I actually emotionally agree with the idea but intellectually I have lots of issues.
I've touched on inflation. It's fantastic idea if you can build unlimited houses but who's going to build these houses when there's no real profit? Are we banning the free market too? Wr're going to need to. What if one of these people decide to buy drugs rather than a home and food? What if lots do that? What if they don't want what you think they should want?
Friedman never seems to consider hyperinflation. If you give everyone 20k to me that's almost the same as giving no-one anything.
You puzzle me. The idea here is that we are already paying out this money through things like mortgage tax credit and social security. But we have created an immense bureaucracy to "target" the payments.
Take away that bureaucracy and pay everyone the exact same amount. Forget targeting - its more cost that its worth.
And stop worrying about who will build houses and cars - its not your problem. Unless there is some regulation preventing houses and cars being built, they will be built.
Anyway, in the US no-one will ever dare suggest changing mortgage tax credit or social security so its politically impossible. Lets see how the idea does when put to vote in Switzerland. It may be an ideal first country as its really a federation of tiny cantons and one of them could go first.
