Robert Moore
Jul 22, 2017 · 2 min read

Sorry for the late response but have been busy over the last couple of weeks. I could not find the study about Kenya that you mentioned but I did find one that referenced high unemployment as a reason for high rate of drug abuse and I think this is really the point I wished to make. Drug abuse and poverty are a good example of the “chicken or the egg came first” analogy. Does drug abuse cause poverty or does poverty cause drug abuse; drug abuse defiantly causes unemployment and crime which also factor into more drug abuse. Some of the best programs in the US to include Women Infant Children (WIC) have been abused by drug users to a large degree. ( it is not uncommon for drug dealers to except infant formula in barter for drugs). I suspect a large potion of UBI would be spent on drugs. I support WIC by the way but the potential for abuse is there and any money that is designated for a child welfare to end up in a drug dealers pocket is a tragedy.

Lastly I would like to point out is people need a purpose and giving them money simply for existing does nothing for the human spirit that requires nourishment as much as our body. People want to earn money or provide for themselves and not have things given to them.

What you are saying reminds me of an old western movie in which Native Americans from the plains tribes were kept on a reservation where everything was provided. The Native American leadership told the white man in charge that they needed to hunt to feel like a man and support their family. The white man said “ok you can kill your food and took the Native American to cow pen and told him to shoot whichever cow he wanted. The Native American would not do it because he was proud and this was not hunting it was a joke and it made a mockery of everything that he stood for. You see the food just like the money are associated to the worth of the person providing it. When it comes from any government the government takes the role of the provider and makes the beneficiary beholden to that government and giving up his independence. The potential for abuse by governmental powers is obvious. Quid pro Quo for sustenance and your families very existence would be a reality. To put it simply

There is no easy answer for this but UBI is simply oversimplified and does not take in the human dynamic. People want jobs and a purpose for their existence. Granted if I had an empty stomach or a hungry family I would gladly accept UBI and be thankful for substance provided. But when I was alone I would weep for my failures and the dependence upon a government I may not even care about.

Give a man a fish and feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.

Maimonides

    Robert Moore

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