I'm surprised at the lack of skepticism about the moon landings here. A large portion of the population, especially outside of the US, believes they were faked.
I suspect that a lot of people in favor of this idea have not actually had much contact with the poor or working class, and have not spent much time thinking about the distortions UBI would create in the economy. People in the tech industry seem to view this idea through their own prism.
A guaranteed income for the entire population would result in inflation of basic goods and services, as well as rental housing. Given a truly universal income, there would be nothing stopping people from borrowing as much as they can against this guaranteed income and spending it on a new car, or new furniture, or drugs, or going to a loan shark for any other reason.
The government would have to place restrictions on what UBI could be spent on, and limits would have to be placed on increases in rents. In effect, UBI would be a backdoor for much more government regulation.
If society wants to provide for the basic needs of people, they can always build government housing, and give people food vouchers.
The US economy is not productive enough to meet all the needs of everyone, without having to work for it. US tax revenue for 2016 was only $3.2 trillion.
Monopolies don't need to have profits, and it's becoming difficult to see a doctor. Does this sound familiar to you? Welcome to communism, enjoy your stay.
I immediately searched for the word "pension" in the comments, and your comment was the only one to have it. She's 62 years old, and commuting to this job so that she can maximize her pension.
This is a profound misunderstanding of corporate governance, and the fact that so many people here somehow agree with the assertion that CEOs are paid for luck is astounding.