He's Got My Vote: An Atypically Productive Exchange on the UBI
21 days ago
- A reader admitted to using AI to polish his drafts but insists the ideas, research, and reasoning are his own.
- The reader proposed a libertarian policy framework including deregulation and a $12,000/year UBI, but Caplan showed the UBI math makes it unaffordable.
- Caplan pointed out that a 20% phase-out rate extends benefits to families earning up to $290K, turning the UBI into a costly universal entitlement.
- The reader conceded the flaw, acknowledged the trade-off between poverty traps and cost, and accepted that a small UBI is the only affordable option.
- The reader changed his stance on immigration sequencing after Caplan connected welfare state cuts with open borders.
- Caplan noted the dialogue was productive but suspected the reader's writing was AI-generated, which was confirmed by detection tools.