Comment Re: Minimum Wage is a Poor Form of Welfare (Score 1) 435
Without a strong minimum wage, reflective of the cost of living differences in areas of the country, all UBI is going to do is subsidize the profits of companies with tax payer money, that either will not, or cannot, provide a living wage.
Wallmart would absolutely love it, if they could pay their workers 1 cent an hour and let tax payer money cover their employees cost of living.
You have to start with a near living wage level minimum wage, and let the market decide which goods and services can continue to be produced at prices that consumers are willing to pay. If the minimum wage was 17 per hour, and your latte goes from 4.95 to 9.95 (it won't... but lets just say for the sake of argument) there are probably some coffee shops that will go out of business. And that is perfectly fine. If a business can't produce a product that people want, while paying their workers a wage that lets them house and fed themselves, that business shouldn't exist.
UBI is something that should be used to address the wealth and income inequality, after the basic floor of a minimum wage is established. It should be 'icing on the cake', not the cake.