UBI Inflation Concerns

Wouldn't a UBI just raise the floor on the costs of basic things, like rent and rice?

That argument about UBI may be true ceteris paribus (all else being equal), though even then it may not. The assumption seems to be that all other money flows and incomes remain the same and demand grows while supply remains the same. UBI (there are many proposals/variants) would likely require taxes that will make it basically zero beyond a certain level of income and negative further up (increase in tax on upper brackets). UBI will also incentivize some people to stop working and rely on

Would UBI just be absorbed by an increase in rent and housing prices?

My problem with UBI is that why would giving out "free money" change the world?Say I'm your landlord and you pay me $100/mo for rent. Now you start getting UBI thats $500/mo. Why wouldn't I increase my rent to $200/mo, $300/mo, or even $400/mo? I know that now you can afford the increase. So you'd still have to earn income if you wanted to stay in that place. All I see is prices going up for anything and everything in population centers.Onl

It would probably cause price inflation. I think if my landlord knew that I was receiving an extra amount of money each month, that everyone got this extra amount of money, they would naturally raise the price of my rent. Retailers would do this for certain. Otherwise it is leaving money on the table, and successful businesses tend to be very aware of this. A UBI would only work if there were massive cost controls, which would be antithetical to any capitalist-based system. UBI is an interesting

I'm not necessarily against UBI, who doesn't want to eliminate poverty, but I have trouble understanding how it doesn't immediately result in price inflation of the goods and services most consumed by those at the lower end of the income spectrum.For example, if everyone is given an additional $1,000 / month, would most of that not immediately get captured by landlords through inflated rental prices for low-income rental units? Wouldn't it be the same story for used c

Yes the article is badly misinformed and not really worth consideration.That said there are much stronger arguments against UBI. There's a strong argument that UBI combined with current housing and spending policies... would simply end up in the hands of landlords. The article doesn't even mention "rent" but have no doubt landlords and banks are always waiting in the wings to capture virtually any surplus income. In practice UBI would have to be accompanied by government h

Yes, prices will likely go up. However, they will not capture all of that money. And UBI will allow people to have more choice in where they live. UBI will give you the flexibility to move somewhere new and figure things out when you get there, rather than having to have a job lined up immediately. This should, at the margin, decrease the lock in effect of big cities, and maybe even cause rents to decline over time.

"Will landlords increase rent" is a real economics problem.Maybe UBI is financed through massive deficit spending, leading to inflation, and rents increase.Maybe UBI is financed through broad-based tax increases that offset the increased income, leading to nothing in particular.Maybe UBI is financed through increased taxes on rich hedge fund managers, who all quit their high-paying finance jobs to pursue their low-paying art passions, and rents decrease.Any of these are pla

In the absence of price controls UBI will be quickly absorbed by resetting the prices of food, housing, etc. The inflation kicks in and negates most of the UBI benefits. Income (basic or otherwise) is the reflection of person's productivity. UBI breaks relationship between productivity and income.