• explodicle@sh.itjust.works
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    13 hours ago

    Yes, as a UBI. The average person is so poor that “means testing” it is just a waste of time and money. Poverty is very expensive - a high “interest rate” - so $1 donated today will have a drastically higher impact than $1 in 20 years, even adjusting for inflation.

    Also, Gates’ wealth is now diversified enough that slippage would be minimal. And doing it suddenly without notice prevents speculators selling ahead of him and then buying back afterwards, which would essentially siphon off the wealth.

    • finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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      3 hours ago

      A UBI for 340 Million Americans from 200Bn USD comes out to about…

      Tap tap tap tap

      $588.23 each for exactly once. Saving 0 children across the world from starvation, malaria, or dehydration. You could also try distributing that money directly to poor regions but thats such a terrible idea that its on the same tier as immediately releasing Afghanistans funds to the Taliban.

    • Katana314@lemmy.world
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      9 hours ago

      Dude, even just planning and organizing a UBI takes time and effort.

      It would start with a billionaire requesting people’s personal data (because he couldn’t publically admit to having it through dark sources) and who wants to do that?

      He also couldn’t afford a UBI in every nation on the planet; right now his help is focused on countries with far worse standards of living than the USA.