@generalfritz14 asks, "Would a Universal Basic Income eliminate social programs, decrease their budget, or increase their budget? What would work best?"
When talking about the logistics of how Universal Basic Income would be funded, it would make sense for social programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security to be defunded in order to provide the funds for universal basic income. This usually is the argument that people who lean on the conservative side would propose. On the other end, another approach would be to decrease funds of food stamps and tax credits. Eliminating safety nets of healthcare services and retirement security would likely cause more problems than good, even with Universal Basic Income. This would also defund any benefits that working people can currently receive, such as unemployment benefits, child and family allowances, and payroll tax exemptions.
I would be concerned that while Universal Basic Income theoretically could help even wealth distribution and extreme poverty, I am wary of what would happen to people over the age of 65. Retirement benefits and funds would be defunded if Universal Basic Income was adopted, which would create a new demographic of the biggest losers within the economy.
Like the theory and concept of socialism, Universal Basic Income seems very glamorous and ideal when looking at the promises and returns. Even with how horrible the economy may seem in America now and the extreme gap between the middle class and impoverished, Universal Basic Income would not make it any better. It would present a new set of problems, likely a whole lot worse than what we are facing now.
I do not know what would work best when it comes to increasing funds and budgets in order to make adequate funding for Universal Basic Income. I think that the idea in general is scary to our economy.
