The wealthy and the poor should all be interested in a Universal Basic Income scheme

What is a Universal Basic Income? It refers to a payment, made for instance monthly, to all citizens, without any differentiations based on wealth and income.

The wealthy must know that' some voluntary redistribution must occur, in order to stop involuntary redistribution from happening, and so they know that some Pro-Equality Tax on wealth and income is lurking around the corners. In this respect they have a vested interest in that the redistribution is done as cost effective as possible, so that the redistribution needs are minimized.

The poor have also a vested interest in that the redistribution is done as cost effective as possible, so  they get the most out of the redistribution.

And to top it up, the redistribution could help the real economy, and so that the wealthy could perhaps fast recover what was redistributed from them.

And to top it up, with the resulting increased demand, the poor can help the real economy to provide them with jobs and, hopefully, with opportunities for also them become wealthy.

The direct cost of redistributing by means of a Universal Basic Income should be 2 percent… tops! What current distribution performed by any government can compete with that?

That some who received the Basic Universal Income might, because of wealth and income, not merit it? So what, they only gave a gift to themselves, at a cost much less than what they ordinary pay for a tip.

Consider Universal Basic Income to be a Societal Dividend, like a dividend you get when inheriting some shares in a corporation.

Now who could be against all that? The usual redistribution profiteers of course... the redistribution mafia.

Besides a Pro-Equality Tax, there could be are many other good alternatives to how to fund a Universal Basic Income scheme.

It could for instance be funded by carbon taxes, which would help us to align the fight against inequality with the fight against climate change… and thereby also keep the climate change profiteers at bay.

And since we can almost be sure there will be lot of structural unemployment in the near future a Universal Basic Income begins to respond to the needs for worthy and decent unemployments.

And all that would provide us one great additional benefit. By keeping the social redistribution functions separate, we could have a better and more transparent oversight over how the government is performing its other functions... and that would help us to keep the government profiteers at bay, and increase our chances of getting good governments. 

It’s a win, win, win! Of course, as long as it is paid out in real money... funny money would make all worse.

Question: If only 1 million produce all the food the world needs, should only they eat, or Universal Basic (Food) Income? Would the all the rest allow the food producers to dine in calm?

PS. In my country Venezuela the poor did not get more than tops 15%, of what would have been their per capita share of some incredible oil revenues. That is why I have had enough of redistribution profiteers to last me several lifetimes. That is why I have defended net oil revenue sharing among  all citizens for soon two decades, which is nothing but a (variable) universal basic income funded with oil revenues.

My Universal Basic Income blog

We need a Pro-Equality-Tax on income and wealth that keeps the redistribution profiteers away

I am convinced it behooves all of us who have much more than those who have much less to think about the need of a Pro-Equality tax on income and wealth.

That need is mainly the result of interferences and abuses of free markets, many of these promoted by governments, many of these hidden in well-intentioned regulations.

If a Pro-Equality-Pot were to be redistributed through current ordinary channels, not much would change, in fact inequality and other problems could get much worse.

As an absolute minimum we must keep all redistribution profiteers away.

The Pro-Equality-Pot should be distributed in equal parts to all nationals, line through a Universal Basic Income scheme, and that should not cost, tops, more than 2 percent to do.

To achieve that I believe it is indispensable to separate the Pro-Equality taxes from all other ordinary taxes paid to keep governments running.

That separation would bring much needed transparency, which also helps us to make it harder for dangerous demagogues to seed discord in our nations.

Initiatives like a Universal Basic Income sound promising. Let us stop the redistribution profiteers from killing these. 

The Universal Basic Income has nothing to do with the Right or the Left; it has all to do with the Radical Middle.

The Universal Basic Income is a citizen to citizen initiative... it must keep out the populists and the demagogues wanting to profit on the redistribution.

PS. I come from Venezuela a nation that in 2005-2015 received incredible amounts of net oil revenues. During that decade the poorest 40 percent of its people, from a government that identified itself as 21st Century Socialism, did not get even 15 percent of what should have been their per capita share of that income. I have fought a lot for the distribution to the citizens of the oil revenues. Unfortunately, until now, the redistribution profiteers have had the day.