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That's not to say it *can't* work if done correctly--but I think this is one of those things that has to be done *just right*--or it'll get really, really bad.
The most obvious examples out right now are the Persian Gulf Arab countries--the wealthiest ones (UAE, Kuwait, etc)--all have a version of basic income to all their citizens (paid for by the State owned oil).
Now one thing you could immediately observe is that these are somewhat extreme examples of basic income. In these countries, the basic income is so high that you really don't have to work if you don't want to. (also because they also provide other benefits for nearly free--health care, schools, etc) So take these case studies with a grain of salt because in the US we wouldn't give people that much money.
BUT the biggest (negative) things I've observed as a result of this income are these:
1) Being a citizen is much, much more critically important. IE, who gets a check and who doesn't. If you thought we have problems now with immigration--wait until something like this is introduced. In the Gulf, it's a HUGE problem--you have an entire class of people that are "half" citizens (mom is a citizen, dad is not)--the kids aren't citizens because the citizenship goes through the dad--but they aren't completely foreigners either. They end up in this purgatory status--but the important thing is they don't get a check. This has led to riots, violence, scams, you name it.
2) The money ultimately becomes a control mechanism by the State--it's quite simple--the ruling party promises either to keep the checks coming or increase them if they go along with whatever half brained idea they want. So the public becomes a rubber stamp to the gov't and essentially agrees to a dictatorship as long as the money keeps coming in. Essentially people check out of the political process.
3) People become lazy--this one may not happen in the US because the amount won't be as high. But in the Gulf states, many families can afford to get by without working or barely working--so many don't--or they have hired help for EVERYTHING. The result is their kids are spoiled brats--you're seeing that now over there--the oil started rolling in in the 70's...these countries went from being relatively poor to obscenely wealthy overnight. So these kids of the all money/no work generation are now the bulk of the population. It's a lot of people who don't know how to work at all--which is tied into point number 2--sit back on the yacht and let the gov't do whatever they want to keep those checks coming in.
Anyway, there's more--but the point is that--if one studies current countries with these sort of systems, the conclusion is generally that it's not the best idea to do, because the repercussions and unintended consequences can be catastrophic to a society--unless everything goes *absolutely perfect*--which never happens.
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