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RE: How the next recession may unfold

in #economics7 years ago (edited)

I would also like to add that the implementation of universal basic income presupposes that the government retain the ability to collect taxes. Cryptocurrency-enabled tax evasion is not conducive to that. While we all cheer when the adoption rate of cryptocurrencies goes up, growing income inequality can be made worse than it already is by them. The distribution of Bitcoin ownership is hugely unequal with 1000 addresses holding half of all bitcoins.

At the current rate of job destruction, the libertarian ideal of low or no taxation is completely dead in the water. The only thing it will lead to is serious social unrest and ultimately fascism. In the Trump phenomenon, the USA has already experienced a smattering of it, although the Trump presidency has also demonstrated the how effectively checks and balances in the US government have worked to contain his excesses. But much worse can be expected if the national unemployment rate becomes too high.

I've already stated that I'm a proponent of universal basic income. But I think the government should mostly stay of out the way. Regulation is necessary in minimizing negative externalities. But this precisely where distributed ledger technologies have great potential to reduce both fraud and the necessity to combat fraud and other negative externalities through government regulation.

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I haven't explored the intersection of basic income and cryptocurrencies much, but now I'm curious. I love the idea of decentralizing wealth without an intermediary, but I don't think many existing cryptocurrencies—and especially Bitcoin—have really lived up to the hype here, given how much they rely on exchanges, large mining operations and, as you pointed out, a small group of large owners. If I had to choose between a government and a cryptocurrency for basic income, at least right now, I'd still vote for government. But I might change my mind as I learn more about this.

PS: I didn't mean to upvote myself, but got a scary warning when I tried to remove it.

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