Even if we could resolve payment's friction issues, however, we would still be stuck with the basic problem that some people have much more disposable income than others. Universal basic income would help, and I'm strongly in favor of it, but I don't think that's likely to be politically feasible anytime soon.

The means of funding UBI determine so much of its long-term impact. Each funding method carries a different set of properties, a unique host of alchemical interactions with socioeconomic incentives. Some promise to ’twist’ capitalist logic and pave a road to communism. Others may pit the minority class whose tax increases exceed their UBI against... See more

On the face of it, this makes the numbers come close to acceptable. It also means that UBI schemes essentially take money out of the pot currently reserved for the needy and disabled, and distribute it to able-bodied people plus the needy and disabled. Such a scheme has the potential to have good effects: by eradicating welfare traps that keep... See more