my W-2.) All this without even needing to pass a drug test. The problem with UBI is not that it wouldn't help many people with startups/being happier/being healthier, the problem is that more people would take advantage of it than the people who would actually use it for what it's meant for. In addition, how many would get complacent, and say, well since I have this $12,000 coming in every year, why do I need to start a business? And I do understand, people need help sometimes! I've got several good friends who have needed state assistance to feed their kids when they start out. But any type of long-term program will by default bring on problems with overuse of the system. It's the proverbial argument of giving people fish verses teaching them to fish. If everyone is given fish, eventually there will be no one wanting to catch them. My two cents.
